Rudder and Tiller
Every part of the boat is important, but the one piece of a sailboat you get intimate with more than any other is the rudder…..and it’s extension….the tiller. These are your main connection point to the boat. In a good wind, the boat will heel and the tiller literally comes alive in your hand. Perhaps [...]
Cast Iron Centerboard’s on the M17
The CB on the M17 comes in two types that I’m aware of. The original cast iron boards and newer have fiberglass boards. Since mine is the cast iron type, I’ll limit comments here to what I know about these. To start with, it helps to understand what they are and how the are built. [...]
Chain Plates
One of the chronic leaks that caught my eye was through the bolts at the chain plates. You can almost see them in the above photo, peaking out the corners. If you were in the boat during a wet evening or rain storm, you would eventually find water weeping past those plates and running down [...]
Getting Started
In doing any repair, it helps to know what you are fixing. In the case of the M-boats, how they are put together.
Other than hardware, the boat is put together in three parts:
The hull, which includes the stub keel, is the bottom half of the boat, including all the lapstrake areas, transom, etc. Not many [...]
First Things First
First of all, these are fiberglass boats. Fiberglass in the form of glass cloth, held together by polyester resin. The white skin you see is gelcoat, which in it’s liquid form looks and smells and is put together exactly like polyester resin. Same hardener and everything. Virtually all fiberglass boats were and continue to be [...]
