March 2006 - montgomery_boats - mailman.xmission.com

'06 AZ Monty Midwinters??
by Nebwest2＠aol.com 29 Mar '06

29 Mar '06

Would there be any interest out there in having a mid winter get together so all ye snow-bounders could come in from the cold next winter? Just a thought. In goofey AZ we have our best sailing season during the winter months. Here in Lake Havasu we have a beautiful hotel right on the water, with boat docks for anyone with a room or a small sandy cove where you can beach your boat in front of your room. Our lake is about 20 miles long (the sail-able portion) and ranges from 2.5 miles wide down to .5 miles. There are a number of campground/marinas/restuarants as you head south down the lake as well as many beautiful coves with picnic tables, potties, etc.for your camping pleasure. Nights are pretty cool (usually in the 40's) and daytime highs in the 50's, 60's, sometimes 70's. The water is guaranteed to stay in it's liquid state for your entire trip. The town of Lake Havasu is right on the water. A fair number of Monty's reside in AZ and hopefully we could entice them all or at least the majority to come out and play. Little cruising, little fun racing, little gawking at each others boats and lots of BS!!! 3 or 4 days. Visit the "world famous London Bridge" (should take about 5 - 10 minutes to get your fill of that) and the Parker Dam (Deepest Dam in the world, takes 20 minutes to drive there, all day to sail there, and ....5-10 minutes to get your fill of that too! hahaha) Want bigger water and wind? We could try Lake Mead(two lakes further up the Colorado River from Havasu). Here you are talking the largest man-made lake in the world. Big wind and Big water are possible if not probable in the winter. Beatuiful scenery. Lots of primitive area. Southern part of the lake is only 30 minutes from Las Vegas. I haven't sailed there but have friends that have many times and loved it. Check it out on a map. Some of the arms of the lake are HUGE and there are hardly and boats on it in the winter. Personnaly, my vote would be for Havasu. Although the lake is not as big, there are ammenities right on the water making it very convenient. Oh yeah, and I wouldn't have to drive very far! Give it a thought. It's a shame for all those Monty's to be laid up all winter when they are sitting on there trailers just begging to hit the road. Then we can come see you guys in the summer when we can fry an egg on our hood and the sailing stinks here. If there was any serious interest I would be willing to follow in Larry Yakes foosteps, well.....my steps would be baby steps compared to his...and work on setting something up.

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Re: M_Boats: Re: Superior
by NummiJ＠aol.com 28 Mar '06

28 Mar '06

I sail out of Superior, Loons foot landing. We have had our M17 for a few years, a salvage from Duluth, but only really sailed last year. We had a great time sailing out of Sand bay in the Apostle Islands last year. I can't wait to get wet. Dale

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Re: M_Boats: Re: Superior
by bownez＠juno.com 28 Mar '06

28 Mar '06

Hi Dale, What port do you sail out of for action on the big cold lake Superior? My M17 came from Bayfield, WI in 1996. Bones Mpls, Mn

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Keel-a-monster Tamed
by Nebwest2＠aol.com 28 Mar '06

28 Mar '06

Way-to-go Steve! The keel-a-monster will probably never visit you again! Let's hope! I'm hoping that I have the same luck you did with the re-installation of the swing keel. I was cautioned that the process of replacing the ballast could cause the slot to narrow. So, I have been nervously checking and re-checking the slot width in comparison to the refinished swing keel as I have been installing the new lead ballast.(The swing keel is out of the boat waiting to go back in) It's gonna be tight but so far I think we're OK. Oh boy, do hope we're Ok! By the end of today I had 600 of the 900 to 1000lbs of ballast that I am actually replacing back in. I sincerely hope that I never have to do this again! I'll be anxious to see the a-frame system you used to install the swing keel. Sean

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Busca's Self Steering
by Rick Langer 28 Mar '06

28 Mar '06

Tod, Your video re-inspired me. I studied Letcher's self steering book last year, but had trouble getting surgical tubing, so the project got put on the bottom of my list. I know you were using your self steering on the Maine trip, but I never got a close look at it. I looked at the video a number of times trying to pick up details of your setup. I couldn't help but notice, after several viewings, that the boat seemed to be ghosting along with no one aboard, self steering, like when the skipper fell overboard, very eerie on Erie, very Blair Witch like. I guess self steering should include harnessing in. I look forward to seeing your rig and you first hand on one of the east coast cruises. Are you planning to attend any? Thanks for sharing, Rick Langer M15 #337 Bluebird (equipped with Doug's remote steering system) > Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 13:11:31 -0500 > From: "Howard Mills" <htmills(a)bright.net> > Subject: M_Boats: video clip > To: "M-list" <montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com> > Message-ID: <000001c65037$94755a60$5f88db42@ACER> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > I've been offline for the past week, thanks to computer troubles. Hope > I didn't miss too much. > > A short video clip of Busca beating out into Lake Erie last summer: > > http://www.todspages.net/images/WaywardSon.WMV > > Tod Mills > M17 #408 > BuscaBrisas >

