Hi Gary, Thanks for your kind words and for the invitation to go sailing with you. Is your gangway wide enough to accept my Rollator? We moved from Connecticut to Dallas, Texas in 2013 to be closer to our daughter and son-in-law. Last summer she arranged an afternoon sail on a big catamaran, with several rows of seats; room to park Katrina's wheelchair and my Rollator, on local Dallas lake. It was a fun outing: A) my first experience with a catamaran, and B) my first chance to see a roller furling genoa and a furling mainsail in use. -------------------------------- Re: our dinghy discussion. Sailing continually involves solving specific problems; boat problems; sail handling problems; docking / anchoring problems; navigation problems; weather problems; on board living problems; and the list goes on ..... depending on where and how you use your vessel. They cause a lot of head-scratching, and challenge you till you find a solution that works. Your sailing area has a big influence on the kinds of problems you have to solve. If you sail on a relatively small lake and have a dock, you may never drop an anchor; but if the lake is large, and you sail a few miles, maybe you want to anchor and spend the night in a cove. Ah, anchoring! Now you are into a totally new art form. What kid of a bottom do you have where you want to anchor; sand, soft mud, lots of weed, rocky, dead trees, abandoned cars and trash? These all present different requirements and call for anchoring skills that you mostly have to learn the hard way... with a dragging anchor; or an anchor that's hung up in some debris on the bottom. How do you retrieve your anchor? Dinghies are a whole new subject. Someone mentioned using a paddle board as a dinghy. I guess that that works, but if you have a brown paper bag filled with groceries; are heading out to your M15 and a PWC screams by; how do you keep water off your brown paper bag? Maybe the bag only got wet from the water from your feet as you got aboard, but then at your boat, you pick it up and everything falls out of the wet bottom and into the water. Suppose you are going out for dinner, and are dressed accordingly. Will a paddle board work, or would a hard dinghy be a better choice? At Newport, RI we used to go into Brenton Cove and anchor. Then all four of us would get into the Dyer dinghy and head for the dinghy dock in downtown Newport. Well my First Mate, who sat in the bow, wearing her good clothes, occasionally got her back soaked with sea water caused by the wake of a passing powerboat. She hated going to a restaurant and sitting at dinner with a wet back. My First Mate impressed on me that a solution for this problem was urgently needed. I designed and constructed a "baby-carriage" type hood, made out of PVC pipe bent to the shape of the Dyer dinghy bow, with a hinge fitting at each end; a sailcloth hood and some bungee cords, allowing it to be in the UP or DOWN position. Now the First Mate could wear her Newport go-to-town clothes, and her back stayed dry. Peace on board /*FUN TOO*/ returned again. Happy sailing, Connie On 11/30/2018 7:44 PM, Gary Oberbeck via montgomery_boats wrote:
Connie, If you and I are ever in close proximity - I would be honored to get you on a boat. It is a personal mission of mine to keep all of us sailing as LOOONG as we can and always have one more day out on the water! Where are you residing now? I'm saying, if I have access to a boat I would love to get you out on the water! Part of a 'what goes around, comes around' -'do it so someone may do it for you' thing. My Father-in-law sailed until the last days of his life and I want to do the same - with a little help from my friends! I'd be honored to sail with you. Don't let me get too close, or else we are going sailing!! (bring it on mate) In all seriousness, the offer stands - we are part of a club. Offer stands.Take Care, Have lotsa fUn, come sailing! GO PS - my boat, located in the Phoenix area is available (don't come in the summer please!) - walk down a short gangway and step aboard into a large cockpit and the helm is yours - so come on out to Phoenix/Scottsdale/Carefree Arizona for a nice visit or if I can travel thru/to your neck of the woods I'll get us a ride!
-----Original Message----- From: Conbert Benneck <chbenneck@gmail.com> To: Gary Oberbeck via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Fri, Nov 30, 2018 4:30 pm Subject: Re: M_Boats: Tender
Gary, I just wish that I could take up your "have fun" and "Go Sailing".
I can still do the "Have Fun" part, but at my age I'm sad to say my sailing days are over.
