February 2002 - montgomery_boats - mailman.xmission.com

Re: M_Boats: New Owner: M15 #412 ``Chimpanzee``
by Randy Watkins 18 Feb '02

18 Feb '02

John, Welcome from your Texas sailing friends. When I purchased my 1981 M15 it was in a private boathouse on it's own sling system on a freshwater lake. I hadn't actually seen an M15 but was familiar with the M17. The original owner, Dick Ortnayer, had her for 16 years and keep her in fine shape. I've tried to carry on the tradition with #194. I know you'll enjoy yours. Randy & Greta Watkins M15#194 College Station, Tx <<< john(a)clcboats.com 2/17 12:08p >>> After a prolonged search I have acquired a 1988 Montgomery 15, hull number 412. #412 has had many owners. The pedigree, as near as I can reconstruct, is thus: 1. Chris Jennewein of Atlanta, Georgia purchased the boat from Montgomery Marine Products on February 29th, 1988. 2. Mr. Jennewein either sold or gave the boat to Gigi Jennewein Fenton, of Greencastle, Indiana. Date unknown. One presumes that Mrs. Fenton is related to Mr. Jennewein. 3. Eric D. Cosens of Spencer, Indiana, purchased the boat from Mrs. Fenton on July 20, 1999. 4. Randy Cameron of Indianapolis, Indiana, purchased #412 from Mr. Cosens. Date unknown. 5. I bought the boat from Mr. Cameron on February 16th (yesterday). Mr. Cameron adored the boat and was clearly loath to sell it, but his wife did not like to sail, so room had to be made in the driveway. I drove out from Annapolis and towed it home. The boat now sits in the heated shops of Chesapeake Light Craft, my boatbuilding firm, awaiting refitting. In spite of the many and various owners, the boat doesn't appear to have had a name, or if it did, the lettering has since faded from the gelcoat. I have dubbed her "Chimpanzee." I think it's a whimsical, fun, boat, so she'll have a whimsical, fun name. Also in spite of changing hands many times, Chimpanzee is in beautiful condition. The gelcoat is slightly faded but I think I'll be able to buff it back to a fine gloss. From a careful survey, I'd say that the boat never was allowed to sit with rainwater or leaves in it; the topsides and interior are exceptionally clean. I had never seen a Montgomery 15 up close. To those who might be deterred by the expense of one, new or used, I would say: you're getting what you pay for. I have rarely seen such clean mold work, such thorough attention to construction detail. The design and fabrication is amazingly well thought out. The acquisition of the M15 brings the count of my personal fleet of small sailing boats to 9. Yes, I'm seriously addicted to small boats. The other eight boats range from 8-foot sailing prams to a 20-foot Pacific Proa. I owned a Ranger 23 for a time, and I've done some lengthy cruising in boats up to 45 feet. But while many sailors keep moving up in size, over the years I keep trying to find smaller boats with big cruising capability. Readers of this mailing list will understand, I'm sure. I have no plans for exploits in Chimpanzee. For the near future, I will thoroughly refit the boat, then take it to Rock Hall, Maryland, where it will live at the Rock Hall Yacht Club. They are installing a boat lift there. I'll be able to leave Chimp rigged and ready to go, to be plucked from its trailer by the lift and launched on impulse for daysailing and weekending in the Upper Bay. While I could rig the boat and go sailing in 15 minutes, I do plan to do some refitting: 1. I'll polish the gelcoat. 2. I'll lift the boat with the company forklift to remove and refinish the centerboard and refair the keel. 3. Renew the teak, and build new teak drop-boards for the companionway (they disappeared somewhere in the litany of owners, to be replaced by an ugly piece of plywood). 4. I've ordered new sails from Ulmer Kolius in Annapolis (I'm a longtime dinghy racer, and you know how we dinghy racers are about sails). 5. Install all new running and standing rigging, including Harken roller furling. 6. I will change out the horrid plastic jam cleats and fairleads for proper blocks and cam cleats. The jam cleats and so forth appear to be "stock" from the factory. I'll be retrofitting cleaner systems: liberally sprinkling the decks with bits of Harken, much more to my dinghy-racing tastes. 7. Install a watertight Lewmar hatch in the foredeck. While I like to sail mostly in the Fall, Winter, and Spring on the Chesapeake, the 8" x 8" screened hatch will take the edge off of hot and humid nights in August. What a nice community the Montgomery owners enjoy, and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. Cheers, John C. Harris Chesapeake Light Craft The Best Boats You Can Build http://www.clcboats.com

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new owner #412
by Deena Smith 18 Feb '02

