Rachel, I'm having trouble picturing how a board across the non-galley M17 settees could create a bed . . . You couldn't lay fore/aft, or port/starboard, could you? Thanks, Craig ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rachel" <penokee@cheqnet.net> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 12:36 PM Subject: galley mods On Tuesday, November 4, 2003, at 08:57 AM, Smith, Tom wrote:
Speaking of the M17 galley, has anyone considered modifying this structure?
Hi Tom, I just thought I'd pipe in with a perhaps-contrarian view on the M-17 galley. The M-17 I used to have was the model with no galley at all - just a matching settee/quarter berth on each side. The funny thing is that I *really* wanted a galley model (or so I thought) when I was looking for a Montgomery. I definitely knew I could never sleep in one of the quarter berths anyway, so having another one wasn't on my wish list. As it turned out, after having one, I thought the non-galley model was superb. The boat seemed so much bigger and more gracious when I could sit below with a friend sipping a hot beverage - we could each lounge on our own settee and could face each other in conversation. The other thing was that - with a board in place across the settees - you could now have two separate, comfortable beds should you so desire. Or perhaps one really comfortable athwartships bed if the V-berth was full of stuff. I also found (even when sailing on bigger boats with somewhat better galleys) that it was great to have a portable "galley-in-a-box" type set-up, 'cause then you were free to cook in the cockpit or on the beach (or down below, I suppose, although I should think in bad weather it'd still be nice to have the stove condensation out in the cockpit, perhaps under a boom tent). And since I'd have a galley-in-a-box anyway, for beach or cockpit, why have two of many things on such a small boat (duplicating things in the boat's galley). As a result, I think if I were to end up with an M-17 with galley (and I can't imagine not having another M in the future), I'd take it out entirely. Then you'd have the best of both worlds: the two comfortable, facing settees down below and the extra cockpit-locker stowage of the galley model (which I believe was replicated on late '80s M-17s with the "short berth" option on the port side. Granted there is the possibility of a lot of storage in a remodeled galley, so I guess they each have their advantages, but I just thought I'd share how I felt, having initially seen the galley as very desirable, but having changed my mind after purchasing a galley-less M-17. FWIW --- Rachel Former M-17 #334 Former M-15 #517 Currently cruising on Westsail 32 #412 (not too portable, but has a lovely galley :-)