Tyler: i recommend you confirm the fit of the new centerboard before filling the crack and the gouge. if the keel ballast is swelling best to know before you move forward on the repairs. that crack isn't normal, but some 15s and 17s do have the filler come loose (it is filling the butt joint where the centerboard trunk meets the slot at the bottom of the keel). 'grind it smooth, fill it with thickened epoxy;' is how to fill the crack. put a layer of mat over the patch and then cloth. just cloth may pop off the repair. do the same layering of mat and cloth for the gouge in the trunk. the mat and cloth can be fairly light as it is just to create a stable surface. be sure you grind everything back to the same trunk thickness, there is only about 1/8" or less play between the centerboard and trunk. -- :: Dave Scobie :: former M15 owner - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com On Mon, Jun 16, 2014 at 4:33 PM, <casioqv@usermail.com> wrote:
There's a large gap all around the inside opening of the centerboard trunk. I guess this is normal on these boats? Any suggestions on how to fill this? The "lazy" option I thought off was filling it with marine tex putty, but I'm worried that would crack over time. It doesn't look good, so I'll probably grind it smooth, fill it with thickened epoxy, and add a few layers of fiberglass cloth.
I also damaged the inside of the housing by hammering the metal rod through (to try and get the centerboard down), so there is one gash near the inside bottom about 3" long and 1/2" wide. I think I will be able to reach up far enough to lay new cloth over the hole from the inside.
I'm crossing my fingers I won't have to open up the keel itself and replace the steel punchings with lead. That job, from the photos I've seen, looks like my worst nightmare. Especially since I don't have any way to lift the boat and am squeezing under the trailer. To the best of my knowledge this boat is very dry, and hasn't been in the water for over 20 years (it has 1992 registration tags). I don't currently see any signs of the keel itself swelling.
Tyler '81 M15 #157 "Defiant"