Bill,
My old (1983) M17 had the same problem (a search of the archives
will yield several posts regarding this). My M17 spent the entire summer
over a 10 year period in salt water before I bought her. When I
discovered the problem I ground out the remains of the old aluminum
fittings and epoxied and glassed in 1-1/2" diameter stainless steel
tubing to which I reattached the drain hoses. A freshwater boat might
never develop this problem (but should be checked for peace of mind at
least), but I think a saltwater boat should be inspected annually. Grab
those drain hoses where they attach to the thru-hulls and try to work
them back and forth, up and down. Don't be gentle! They should feel very
firmly attached. Run water in the cockpit while checking the hose
connections to check for leaks. Discovering the problem with the boat on
the trailer is a blessing (be thankful), but discovering it when 3 miles
from shore could result in losing the boat (not to mention your life).
Remember, "for want of a half pint of tar, the ship was lost".
Take the time to inspect and repair.
Mark Dvorscak
M23 #74 Faith
(former M17 owner)
-----Original Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
.com] On Behalf Of William Sylvester
Sent: Friday, July 02, 2004 3:02 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: M_Boats: New Old M-17
This note is for those of you who have older M-17 boats.
We have been working restoring our 1978 M-17 for about a year.
I
finally got the new traveler installed and her name will be painted on
this weekend. I made quite a mess while installing the traveler and
wanted the cockpit to be clean when the sign painter came. I closed my
hatch-boards, and really gave the cockpit a good hosing and scrubbing.
When I was done and opened the hatch-boards I was greeted with about an
inch of standing water in the cabin. I pumped the water out as I was
cursing my self on not doing a good job with the traveler seal. I was
about to remove the traveler and try again when I thought it might be a
good idea to see which bolt holes were leaking. I got the hose again
and sat down on the cabin floor to get a good look at the dripping
bolts. No drips, just a wet butt.
It was then I noticed that the water was running from the stern.
I
was confused as I could still hear the water pouring out of the
scupper. I got out, and stuck my finger into the bottom side scupper
hole and was shocked when I actually poked it through the wall of the
through hull connection.
What a blessing, I could have been a mile offshore when the
connection
gave way.
It appears that the connection on my boat is a aluminum tube
that was
fiber-glassed into the round hull opening. Electrolysis had done its
work and the aluminum had all but disintegrated. The hose was still in
good shape but the whole inside of the fitting came out with the hose.
This is an area that you might want to check out.
If I hadn't wanted a new traveler, we might have added a
submarine to
our website.
Bill Sylvester
M-17 #279
Endelig
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