October 2008 - montgomery_boats - mailman.xmission.com

Montgomery Sailboats are in high demand
by Bob Eeg 15 Jul '13

15 Jul '13

And are built with top-notch quality. There is nothing in the market place faster, better built and as good looking as a Montgomery Sailboat. I don't run a factory; I run a very small boatshop. I built to order on a boat by boat basis. I do a lot of custom work when asked. Bronze ports, Stainless ports, extra ballast, Custom electrical systems, Idasailor rudders, anchoring packages..etc. This work is labor intensive. Quality takes time. I have 3 employees. These people are highly experienced in Laminating, construction, assembly and finish. Woodworking and other skills result in a absolutely beautiful sailing vessel. I use the best sails the best rigging, the best custom stainless fasteners..and yes....(laughing) the best cushions. This last 15 months have been EXTREMELY busy; hiring new help was impossible because all the good people are gone. We had a tremendous BACKLOG and we caught a break only when Pacific Seacraft employees (let go) began filtering into our shop looking for work. We did add some additional crew in the Laminating Shop and because of that we are caught up. Pacific Seacrafts Bankruptcy was good for us. Bad for the dozens of good people who are out of work. The FIRST question of anyone buying a new boat should be 'How is the construction quality'? First and foremost that is the most important issue. I can say that everyone has experienced and will continue to experience a BACKLOG of orders; especially if the boat is as popular as a Montgomery Sailboat. When we had an 8 month backlog and I actually turned down 2 M_17 orders so we could catch our breath. It is impossible to work any harder or any faster. Now that were caught up we can get back to our normal 50-70 days (depending on model and options). Also custom work really adds to the production time. One beautiful M_17 we did we cut the V berth out of and installed an oval bulkhead, custom shelves and inline potti area; with 4 bronze ports she is an amazing boat, but custom work takes time. Expect delays if you go radical on the interior. (I think BONES has a photo of that one...) We are really one of the only builders that entertain changes and options to satisfy the customer. This new Passagemaker M_17 were building (and installing a windvane on tomorrow) is going to be amazing. Other actual boat factories that produce boats for DEALERS (that Tod mentioned) like Precision and Compac are built on Factory Production lines for a large Dealership Network. Dealers who have these boats in stock can supply them right away. But ask for major changes on a future production boat and the wait will be many months. International Marine builds boats faster with more employees but those boats are piss poor sailers (upwind) and many arrive with a list of problems that are pathetic. That's not me. So try not to focus on the TIME factor. We can only go so fast. Hiring additional help is not an option because by the time you train someone the season gets slow and you have to lay them off. I can't do that. I have people that have been with me for 20 years; I keep us small and efficient on purpose. So be surprised if we hit the delivery time; which we do quite often. Be a little disappointed when we miss it; but get over it when you see your boat. Dozens of you know me; you've arrived to see me rig your boat, pack you up and shake your hand. (Heck...Gary Hyde even brought me a bottle of wine..!..Thanks Gary.!) One man bought a new M_15 from us and a new M_17 a year later.! The C word...Cushions. I inspect everyboat before it leaves for home. Scott's boat was leaving for the Bay Area early Friday morning; I was at the boatshop at 10:30 PM Thursday night, sleeping at the picnic table just inside the door, waiting for the cushion guy to arrive with the (late) promised cushions. He drove up, woke me up and I watched as he stacked them on the deck. We left. My man arrived at 3AM and hooked up the boat and slid the cushions inside the boat. I should have loaded them myself then I would have noticed they looked good but didn't have the required 'Squeeze' factor. Let's move on, shall we....? Fair winds Bob Eeg (949) 489-8227 Boat Builder

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Singing Rudder
by James Poulakis 23 Jan '09

23 Jan '09

Sailing even with a moderate breeze makes Spirit's rudder hum loud enough to drown out the Pillar Point fog horn. The rudder is new and doesn't seem to be warped. Is there a trick to stop this or is it just a Monty thing? Jim Poulakis "Spirit" (M17)

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T shirt update
by Nebwest2＠aol.com 09 Nov '08

09 Nov '08

Ok...after a lot of monkeying around with different designs for the front pocket we decided that we will just shrink the logo in its entirety and place it on the pocket. Due to the length/width limitations of printing on the pocket, just putting the abstract boat artwork wasn't looking right. So, the artwork should be finalized this week and the silk screens burnt by the beginning of next week. I am on duty for the next 48 hours so I won't be able to get anything else done 'till Monday or Tuesday. I am expecting the prices to be just about identical to the Monty t-shirts we did, but let me confirm that on Monday. I will post prices for each item hopefully by Tuesday and then we'll start a two week ordering period. At the end of two weeks I'll order all the items I have received prepaid orders for. They will ship as soon as I get them. This is exactly the same way we did the last two t-shirt/sweatshirt orders. One extra item that we'll offer this time around is a "girly" style t-shirt. I'll post a picture of it when we list prices for the items. Tell your Monty friends!!! Here's the link to the artwork: _http://havasumontgomerys.piczo.com/?g=40530412&cr=1_ (http://havasumontgomerys.piczo.com/?g=40530412&cr=1) Sean M23 "Dauntless" _www.havasumontgomerys.piczo.com_ (http://www.havasumontgomerys.piczo.com) **************New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out! (http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000001)

