P.S. Thom, I also use a sail stop in the mast track just a little below the tensioned position of the boom to prevent it from falling when the main is dropped. In addition, I use a second sail stop just above the track slot to keep the main's sail slugs from falling out of the track when the main is lowered. Ron C. ________________________________ From: judy casino <jratesq@yahoo.com> To: Thom Loftus <thom_loftus@yahoo.com>; For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 3:35 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: where should the boom sit on an M15? Thom, Welcome to the group. Like Daniel Rich said, you can run a boom downhaul line through the ring or a line through the cunningham cringe if you have oner on your mainsail. You should have a cleat on the mast near its base (perhaps the cleat you secure the topping lift to for transport) that either the downhaul or cunningham line can be tensioned to and secured to. Best, Ron Casino, M15 Spirit ________________________________ From: Thom Loftus <thom_loftus@yahoo.com> To: "montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 2:39 PM Subject: M_Boats: where should the boom sit on an M15? Hi Everyone. I am a new M15 owner and was wondering about the seemingly arbitrary way in which the boom sits in the mast. On my boat, the boom falls and stops roughly a foot or so beneath the mast track opening, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious means of keeping it in place when the main is raised. I've noticed that my gooseneck does have a ring on the bottom and I wonder if that is intended to be connected to something on the mast or deck to keep the boom down (perhaps I should rig a boom vang?). When I set the topping lift to set the end of the boom roughly level with the goose neck, It seems that my main sail is just a bit saggy. This suggests that the boom should fall aft at a slight angle, but that looks odd to me (and it reduces head room in the cockpit. Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks, Thom