I have done plenty of research into the centerboard hinge as I was working on repairing some grounding damage that came when we bought the boat. Opinions seem to vary on what the hinge bolts into... Whether it is just fiberglass or there is an embedded plate.
My moisture meter says it was wet, but after I ground away all the damaged glass and rebuilt it, it kept saying that it was wet (30%+ moisture!). I didn't see a plate in there so I called Tartan and asked, and they said that the bolts go into the lead ballast. I didn't like what I heard, but I'm no marine architect so I just trusted in 5200 and planned on tapping the new bolts in.
We did buy new bolts. I really recommend this as they are very susceptible to crevice corrosion--ours weren't as bad as I've seen, just a few questionable spots on the head, but with all the work we were doing, we replaced them anyway. We had someone tap them as the threads seemed to be in bad condition, but they came out beautiful. Now, what did we find in there?
Bronze.
Mystery solved! I hope this helps someone!
_________________ Tabula Rasa Hull #49
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