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Re: M_Boats: Busca's Self Steering
by chbenneck＠juno.com 28 Mar '06

28 Mar '06

Hi Rick, On our old Tripp-Lentsch I tried both approaches. I built a horizontal axis wind vane (and you'd be surprised at how much weight you need to keep the vane upright), and when set up, adjusted, and tweaked, it worked beautifully. I have set it on course leaving Westerly, RI, and didn't touch it again till I had reached Block Island - about 21 NM. The negative aspect of the wind vane was that the cockpit was so full of crisscrossing lines that the Admirable objected. She couldn't stretch out on the cockpit seats and snooze without maybe hitting control lines and turning the ship off course. So, I then tried sheet to tiller steering. Fewer lines, and it worked just as well, though you didn't impress others with the "Wow" factor of having a wind vane lazily swinging back and forth on the stern. Using Letcher's book, I played with close reaches, beam reaches; and also using the main sheet for control input, while hard on the wind. All worked well. The problem arises, however, when you have a flat calm and have to motor home. Then, without wind to power your sheet to tiller system, it doesn't work. That's when I bought an Autohelm and installed it. The Autohelm works when the wind blows, and when there is no wind, ........ and there is a lot less clutter of lines in the cockpit. My two cents worth. Connie

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Keel-a-monster Tamed
by Steve Shenkel 28 Mar '06

28 Mar '06

Took a comp day off and dedicated it to installing the freshly sandblasted and painted keel. I built a slotted "A" frame to support the keel vertically under the raised boat and gradually horsed it into the slot and eventually into position where the pivot pin would pass through the pivot hole. All in all it went fairly well, albeit slow (4 hours). No one died, but as with all good repairs, a little blood was spilled. In retrospect, I was a little concerned how well the keel would go back into the slot as I never really found anything that stood out (literally) to inhibit the keel movement. The keel was rusty, but not to the extent that it made it significantly thicker. My only possible culprit was the way the pennant was fastened to the lifting shackle. The PO used 5/16" line with a bowline around a small "D" shackle. The resulting knot appeared wider than slot. However, I can not imagine that that knot jammed up the keel the way it was. At any rate, it works fine now and I am glad to have that behind me. I will post pictures later. Now for a few minor mods to the mast, rebuild the carburetor and water pump, and phase one refurbishment is done. Cushions, canvas, and other goodies will have to wait until the season is over. Steve Shenkel <>< _/) M17 # 263 Glendale, AZ

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Re: M_Boats: Busca's Self Steering
by chbenneck＠juno.com 27 Mar '06

27 Mar '06

Sorry, gals & guys, My Tripp-Lentsch had a rudder that was attached to the keel - way down and under the hull, which accounted for all the lines needed to run from the wind vane to blocks at the sides of the cockpit coaming and then to the tiller, whose forward end was near the companionway. Having a wind vane just drive a trim tab on the back of the M15/17 rudder makes life easy. The Admirable would have loved that solution. In case anyone wants to get more adventurous, for a friend's 35 footer I built a combination wind vane and charcoal grill. The charcoal grill worked great, the wind vane not so well because of the lack of steady winds in the Adriatic where we were sailing, ....but I tried. Connie

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Re: Superior
by NummiJ＠aol.com 27 Mar '06

27 Mar '06

All the launch's in Superior and Duluth are still locked in ice. Port wing is open and I think up the North shore is open. The ice is getting dark so it won't be too long now. Dale M17 Superior

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Forward Hatch in an M15
by Rick Langer 27 Mar '06

27 Mar '06

Thanks Connie, I'll check it out. I have the book and have referenced it a number of times. I agree it's first class. I remember Bingham showing details of building a hatch, but I didn't think of going there for installation tips. Usually you tell me things I don't know, so telling me something that I do know, but just don't know I know it, is a first. Fair Tides, Rick Langer M15 #337 Bluebird > Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 10:00:13 -0500 > From: chbenneck(a)juno.com > Subject: Re: M_Boats: Forward Hatch in an M15 > To: montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com > Message-ID: <20060322.104439.2748.0.chbenneck(a)juno.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Hi Rick, and the whole M gathering, > > Years ago I found a great "How To" book that is a bible if you want to > make / alter / add to your vessels. > > The title is: > > Practical Yacht Joinery > > Fred P. Bingham > > Published by; International > Marine Publishing > Camden, Maine > > ISBN 0-087742-140-4 > > Starting on page 220 he goes into the problems of building and fitting > hatches, giving you several methods. > > It may be out of print, but perhaps AMAZON might find a copy for you. > > Connie >

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