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My M19 has 2 6" inspection ports on the cabin sole. These have been caulked up I assume because they leaked. I assume also these go to the water ballast tank. Are these factory? What is the purpose of them? I think I'm going to take them apart and silicone them but I still don't know what they're for. Thanks!

Do you have some photos?

If they are inside the liner, I doubt they are part of the ballast. But who knows?

Interesting.
Highlander had a Mac19 and hopefully he will see this and chime in.

From the Mac19 manual, you can download it here https://macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

Apparently they are from the factory, or replaced from what came from the factory.

MAKE SURE THE WATER TANK ACCESS PORTS ARE SCREWED DOWN
ABSOLUTELY TIGHT.
If they leak, the contents of the ballast tank will end up in the boat. If the transom valve is
also open, the whole ocean will end up in the boat.

Yours look like they are pretty caulked up.

I found this pic of the ports. They look less removable than your screw off covers. I would assume the previous owner "upgraded" them and they still leaked.

Ahh.....I found this recent post RE inspection ports

viewtopic.php?p=361852

Hi Russ u r right the original port covers where screwed down with 6 screws they were just basically about 6" or 6.5" fiberglass plates , on my boat at some point someone had removed them likely because they were leaking I,m thinking because they then re installed them by glassing them in permanently which was a bad idea ! because the purpose of them is to give u access to the inside of the Ballast tank so as to b able too remove the dagger Board for say repairs as I did & gives u more access to replace the D/B uphaul cable while the board is removed , altho the cable can b replaced without removing the D/B just a little tight & a pita , because my port plates or lids if u like were glassed in by someone at one point I basically had to destroy them to remove them for access into the ballast tank I also ended up having to repair the floor flanges for the floor ballast tank lids the flanges r inverted so as the lids or plates r flush with the the floor once installed after I repaired my flanges I also glassed in the old holes in the flanges & make new lids drilled out the new lids & drilled the repaired flanges to suite , the D/B is installed with a 3 or 4 " x 1/2 " S/S Bolt & nylon s/s lock nut their r two 1/2" s/s washers & two 1/2" x 1" approx rubber grommets so not sure if they were 1/2" or 3/8" Bolt ?, so bolt then s/s washer then rubber grommet insert partly thru ballast tank trunk hole for D/B then have someone from under the boat lift D/B into position with trailing edge facing up pass bolt thru D/B & D/B trunk hole on other side then rubber grom & then s/s washer & nylon s/s nut tighten up nice & snug to seal both D/B trunk holes so as they do not leak out ballast water thru the ballast trunk mounting holes for the D/B .
when I re install my new B/T lids I used butyline cauking stips so as they could b easly removed in the future & they never leaked
I removed mine as my D/B was flopping around like a horses tail which made it extremely hard to get it line up into the D/B trunk when raising it, when I removed my mounting bolt was slighty bent & worn half way thru from previous salt water use hole in the D/B was no more 1/2' more like 7/8" . So I glassed in a 1" dia. bronze bushing into the D/B mounting hole & I think it the center hole was 3/8" can,t remember now either way it was replaced as same size of original bolt size so either 1/2" or 3/8" s/s hardware once re installed no more sloppy B/B
Hope this helps u out

J
PS I also added bigger s/s fender washers & grommets , so s/s washer then s/s fender washer & bigger rubber grommet to match outer dia, of fender washer for a bigger seal

John,
Great commentary.

You don't happen to have any photos of your mods do you?

I haven't had this boat on the water yet. Thanks for the reply. Took the ports out and cleaned them up some. Think they were put in with 5200. Pita! Couldn't get the stuff off the fiberglass so I resealed with silicon and screwed them back in. Hope that works. Put in a new cable without going through the ports because I didn't know what they were for. Took some photos inside the ballast tank while I had the ports off. Guess you're speaking of washers where I have only globs of sealant? Photos posted.

It's interesting how the M19 bonded the bottom liner with the hull to make the ballast tank. Those ports are clearly a weak point. Even Roger said, "the whole ocean will end up in the boat."

The X/M models completely changed the ballast to be molded into the hull, not requiring the liner. Many X/M owners find the ballast a mystery and inaccessible.

Good photos. Hopefully, they will help another M19 owner in a similar situation.

I can see why previous owners modified those leaky inspection covers. Poor design.


Please post more pics of your boat and your progress. The M19 was a pioneer.

Well...if it looks OK to you guys, I'll try to dunk her this week. Been putting most of my effort into the old 40 hp tohatsu. Did impeller, zink, new fuel hoses, found a donor motor and got the cdi off of it. Also got a power tilt and trim but don't think I'll be able to fit it. Motor has very good compression...140-145. Probably run it without mast for now. I'm in a shallow bay so I hope the rudders stay off bottom.

Those port covers look ugly, but also look watertight. Dunk her and see if they hold. If so, then maybe table that for a future project.

Does the M19 connect the motor to the steering? Without the mast, you can steer the boat with the motor and not use the rudders. The rudders on the M19 look fairly shallow anyway. They don't appear to be deeper than the motor.

Your motor priorities are solid. New fuel lines and impeller are top.

Get her dunked. It will help motivate you for other tasks.

And of course launching/retrieving will be a skill that can take some practice. I would pick a slow day at the ramp for your first attempt. Even after 12 years of practice, I still ONLY launch/retrieve on quiet days without an audience.

Glad to see another owner on here.

Your work on the motor is the most important. The is pretty but not great for sailing unless the wind is really going the way you want to go or at a slight angle to said direction.

Hopefully you can search my posts to see my mods. I got rid of the rudders, converted to wheel steering, and now my motor acts as my rudder when I do put the sails up.

Thanks for the info and support. My tohatsu 40 is a tiller steer. Problem with steering with the engine is the tiller hits the side of the engine well quickly thereby limiting how far you can steer the boat. Thought the rudders were supposed to take care of the steerage.....???

I opened up those plates a couple of times on Dee Seas and replaced the rubber washers. Mark the plate to the floor as the screw holes were randomly drill at the factory! I resealed with 4200 no leaks
Doug