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What do you think of Dovekies?
by Rick Langer 04 Nov '08

04 Nov '08

Thanks Doug, Your evaluation is very helpful. I'm attracted to the open space, the easily stepped mast and of course the rowing. But, crawling around a wet cabin on my knees doesn't sound like fun and the lack of storage is definitely a negative. I found a users manual last night that mentioned a couple of other features that I consider negative. Throughout the manual it stated, "stay off the deck", because with a person up there the boat is very unstable and some have capsized. It also recommended that you keep gear to a minimum to keep weight down. Compared to junk we pack into our M15s for a two week cruise, would make a Dovekie seem pretty sparse. Seaworthiness is definitely also a factor. It doesn't seem likely that anyone will be sailing a Dovekie to Hawaii soon. I seem to go through the same process every six mouths or so. Even though I recognize the M15 as near perfect, I see something in another boat that looks neat (like more space, easy mast stepping while underway, and rowing) and I think maybe I'd like to try that. "SporadicFanatic". Anyway, these are good exercises for me and I hope some of the members of this list, to help see the virtues of the M15. I got a couple of ideas from the Dovekie exercise. One is to address the space issue in the M15 cabin, on the next cruise, I'm going to remove all the cushions and use a thermorest camp mattress to sleep on. Hopefully, this will give me more vertical space, make it easier to slide stuff around, make access to the lockers easier and reduce that claustrophobic feeling I sometimes experience. But probably the best thing that I've learned is that I already have a fine boat that already has most of the things I want. "Jerry, you did a nice job on this one." Rick > Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:19:52 -0700 (PDT) > From: Doug Kelch <doug_kelch(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: M_Boats: What do you think of Dovekies? > To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats > <montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Message-ID: <792492.19632.qm(a)web58706.mail.re1.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Rick, > > Dovekies are an amazing boat and they have always been high on my list. > > I have been on 3 or 4 cruises with the Shallow Water Sailors and continue > to be impressed with the boats and the people who use them. > > It is definitely a different boat that is well suited to it's intent.? > Sailing in protected waters is it's forte. > > They do literally sail on a heavy dew. > > The first cruise I went on with them I towed my Bolger Dory in > anticipation of their ability to anchor in shallow water.? It turned out > to be a good thing as the fleet of 10 boats (not all Dovekies but all flat > bottom sharpies of one sort or another) anchored in about 8" of? water at > low tide. > > This entire group used to sail without motors.? Towards night fall two of > the Dovekies, split off, put out thier 12 foot oars and with thier heads > above the deck, rowed off into the sunset to an even shallower cove.. > > The wind that weekend was rather strong, 18 -20 with gusts to 25 and I was > at least 10% faster, even towing the dory,? than all of the boats thier > with the exception of the 28 ft Shearwater. > > This speed differntial is closer with lighter winds but I have always > sailed circles around them. > > On the other hand they scrape me off on shallow sand bars and low > bridges.? I once watched a Dovekie sail full steam at a bridge with only > 10 ft clearance, drop the mast 20 yards from the bridge while sailing, > coast under the bridge, raise the mast while still moving and continue > on.? An amazing boat. > > On the other hand they are not self bailing and hold an enormouse amount > of water.? All of the SWS cruises avoid a lot of open water and I would be > reluctant to cross the Chesapeak Bay in one without a very reliable > forecast. > > The interior is truely camping on a boat.? The center part of the deck is > covered by canvass for the night or they the use a boom tent. > > The interior is just a flat bottom hollow cave with little to no built in > storage.? Good floor based siting head room but you have to crawl around > the boat on your knees.? From this aspect it is a young man's ( or older > and still quite limber) boat.? At my age they are no longer on the list. > > If you are familar with the comforting sound of the Montgomery chuckle > while at anchor with little wavelets you may not appreacitate the drum > beat of a flat bottom boat with a section of the bow above the actual > water.?? Booom?? Booom? Boom unless you move enough weight to bow. > > The new boats added a centerboard well forward in the bow in order to be > able to tack better in stronger winds.? Without that the forward hull > windage will push the bow off the wind and the boat will miss stays. > > But still, sailing on a heavy dew is a unique experience.? eone cruise > with very light winds I anchored the Montogomery and went for a ride in a > Sea Pearl.? We sailed 1/2 mile into a marsh that only forced us to turn > around at when the water was down to about 6 ".? Saw wildlife galore. > > But I ramble. > > The M15 sure is a fabulous boat for my needs :-) > > Thanks > > Doug Kelch

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for sailors and crossword puzzlers.
by Gary M Hyde 31 Oct '08

31 Oct '08

A crossword puzzle had the following clue: "Stern deck designer" Can you guess what the puzzle answer was? (in 10 letters) Hint: There is another name for a stern deck on the old sailing ships. --Gary Hyde 2005 M17 sailboat #637 'Hydeaway 2' We can't change the wind, but we can trim our sails. Sailing is like "African Queening" thru life.

