earl:   yes, she does looks good in the photo.  jerry built quality craft and the boats do weather the years well.     i have an extra set of fenders that will fit your trailer.  i collected this second set of trail-rite fenders when i conducted my own trailer renovation.  i like the good solid steel fenders as you can get on-off the boat using one as a step ... a plastic fender can't take one's weight. if you are interested maybe we can find a low-cost way to ship them from seattle to bakersfield.  i don't need the fenders and would like to pass them forward.  they were given to me for free when i didn't know if i needed to replace the set on SWEET PEA's trailer.  let me know off-list if you are interested.   from the description of the damage locations do you think it came from getting the boat onto the trailer?   have you seen sean mulligan's www-site on how to repair/replace the rusted ballast?  he did the project on an M23.  the scale of the work is 'slightly' less.   keep us up-to-date on your renovations.  sharing details and photos with the community helps others in their work and keeps a record to assist in future mboat rescue efforts!     dave scobe M17 #375 - SWEET PEA visit SWEET PEA's www-site - http://www.m17-375.webs.com   --- On Tue, 12/21/10, Earl Landers <elanders@bak.rr.com> wrote: Stan,    I am located in Bakersfield, CA Dave,    I too hope the "stuck" problem is something simple, but I fear it's the worst case scenario, swollen rusted steel ballast squeezing the trunk L The slash in the bottom was located directly under the bulkhead that is the rear support for the V birth and extended from the edge of the keel trunk Outward to about the second strake. We had to remove a 4" by 6" piece of that bulkhead at the floor level to get to the top side of the hole. The previous Repair was a gash in the starboard side of the keel trunk that was about an inch below the top of the trunk and extended for about 8".  A previous owner the has removed the floor between the settees and from the V birth back to about the pendant, exposing the ballast. There is also evidence of past repairs near the pendant exit from the trunk, so it's been stuck before, or maybe still. Above the waterline, the hull looks very good for it's age.     The ad from '98 is interesting.  The CDI furler is still aboard, the teak is nicely finished,  the Evinrude has been replace with a 5hp Honda, the new VHF has been replaced again recently, there is only one anchor aboard, but I have not paid it any attention as of yet, the wisker pole is in excellent shape, and the trailer had no wiring nor fenders, but that has been corrected.  This boat lived in mast up storage at Marina del Ray.  We used Harbor freight magnetic tail lights to get the trailer home, and they lasted less than 10 miles before someone flagged us over to tell us the lights were being dragged down the freewayJ.     The PO said that he had a lot of calls from his Craig's List ad, but once he disclosed its condition, no one wanted to see the boat.  The needed repairs were a bit intimidating, but the boat was priced as a project boat.  As my buddy said, it's only fiberglassJ.  I've had it less than a month and it's watertight again and we've had it out for a test sail. Life is good!    Here she is sitting beside "Gentle Spirit", my C25 http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs768.snc4/66795_165658266805362...