I'll throw in my two cents worth on the "death roll". This is just my take on it. I know that there are a lot of opinions, of which this is only one. This is just how we do it on "Dauntless". If the wind is piping up and I feel the boat carrying too much weather helm when running downwind there are two things I do to alleviate it and lessen the boat's tendency to want to head up, oscillate, or "death roll". She wants to head up because as the wind pipes up there is now too much drive on the back of the boat with a full main. The rig is "unbalanced" The extra drive on the stern is trying to force the back of the boat away from the wind more then it is on the bow, thus forcing the boats bow to pivot back up into the wind. Add to that the fact that quite often you are taking quartering swells on the upwind stern quarter which are hitting the transom before the bow and also trying to rotate the boat and now you have your hands full. Pretty soon if I don't do anything I'll find myself pumping the rudder back and forth, trying to turn the bow off the wind as the swell hits the stern and then as the swell passes under the boat, back the other way to keep from turning off the wind too much and crash jibing. This set's up a rhythmic rocking of the boat, that in rough conditions will continue to increase in amplitude and frequency, especially if you fall out of rhythm with the rudder for even a split second. Add to that, having the swing keel fully down and now you have the keel down there also making lift trying to assist the rolling motion of the boat. AND, I don't know if you've noticed it or not, but if you roll a Monty on it's side you present a different hull section to the water and cause it to want to turn even more, so when you roll the boat, she wants to turn away from the direction of the roll. On our boat anyway, this is pronounced enough that I can steer the boat in calm conditions with the tiller lashed on center and motoring by standing in the companionway and leaning my weight to port or starboard. Just the small amount of heel I induce is enough to make the boat turn in the opposite direction from what I have heeled it. Add a 15 or 20 degree roll into that equation and she really wants to turn. I only speak for myself, but my understanding of the situation and solution is #1: REEF IT ...right now. Reefing the main will get the drive off the back of the boat and get the rig loads back towards being balanced. It will move the center of effort of the sail rig forward and help to drive the bow off the wind without so much rudder input. The weather helm will decrease dramatically and the boat's response to the rudder improves immensely. She'll stay on her feet better too and eliminate some of the helm corrections needed to correct for the rolling motion. Most of the time, for me anyway, this makes the biggest difference. I follow that up by partially retracting the swing keel. I don't need lateral resistance like I do to go upwind because I am reaching/running. One of the really neat features of the Monty's swing keel shape is that the quadrant retracts it loses more surface area off the back of the keel then it does off the front . That moves the center of lateral resistance on the hull and thus decreases the tendency for the bow to round up to windward. Remember, the keel is what makes lift and drives the boat to windward. Decrease the amount of lift it's making by decreasing its surface area, it makes less lift and decreases the tendency to roll and round up. On big board windsurfers, once the wind comes up they completely retract the centerboard and go can go upwind just fine on the lift that the little skeg makes. Putting the centerboard down at high speed actually causes the board to rotate along its longitudinal axis up onto its side because of all the lift that the centerboard is making. It will actually roll the board completely on its side like a knife edge, as well as try to make the board round up. I used to sail quite a bit with symmetrical spinnakers which are famous for experiencing violent death rolls if allowed to misbehave on a deep reach or run. What I learned with them transfers across and I think Gary O already brought it up. If I feel that and out of control roll (broach, death roll, whatever) is approaching , because the rolling that I am experiencing is continuing to increase in amplitude and/or frequency, the thing I do immediately is to change up the heading of the boat. Allowing the boat to head up a few degrees and trimming the sails to the new higher point of sail will usually break the rhythm immediately and allow me to get things under control by getting reefed and board adjusted. Trying to muscle the boat into compliance by brute force on the tiller has almost always led to the oscillation increasing and an unwanted round-up, roll,crash jibe, and/or generally just a real unpleasant experience for everyone involved. For many years when I though of having to reef, I thought of conditions that I was scared to be out in. That was until I finally did it, and set my boat up so that doing it was easily and safely accomplished. After that, I realized that a properly tucked reef and good boat control takes a day that would have used to scare the bejeezes out of me and makes it fun, and I mean a lot of fun. One thing I never thought of before I experienced it was sailing with a reefed main and very small headsail is easy. A little tiny headsail is SOOOO much easier to tack over then a big genny that you won't be able to appreciate it until you try it. Even though you are sailing in higher winds, sail loads are decreased back to loads that are comparable to what you usually experience. BUT you have to take the time and spend the $$ to set the boat upright. If you take a 17, 15, or even a 23 out in higher winds without the ability to reef properly ,or with too big of a headsail you are doing yourself and the boat a disservice. With the proper headsail size, board control, and reefed properly, meaning not only pulling the sail down part way, but having the hardware on the mast a boom set up properly to tension the luff, foot, AND leach of the sail, these boats will handle A LOT, safely and enjoyably. I can't emphasize "reefed properly" enough. A sloppy reef with a loose scalloped luff, loose foot, or flogging leach will not get you anywhere and will probably damage your sail or slugs. Reef it properly, get it flat, and de-powered and you'll have total control again. Eventually, if the wind just continues to build, yes, it still can get a little scary. But if you allow the boat to work for you rather than against you, the wind level at which "fun" stops and "survival" begins goes way up. And hey, if you don't have to check your shorts at least once in a while......................you're not livin'!! hehehe Gradually pushing your comfort zone, within reason, will make your confidence level soar and the fun quotient goes through the roof. So, Go ahead, put that toe rail in the water. Just do it under control! Wow! Just read all that blah, blah ,blah, I just wrote.....more like 7 cents worth! :-) Sail on! Sean Montgomery 23 "Dauntless" _www.havasumontgomerys.piczo.com_ (http://www.havasumontgomerys.piczo.com) **************Looking for love this summer? Find it now on AOL Personals. (http://personals.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntuslove00000003)