I have notice that many of the questions being asked are common to all sailboats. A great resource for questions of this type is "The West Advisor". The West Marine Catalog (both hard copy and online) has sidebars telling how to choose and use most of the parts and equipment they sell. For example, the catalog has a half page on how to set up a Boom Vang at the end of the boom vang and attachment hardware pages. If you order a few things online, a big phone book size catalog will appear in your mailbox and it is a great resource for folks of all experience levels who are upgrading or restoring their Montys. The online site is at www.westmarine.com. I have been dealing with the West Marine folks for many years and they were a great source for parts when I lived in Germany (working for the US Army as a High School teacher) and was restoring a Hardy 20 cabin cruiser for use on the German waterways. Ron M17 #14 Griselda BTW: I am a lifelong sailor (56 years) but there was no really good sailing area near me in Bavaria so we bought a motor boat. (we did tow a 9 foot sailingy dinghy) Cruising the rivers and canals in "Bullforg II", our little power cruiser, was a real educational experience. The European waterways pass through the oldest and most historic towns and like anywhere else, boating people are wonderful. It was fun bit it is also great to be retired back "home" where I can have a "fleet" of boats and my private dock 120 feet from the back door. RK _________________________________________________________________ Need to know now? Get instant answers with Windows Live Messenger. http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/connect_your_way.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL...