I have sailed a 17 since '77, altho not for racing; the boat stock comes only with a toe rail and when I change down to a 110 I move the blocks forward about 4-5 notches in the rail. I seem to recall that the rule of thumb is that the sheet should project an angle which intersects the leech of the sail about mid way up the forestay....one could install a piece of track about 12-18 inches long with a car on either side of the deck inside the shrouds but I don't think the fore-aft location would change much, the angle would remain close to that....I suppose you'd want to be sure to put strong backing plates or washers under the tracks and angle them a little in toward the centerline as they run aft; ...hope this helps,,,,
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 08:59:33 -0500 From: tom.frei@gmail.com To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Where to put the jib blocks on a M17
Hello all. I learn a lot from reading your emails. I was just reading a thread on sail sizes and read that one of the authors was thankful for the information of putting the 150 genoa blocks on the tow rail outside the shrouds. He seemed to imply that there was a mounting point for the smaller jibs somewhere between the shrouds. I'm new to rigging my recently purchased 1981 blue M-17 and I always put the blocks for the foresail (no matter what the size) on the toe rail. I imagine the boat could point better with the blocks located further towards the center of the boat. Am I doing this wrong? Where are your jib (say 100 sized) blocks normally located?
Thanks for your help.
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