Had a lot of fun sailing though, saw a lot of blue water in Europe, from the Baltic to the Med, and later along the New England coast; the Florida Keys, Chesapeake Bay, and great M15 sailing areas like Moosehead Lake, ME and Lake Champlain, NY. Going through the Kiel Canal in North Germany in our Northeast 38, ( we cruised the Danish islands for 5 weeks) I was the 38 foot slice of ham between all the BIG Boys! Tankers, freighters, cruise ships, container ships.... Solid lines of big ships going in each direction. You are the last to enter the lock and you fit into the gaps the big ones have left for you.
Ciao,
Connie
On 11/30/2018 5:08 PM, Gary Oberbeck via montgomery_boats wrote:
Connie I agree on the aspect of the dinghy availability and on the emergency and everyday use of an inflatable - PIA ! ' just a minute while I pump 400+ liters into this big condom ----errrr where's the dam* pump!?!?!' The issue on the M-15 is of course storage or a small boat towing any size dinghy, Larry Yake has used a rigid kayak and others seem to have good experience with inflatables. I am lucky and sail a M-17 with a M 7-11 (getting refurbbed for the grandkids) if and when I need a dinghy - pretty good rowing boat, stable, good sailer and perfect for teaching the young ones.
The only inflatable I have ever had fun with was a Zodiac Grand Raid 15+ foot with a tiller steer 40hp Evinrude - my father saw them at a trade show and took on the line - got the GR for himself as a demo and we kept it inflated on a custom trailer indoors - 2nd fastest acceleration I have ever experienced on water! We used to chase the blown V8 flat bottoms around and absolutely humble them with our 'machinery grey weiner boat' ! The bikini clad ladies loved it! One day I'll tell you how I got THE perfect set of oars for the 7-11 - great story! 7' Shaw & Tenney's in spruce.
Keep your helpful comments and experiences coming to the list - we all look forward to them! Take Care, Have fUn, Go sailing! GO
-----Original Message----- From: Conbert Benneck <chbenneck@gmail.com> To: Gary Oberbeck via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Fri, Nov 30, 2018 1:42 pm Subject: Re: M_Boats: Tender
Hi Gary,
I am totally against anything that is inflatable - or that has to be inflated first before it can be used in a case of emergency.
My experience: We were going from Rotterdam to Paris via inland waterways. Our Norwegian power boat was brand new. In the Dutch canal we were in, with a bow to stern stream of loaded barges going in both directions our boat suddenly stopped moving and ended up crosswise in the canal blocking traffic in both directions. Our diesel engine was running but the propeller wasn't turning. Now what.....?
I jumped into my hard 9' Dutch dinghy, tied a painter to the motor boat got out the dinghy's oars and rowed like mad to get to the side of the canal and let traffic flow again.
For my prompt action in getting the commercial traffic moving , I received some friendly toots from the barge Captains that had seen what had happened.
I called the SABB engine dealer in Rotterdam and explained the problem. An hour later he was there; toolbox in hand; inspected the engine and found that a set screw had loosened disconnecting the propeller shaft from the engine. After tightening the set screw, and safety-wiring it in place, we continued on our trip with nary a problem during the time we owned the boat.
In such a situation do you really want to inflate your dinghy before it can be used? I don't. I want a hard dinghy that is instantly usable if I loose something overboard; or to row out a second anchor at 2 AM when it is blowing 20 knots.
Connie
On 11/30/2018 1:19 PM, Gary Oberbeck via montgomery_boats wrote:
I would look for a clean used M-5-8* . Had one we used way back in the day - oars and a 2 horse -(2 hp not my idea). You are cruising right?? {;>) *titanium hens teeth are about as plentiful! Some boats use inflatable kayaks with good reports. Take Care, Have fUn, Go Sailing! Come on down to Lake Pleasant in Feb. - there is a fleet of 15's scheduled to show up!GO
-----Original Message----- From: Rusty Knorr via montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> To: montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thu, Nov 29, 2018 7:17 pm Subject: M_Boats: Tender
Just curious what the M-15 sailors here are using for a tender. In Puget Sound your really need one because anchorages are rugged and rocky and beaching is a challenge or impossible. Please share your thoughts, experiences, opinions, etc. M-17’s need not apply! (Unless you also have an M-15. 😜)
Rusty
www.rustyknorr.weebly.com