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What do you think of Dovekies?
by Rick Langer 31 Oct '08

31 Oct '08

While researching the Dovekie I saw that Doug Kelch attended a SWS cruise on the Chesapeake with them sometime ago. I was planning to ask him what his impression of the boat was, so let me do that and ask y'all to chime in too. I'm currently tempted by a very nice 24 year old Dovekie. It's said to row much better than an M15, has more open space (not clear it has more storage), draws 4 inches and sits flat on tidal flats and I kind of like sharpies. So, what do you folks think and what might be a good value for 24 year old Dovekie in good shape? Thanks, Rick

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Re: M_Boats: Green Auxiliary Power
by John R. Butler 31 Oct '08

31 Oct '08

Dave, That is it. I didn't even know it had been published, No pay, no author's copies yet. I'll have to bug Josh! Thanks for letting me know. John R. Butler theoldcat(a)cox.net The only horse substitute: a good horse book www.horse-book-pony-stories.com

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Re: M_Boats: Article
by John R. Butler 31 Oct '08

31 Oct '08

Thanks for the nice words, Larry. I enjoy writing almost as much as sailing and puttering on Rejoyce! Should be an article in Small Craft Advisor soon on my electric drive "Emmy Jean." John R. Butler theoldcat(a)cox.net First M15 was Joy, '83 #264 Now sail Rejoyce!, '86 #361

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Re: M_Boats: FreeBird
by TOMMYVAL＠aol.com 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

There's quite a story behind Freebird, there was a nice write up in the Montgomery newsletter many years ago. I think the guys name was Mark Hightower and he worked for Jerry. The 17 was being built for a fella from Mexico to do some serious sailing. The plans fell thru and Mark got the boat and got it ready to go. Jerry will know the story. If I can find the old newsletter i will scan it and send it along Gary Valetti M17 Bellerin **************Plan your next getaway with AOL Travel. Check out Today's Hot 5 Travel Deals! (http://travel.aol.com/discount-travel?ncid=emlcntustrav00000001)

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Re: M_Boats: FreeBird Great Article!
by Mark Escovedo 30 Oct '08

30 Oct '08

Hello Todd, Just wanted to say thanks for providing the links to the article on "Freebird" There's lots of good information there. Anna, if she decides to purchase this boat will be getting a tough little, go anywhere M17. Fair Winds Mark E M17 F/D #103 AMY ----- Original Message ---- From: "htmills(a)zoominternet.net" <htmills(a)zoominternet.net> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 4:49:14 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: FreeBird The old MON's are all on the MSOG site, although some URL's seem to need to be manually edited to get to all of the pages: http://msog.org/mon/mon_main.cfm It was in the Winter, '96 newsletter. The article was about two boats.... http://msog.org/mon/mon2-4/mon2-4-1.htm http://msog.org/mon/mon2-4/mon2-4-3.htm http://msog.org/mon/mon2-4/mon2-4-4.htm http://msog.org/mon/mon2-4/mon2-4-5.htm http://msog.org/mon/mon2-4/mon2-4-6.htm Tod Mills M17 #408, 1987 galley model BuscaBrisas > -----Original Message----- > From: montgomery_boats-bounces(a)mailman.xmission.com > [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of > TOMMYVAL(a)aol.com > Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 7:24 PM > To: montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com > Subject: Re: M_Boats: FreeBird > > There's quite a story behind Freebird, there was a nice write up in the > Montgomery newsletter many years ago. I think the guys name was Mark > Hightower > and he worked for Jerry. The 17 was being built for a fella from Mexico > to do > some serious sailing. The plans fell thru and Mark got the boat and got > it > ready to go. Jerry will know the story. If I can find the old > newsletter i will > scan it and send it along > > Gary Valetti > M17 Bellerin > **************Plan your next getaway with AOL Travel. Check out > Today's Hot > 5 Travel Deals! > (http://travel.aol.com/discount-travel?ncid=emlcntustrav00000001) > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com > Version: 8.0.175 / Virus Database: 270.8.4/1750 - Release Date: > 10/28/2008 9:20 PM _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats

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