June 2011 - montgomery_boats - mailman.xmission.com

Little Breeze M15
by Michael Mann 18 Nov '15

18 Nov '15

Hi, My name is Michael Mann and in 1982, I sailed the Montgomery 15, Little Breeze from CA to Hawaii. I see on the web site that she has been rescued by new owners in Hawaii and I would love to correspond with them. I am currently sailing on a container ship headed for Honolulu and would welcome the chance to make contact. Thanks for any info. Michael Mann

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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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BEER cruise at Pensacola
by Michael Murphy 26 Apr '12

26 Apr '12

Got back from the BEER (Backwater Environmental Escape Rendevous) in Florda this week. 3 small boats were there: a M-15, a Potter 15, & a 20' cat boat; boats like 26' MacGregors and Morgons predominated. Half the trip was a beam reach with northerly land breezes in the early AM and southwesterly sea breezes buyilding around noon. Only down side was the long road trip. Might have to try the Savannah area instead next year. It's closer to NC. Mike, Fionnula, M-15

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Great Loop!
by Bowman, Jeremy 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Hi everyone, I am going to sail my M17, Griselda, around the Great Loop in 2012! I've already started preliminary planning. I want to make my trip an educational experience for school children; the idea is that they could track my progress and write reports on the things I document along the way. My goal is to cultivate in children a sense of adventure, a love of reading and writing, and to have the kids actually want to publish their writing. I've got a LOT of ideas floating around in my head right now. I'm actually going to try to get grants and sponsorships from several different sources related to the educational field, etc, along with practical grants regarding supplies (I removed company names because I'm not soliciting here, just letting everyone know my plans). I have a friend who is wanting to expand her education business into the language arts, so I'm going to look into being a part of that as well...though I am thinking I'd rather my thing to be a non-profit. On top of all that, I am so excited to finally be planning a long sailing trip! I think it will be good for me to get a lot of good, challenging sailing experience without striking out into the middle of an ocean. If I have a problem, I'll be able to just pull into land relatively quickly. If it's in my budget, I'll try to make it to the Lake Havasu convention before my trip. I know many folks were interested in seeing Griselda's fixed keel and testing her against the normal swing keel design. I think it'd be a good way to give the trailer sailor community some info about my plans for the trip and the education program. By then it should be fully developed and funded (even if only with my own money, haha!). Of course I am more than happy to hear advice for the trip, like what kind of food is best for long trips, how best to store water, fuel, etc; if you want to talk to me about the non-sailing part of my trip I guess it should be via private email, not posted on the board--and to reiterate I am not trying to solicit anything here, except sailing/cruising tips and good places to visit. :)

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Stuck M-17 Centerboard
by Rich Makela 07 Nov '11

07 Nov '11

My '77 vintage M-17 spends the summer on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. I launched for the season last week (a bit late) and took my first sail yesterday. When I tried to drop the centerboard it didn't move. It is stuck in the up position. I've had the boat since 1999 and this is the first such problem. I did have a problem raising the board a couple of years ago, but that problem went away on its own after a couple of weeks. I've looked at the photos and diagram of the centerboard on a '78 model on the msog.org website, so I think I know what is inside the CB trunk that I can't see. I thought about pushing a rod of some kind through the pendant opening to try to push the board down, but the hole is not much bigger than the pendant. I also don't want to damage the pendant or its connection to the CB. Does anybody out there have an idea what might be binding the CB, and what I can do to dislodge it without breaking something? Rich Makela M-17 #233

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Rebedding deck hardware
by Daniel Rich 25 Aug '11

25 Aug '11

Montypals: Just got #208 from Bob Becker. Nice craft. Just did the driveway sail today in preparation for a real sail soon! A couple of the through deck fittings are leaking a bit. These may be leaking through the section of wood core on the deck. There is no weakness there that I can feel. I noted a bit of water in the cabin after the big rain we had even with the boat covered. I can see the fitting that is leaking. What is the best way to deal with this, and what products do I need? I read somewhere that I should remove the fitting, use a bent nail or something on a drill bit to get out some of the core, and epoxy it first. Then redrill and seat with polyurethane sealer? Have I got the right idea here? What products to use? Daniel

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New Swing up Trailer Wheel Jack
by Daniel Rich 30 Jun '11

30 Jun '11

MontyPals: After searching the internet for recommendations, I have gotten rid of my two failed Fulton trailer wheel jacks, and replaced with a really nice model from SeaSense. It has a grease fitting among other things. Details if you are interested can be found here on my blog. http://danielgrich.users.sonic.net/?p=98 Daniel M15 #208 Kestrel

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(no subject)
by jake horine 30 Jun '11

30 Jun '11

I know the topic has been covered before, but my memory is not what it used to be. Has anyone had any experience pulling an M-17 with a Toyota SR5 v-6 ? Cheers Jake Horine M-17 #263 A-koo-de-A

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Simple Gear
by Tom Smith 29 Jun '11

29 Jun '11

I thought I'd fly some easy, cheap ideas out to the group. If anythings' been discussed before, my apologies, I've been off the list for a while. I enjoy red wine. And it doesn't have to be expensive red wine, either. I've found that the hollow shoal keel of an M17 will keep red wine (probably white too, for that matter) at the perfect quaffing temperature. Get a box of wine, remove the plastic bag from the box, and simply drop the bag into the keel/wine cellar. In a couple hours (or less for those eager beavers out there) the wine arrives at the perfect sipping temperature. Very handy and no glass container to worry about either. My M17 is a '92, and I suspect most M17 shoal keels are configured this way but I don't know for sure. Another simple thing I've discovered is the humble bath mat. You can usually find one that compliments your shear stripe color if that matters to you, and the rubber back keeps it from slipping. Comfy for bare feet in the cockpit, and an extra layer of carpet in the cabin if desired. It also serves as a pretty fair no-slip surface on the cockpit seat for stuff (like cups of red wine). One more. I use a pretty hefty multi-purchase main sheet block combined with a windward sheeting car--most M17 sailors probably do. You can see it here at http://www.msogphotosite.com/MSOG/b17smith/b17smith20.jpg prior to installation of the windward car. I bring the block/cleat up off the cockpit floor with a climbing loop (a Blue Water 27kn about 8 or 10 inches long, if that matters to you) so the sheet control is up at a comfortable level for me. Sometimes, well often, when I tack or jybe, the block/cam mechanism whacks the cockpit seat. Noisy, destructive, and potentially painful. So, I've done some whitewater kayaking and have lots of gear laying around, including what are called pogies. Pogies are neoprene hand thingees paddlers use to keep their hands warm (go here to see one: http://kayak.nrsweb.com/boating/Pogies) It just so happens a pogie will slip right over my mainsheet control. The mainsheet comes out through where the paddler's wrist would be, and the larger part wraps the block/cleat and is secured with a velcro strip. Works for me. No more whacking. Pogies run 30-40 bucks a pair, but you only need one, so you can split the cost with another M sailor. And no doubt you could make one yourself for just a couple bucks. Just some thoughts. tom

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Cruiser Challenge Lodging Suggestions?
by David Grah 29 Jun '11

29 Jun '11

I am thinking of attending the Cruiser Challenge in Monterey next month with my Montgomery 15 but a quick check on lodging costs was a little daunting. I wondered if this group had any experience and suggestions on economical but not creepy places to stay. A hotel or campground with showers within a half hour's drive would be fine. I'll have my kids, 12 and 14 with me. Good advice appreciated! David Grah Bishop California

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