18 Feb '02

Welcome John! Harvey had asked me, when we went to look at "Pelican" the first time, to be objective...well, the moment we rounded the corner and I caught a glimpse of this beautiful little sailboat with a BIG personality, I lost all objectivity! Puchased August 2001. Enjoy! Harvey & Deena M-15 #348 Pelican Walla Walla, WA

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Re: M_Boats: New Owner: M15 #412 "Chimpanzee"
by Rotortom2＠aol.com 17 Feb '02

17 Feb '02

John, congratulations on your new boat. I am sure you will enjoy the Montgomery as much as the rest of us. How did you trace the list of owners? I would like to know where my M-17 has been since it left the factory. Tom Woodworth M-17 "Wild Hare"

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Mainsheet traveler
by Larry Yake 17 Feb '02

17 Feb '02

I plan on replacing the mainsheet traveler on my M17 with a roller bearing model complete with control lines, blocks, etc. for windward sheeting under load. My boat is a 1976 model with mid-boom sheeting and the existing traveler is clear forward on the cockpit floor right behind the main hatch. I see on the newer models the traveler and boom attachment are a couple feet further back. This looks like a handier arrangement for being able to make adjustments while at the tiller without having to reach forward through your passengers legs (although they may be shapely ones). I'm thinking I will change my boat to this set-up unless there are good reasons not to. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Larry Y. M17 #200 Tullamore

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Re: Fw: M_Boats: Sheet-to-Tiller Steering
by Conbert H Benneck 17 Feb '02

17 Feb '02

Steve, Sheet to tiller steering works very fine, provided ........ you have wind! No wind: no steering! >From close hauled to a close reach I used my jib / genoa sheet as the signal source. It's a lot easier to show you this with "talking paper and a pencil" but let me try words alone. I hung a block from my railing near my tiller. The jib / genoa sheet went through a foot block at the toe rail, up to the railing block and then back down to a cleat. Next I took a light line and tied it to the sheet with a sheetbend on the portion of the sheet between the railing block and the cleat. You now pull a "Vee" in the sheet with the line and tie the line off to the tiller. The tiller is held in position with a piece of bungee cord attached to the opposite coaming. Any changes in wind pressure in the sails will either straighten out the "Vee" - pulling the tiller in one direction: or allow a greater "Vee" to be pulled by the bungee cord. So tiller gets it's signal on how to correct the course. Course adjustment is made by using a toggle in the bungee cord to change the tension in the bungee cord. In simple terms: you are balancing the pull of the bungee cord against the pull of the jib/genoa sheet. By playing with the bungee cord tension you set your course, that the system will hold very nicely - provided the wind direction doesn't change! Remember, the selfsteering system follows the wind, not the compass! I have set mine up leaving Watch Hill, RI for a course to Block Island, and didn't touch it again until I was off the entrance to Block Island Harbor - a distance of about 24 NM. It works! Connie ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Re: M_Boats: New Owner: M15 #412 "Chimpanzee"
by Conbert H Benneck 17 Feb '02

17 Feb '02

Hi John, Welcome aboard. It's a great boat and you'll have a ball sailing it. My hull number is 400, so we're not too far apart. I presume that your hatch boards disappeared because the originals delaminated at the bottom. That was a problem I discovered with mine after I got it home and could inspect it more fully. I made new ones in three pieces using teak plywood; made for easier storage. Now I mount a companionway table on the lower hatch board for "fine dining afloat" - details of the table are in the archives. Keep us up to date on your modifications. There's always room for improvement! Happy sailing, Connie M15 #400 LEPPO Glastonbury, CT ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Re: M_Boats: Oar Leathers
by Conbert H Benneck 17 Feb '02

