John are you weighing the glider correctly?
eg tail boom should be at a certain angle, from POH
are you also measuring the distances carefully using the tail boom at the
correct angle and also using a plumb bob.

Yes, yes and an equivalent. There's a pre-cut tool plate with the
correct angle on it; we put it on the boom spine and used a spirit
level. My AME did the W&B following the original factory methodology
and documentation. The results were not far off the factory original,
giving consideration to removing the nose weight and doing mod/repair
in the tail -- just heavier in the tail.

The previous owner actually had 30 lbs of lead in the nose: the
original 10 from the factory, plus he added 20. He flew at 186 lbs;
I'm just over 240, so I figured the balance wouldn't suffer. I'm
considering returning the 10 lbs to the nose, which should lower the
min pilot by about 15 lbs or so and shift the CoG forward a bit for
me.

15 lbs is a lot for the mod and repairs? The boom was broken in a
landing and knocked off the tail. A couple of pounds would have gone
into extending the rudder (about 3.5" wide) and mass-balancing. What
would the weight be to repair a wing run over by one of those short-
winged 15m ships? W&B was _not_ done after the repairs or the mod...
at least not that I've found a record (and I've got lots records for
the ship, dating back to importation).

Pulling out the water ballast plumbing is possible. The hoses are not
in place when I fly (that's about a pound or so). I don't know if the
Kestrel uses water bags or wing structure to hold the water (I _think_
it's just in the structure) -- I'll check in the Spring and pull any
bags, if possible.

There is an oxygen bottle, but not listed in the original W&B and I
don't fly with it. The system is very old, so if I ever need oxygen
(not in Southern Ontario), I think I'll just buy a nice, modern
system. The bottle has a mount location just aft of CoG (not much
room, elsewhere).

I've appreciated the information and advice... still learning lots
about my ship. Anyone have the Addenda?

Regards,
John