A couple of fixes that worked on my M17 restoration. I was getting some funky odors in the cockpit from the cockpit drain. Poking around, literally, I discovered a bunch of oak leaves that had found their way into the stock long loop of hose which joins the cockpit drain with the drain glassed into the transom. After removing the stock corrugated drain hose I fashioned one out of a piece of 1 1/2 inch radiator hose purchased from a local auto supply. I made sure when I bought it that it has two right angle bends formed into it. Those bends enabled me to come off the cockpit drain nipple with one right angle bend and the second nipple fiberglassed into the transom. The hose between the bends as formed in the car radiator hose were too long so I removed about four inches of hose from it. I was then able to rejoin the two right angle sections of hose with a length of 1 1/4 pvc plastic pipe. The 4 inch length of pvc formed a nice tight press fit inside the rubber hose and after double hose clamping all the connections (you will need eight clamps) the cockpit drained quickly and cleanly. Any detritus that finds its way into the drain hose will be flushed out of the short run of hose much more efficiently. I had previously removed an area from the aft cockpit wall to work on the rudder fitting bolts so was able to access the cockpit drain hose from there. Second find, I recently had to refinish the hull gelcoat. Was going to wax it but tried one of those poly coating formulas for gelcoat. I used "New Glass 2" but any of them will act the same. It goes on the hull after a light sanding to remove most of the oxidation. The product I used came with its own chamois applicator and worked very well, even on my "wrinkle hull". It took about two hours to apply seven coats and the old hull (37 years) really shines. It seals the old gelcoat and protects it from chemical spills from when you do the deck above the hull area. Be sure to follow all the instructions that come with the product and don't try to apply too much at a time. Sags are a sticky mess to remove. "New Glass 2" company also sells their cleaner which I would recommend as it cuts through the New Glass 2 so it can be removed as in removal of sags. The finished hull really looks great. Fair winds, Tom B, Mont.17, #258, 1977