17 Feb '02

Hi Howard, and the rest of the gang too! Let me refer you to a font of wisdom regarding oars. It is Pete Culler's book: " BOATS, OARS, and ROWING, by R. D. Culler" The book was published by International Marine Publishing Company, Camden, ME. ISBN 0-87742-094-7 This is a book with chapters titled: The pleasures of rowing; oars and oar making; oarlocks and other rowing gear; notes on rowing; and more. The use of oars presents you with two distinct problems: 1. Wear on the loom of the oar at the oarlock where it constantly rubs, and, 2. You want maximum propulsion with minimum physical effort. Both of these problems are solved with the use of leathers on oars. The leather protects against loom wear, and the leather coated with tallow reduces friction while rowing. Culler states, "Oar leathers should be 12 to 14 inches long, and sewn on; tacking makes a fracture point, and leathers wear out so you soon ruin a good pair of oars with tacks. Sewing seems to be a great mystery to many, yet it is not. I simply use sail twine, waxed, which every boatman should learn to use, and the stich is simply the rough and ready sail-repair stitch called the herringbone, or baseball stitch. Some soak new leathers before sewing them on having carefully fitted them first; they shrink tight in drying. Some leather can be difficult to work, for the stitches tend to pull through in sewing. Take care! If the leathers are put on dry, there is less risk of this, but later on the leathers may become loose and slide down. The first thought when that happens is tack them - don't! Simply smear the shaft with contact cement and slide the leather back in position and let it dry. ........ Substitutes have been tried for oar leathers. I've tried some myself. None work like leather, provided it is kept well lubricated. Fiberglass has been tried, and it's a real bum and soon cracks, for obvious reasons. Very heavy canvas works for a time, so does serving with line, but the time for both is short. The store bought rubber sleeves are way too short and add much friction between oar and oarlock. I've looked for the answer for many years and found it - good leathers of sufficient length, sewn on, and kept well greased." (Culler's oar leather length of 12 to 14 inches is based on the use of oars by different rowers using different rowing techniques, as well as use of the oars at two different rowing stations in the same boat - chb) On lubrication: "I always stress lubrication, which is essential for easy rowing and presevation of oars and leathers. Either tallow or Vaseline will do quite well: forget neetsfoot oil and all sorts of leather oils. This is more or less a crankshaft you are lubricating. Use enough - be a bit sloppy with it - this is a bearing surface, not a bit of harness, or a pair of boots you are polishing. And don't forget to put some on the oarlock sockets." To keep your oar from sliding out of the oarlock you need a "button" which is a half inch wide strip of leather wound around the inboard end of the leather. I have made mine by epoxy gluing the leather strip to the oar leather, and to itself aas I wound it around and around. A turkshead knot will serve the same purpose Culler shows another solution: seize a line tightly at the inboard end of the blade of the oar. Now determine the maximum length you want the oar extended from the oarlock. At the base of the oarlock you usually find a groove - below the oarlock surface holding the oar, and above the machined flat area of the shaft of the oarlock. Tie off the line to this groove. Now the oar can slide into the water, but is limited and captured by your line. I haven't tried this approach, but is sounds simple and practical and just requires a bit of line for a trial. Tallow: Tallow is nothing but melted suet. Get some suet at your supermarket meat counter, put it in a pot over very low heat; and then s l o w l y melt the suet. Think frying bacon and saving the bacon grease. The trick here is low heat (you don't want to burn your suet: all you want to do is melt it very gently). The second thing to remember is it has to be dry - absolutely no moisture - no condensed moisture on the surface from taking it out of the refrigerator before you put it in the pot. Have it at room temperature and dry it with paper towels before you start melting. Reason? The moisture will collect at the bottom of the pot as the suet starts melting. You then have a pot full of liquid fat, with a few drops of water in the bottom of the pot. This water eventually becomes steam, and when the pressure gets high enough to overcome the weight of the molten fat laying on top of it, you get a young explosion as the steam finally escapes from the pot. It also splatter hot fat everywhere. Be very careful about this - I had it happen to me when I made my first batch of tallow which I was then using on my turnbuckles, as well as on my oar leathers. When the tallow is all liquid, pour it through a fine strainer to get rid on any meat bits that might have been in there. I put mine into a wide-mouthed glass jar. It sits in the shop and is in constant use: once you have it available (like WD-40) you wonder how you lived so long without it! If you feed your birds in winter, you can make your own suet cakes this way. Just add peanut hearts, cracked corn, and sunflower seeds and put in a square form till it hardens. Connie M15 #400 LEPPO ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Re: M_Boats: M-15
by Conbert H Benneck 17 Feb '02

