I don't know if mine has the cavity either, I'm just saying that whatever is in the keel below the body of the hull is sealed up. It may be solid or there may be a dead air space there. Maybe I'll do a test with some magnets and "sound" it a bit with a mallet. If it's hollow, tapping on the side of the keel with a mallet should give you some idea of what's behind the curtain. But as for having two versions, that explains a lot. Something in the literature talks about the bilge being a good place to store and anchor and it's rode. I don't have a bilge, so that was always a wonder to me.
And as for the ballast itself, I don't have any complaints about what was used. In retrospect, lead is clearly the best choice, but back then all kinds of stuff went into boats (and still does). Since it was going to be sealed up inside the keel with no chance of getting wet, how could there ever be a problem? The other question I've always had is how was (and is) the CB trunk itself installed? Presumably, the keel is layed up with the hull....and CB trunk installed afterward, such that there is a joint between the bottom of the CB trunk and keel, right at the CB slot. Depending on how that was and is done, that could be the source of all the water. I seriously doubt you can layup the CB trunk as part of the boats hull. I'd be curious to know if the CB trunk is/was layed up over a separate mold, and then set and glassed in place, or layed up and then set in caulking like 5200, or molded in place, or ???????? On 1/20/06 10:19 AM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello Howard and listers, > > My M17 has no cavity in the keel similar to yours Howard. Jerry tells us the > M17's were built both ways. I don't know if there is a hull number that > corresponds to keel or no keel cavity. My M17 is an early one, 1976 hull #92. > The M23 is a whole different scenario. I do have a bilge that will drain into > a hollow portion in the top section of the keel. I estimate it to be about 16" > deep. The pickup hose from the cockpit mounted bilge pump feeds to it. It will > pump out most of the water but not all. > When I sponge out the last bit of water before winter layup, it is rust > colored. > Perhaps there is some steel in there? > Later, > Bones > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
