Tom, With our 1988 M17 and Trailrite trailer the weight of the boat is correctly supported by the trailer bunks and not the keel. When we purchased our M17 several years ago the trailer bunks had sagged and allowed the keel/centerboard to carry much of the boats weight against the single trailer keel roller. This caused significant damage to the fiberglass centerboard and the centerboard had to be replaced. When fully retracted our fiberglass centerboard protrudes about 1 inch below the keel housing.
To remove the centerboard the boat had to be raised off the trailer and the trailer moved forward to allow the centerboard to swing down past the rear trailer cross-member. For pictures see http://tinyurl.com/24mglr . To correct the problem we added an adjustable 3rd bunk support (to the center of the bunk boards) and made the keel roller adjustable. I adjust the keel roller to just touch the centerboard but not carry any weight (you can wiggle the centerboard). The M15 and newer M17's share the same fiberglass centerboard. We beached our M15 often and never had a problem. But having seen the clearances between the fiberglass centerboard and keel trunk (less than 1/4 inch on each side of the centerboard) I would hesitate to beach our M17. With different trailers and cast iron centerboards I am sure my experience does not apply. Randy Graves M17 #410 > Hi all, > I am wondering if anyone could share experiences with the > latest-generation M17 keel. Will it snap off if I ground my boat in sand > or mud for a picnic or an overnight stay in calm lake weather (you know, > as with one of those unmentionable P-boats)? Will sand tend to jam the > centerboard? Pushing the envelope further, has anyone supported a boat on > its keel without disaster? I read a posting from the archives indicating > that a 17 can be supported on custom sawhorses just fore and aft of the > keel (so the trailer can be slipped out), but that is another matter. > > Thanks, > Tom Jenkins > Scintilla _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
