Monties have almost a cult following. They are just well designed boats. Comfortable, safe and forgiving. They move with nature so are quite fast for their waterline length. I had my first 17 back in 1982 and sailed the heck out of it. This last one I bought back in 2014 after retirement and enjoy just looking at her sweet sheerline when I am not sailing her. Hope to take her to some sailboat meets soon. How to spend a day- talking to another Monty owner about where they have been, what they have done to the boat. etc. I had an aluminum trailer made for mine and while they were constructing it I had them leave the wagon tongue free of wires. I was then able to engineer a telescoping tongue that slid inside the stock tongue. It extended upon telescoping the rig another 11 feet so my truck stays on relatively dry launch ramp. I doubt you will have much trouble walking the mast up forward to attach the forestay. It bolts into the tabernacle on the cabin top so it won't go anywhere as you walk and lift it up and forward. Put a snap shackle on the end of the forestay and you can snap it securely in place while supporting the mast with your hips. It is a one person deal so you can single hand the whole deal if you cannot find some willing mate to accompany you. I spent most of my time single handing mine. Wonderful way to spend your day. If you make about three 3/8" plywood pieces to bridge the footwell in the cockpit two can sleep out there on those beautiful starry nights at anchor someplace secluded. These 17's are the biggest "little" boats you can find IMHO. I have eventually owned a 35' S2 racer but I never duplicated the bang for the buck I got with my Monty. On Tue, Jan 14, 2020 at 1:47 PM Rob Bultman <rob.bultman@gmail.com> wrote:
Thanks for the warm welcome. Tom, I did see what you have done with AS-IS. That, and the other project photos, as well as the info on the non-pics site, are inspirational. So glad I found this community.
Regards, Rob