17 Feb '02

Hi Cherri, Barnegat Bay sounds like an ideal sailing area for a "thin" water boat. That's an area I haven't explored. We've sailed up the coast from Cape May to Atlantic City, to New York City, but haven't gotten behind the barriers. That should be a fun sailing area with an M15. Your West Virgina boat is one I haven't heard of before - he hasn't been on our website. Random comments in no particular order: Most of us are of the opinion that a 2 HP Honda outboard is an ideal motor for this boat. Some like a long shaft motor while I think, most of us have the regular shaft length motor. The HONDA engine is a four cycle engine, not a two cycle engine, so you only put gasoline in the tank: no mixing of oil and gasoline as is usual in two cycle engines. The main advantages are: no fouled spark plugs (very common on 2 cycle engines - and usually at the most inappropriate time: Murphy strikes again!) - and no mixing of fuel and oil. The HONDA has a pressure lubrication system, just like a car; so you have to change the crankcase oil at the end of the season. A lift type motor mount for the outboard is also a big plus. The original is a fixed mount, and on a starboard tack you drag the bottom of the outboard through the water. I installed a Fulton lift mount last year, and that's the way to go. The bottom of the outboard is now completely out of the water when sailing. M15s seem to come in a variety of sail locker configurations. Mine has a deep port locker where I store my fenders;cockpit cushions; mooring lines; anchor and anchor rode; fuel for the outboard; cleaning bucket and supplies..... The starboard locker was a shallow bin for small stuff: car keys; eyeglasses' sail stops; tiller extender; etc. After living with that for a year, I decided I wanted access to all the "lost" volume that I couldn't reach. So, I carefully cut around the edge of the shallow locker and made it removable. Now I have the best of both worlds: the shallow bin for small stuff; but lift it out, and now I have space to store my swim ladder; extra cockpit cushions; my paddle/boat hook; and my bimini top. A big improvement. Some of the other M15 owners report having two shallow sail lockers, which leaves you with no space for all the normal cockpit things you need; as I listed above. Others only have two deep sail lockers. As I mentioned I bought my boat sight-unseen, so I wasn't aware of these differences that Jerry made in the models of the M15 he produced. But now, I find my deep / shallow - removable sail locker solution the best compromise for a boat this size. It allows you to use every bit of space within the hull. Sails: a main and a jib is all I have and so far, it is enough for my type of sailing. Owners up on the Great Lakes and on the West Coast have cruising spinnakers (gennikers) but to use them, you have to be holding a course for longer periods of time. An hour's run is not worth the extra effort of sail changing to achieve a slight increase in speed - or is it? That's up to you.....! Some M15s were set up with a jib downhaul, and reefing points in the jib, with it's own downhaul, and lines leading to the cockpit. Goodness. The Trailrite trailer - which seems to have been the standard trailer supplied with the M15s, is very ruggedly built, and if you have some rust, it probably is no big deal. I installed guides for the keel, when retrieving the boat, to keep it centered over the rollers. Design is made of plastic pipe and is in the archives. Great improvement, particularly if you are going to be single-handing. Connie ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Re: M_Boats: Oar Leathers
by Conbert H Benneck 16 Feb '02

16 Feb '02

Steve, Oar leathers are to prevent wear on the looms of your oars at the oarlocks. They also make rowing a lot easier if you put a bit of neetsfoot oil on them as a lubricant (I also use tallow). Another benefit is that they fill up the space in the oarlock so that you don't have so much slop there while rowing. Wouldn't row without leathers on my oars - life is too short to do it the hard way. Connie ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/.

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Save the Old Archives!
by Doug King 16 Feb '02

16 Feb '02

OK, I did. Since MSOG web site fund raiser is coming up (April), I figured I'd better do SOMETHING to deceive you into thinking I've earned it (you'll know we have enough donated when I stop doing stuff again.) Actually, I thought it was a shame to repeat/lose so much of the valuable info that had been posted in the past (or pasted in the post?). So I built a 15+ megabyte MS-Access database of the 10,000 or so messages posted from January 1998 to November 2001. I re-typed every word myself. Took months. Cost thousands. Nah, actually the whole thing was pretty easy to do and took a few hours one evening. It's a simple text search, but lets you search for three different sets of words in the message itself, and by date, author, and subject. There's also some help info below the search form, since the search program isn't as sophisticated as the big boys' search engines, but then neither am I. Results are limited to 100 hits; if you exceed that, narrow the search a tad. I'll work on "Next 25" and "Last 25" buttons that will remove that 100 message limit. As with most web pages, you can Select text, Copy, and Paste it into a document on your own machine to save for future reference. For instance, Steve, ;) type in "sheet to tiller" in the first search field and you'll get 23 messages for an in-depth discussion that will tell you everything you want to know about it. Just go to "Other Resources" on the MSOG site and click on "Search List Archives". The new list server gives access to messages since November 2001, and I'm going to look into adding those in the future (probably right before next year's fundraising.) If you have any suggestions or find any problems, please e-mail me directly. Also, I added the top menu to each page in the web site, since everyone seemed to be able to use it (Sorry Tod, but it's time to upgrade your machine.) ;) Enjoy, Doug ------------------------------------------ Doug King M-17 #404 "Vixen" Montgomery Sailboats Owners Group Web site: http://msog.org Email: mailto:msog@msog.org

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