West Marine might be a great resource for information on maintenance, rigging and all things boating, but they should be avoided like the plague when it comes to making any purchases for your boating needs. Shop West Marine then go purchase at "Defender" or some other like source and you'll see what I'm talking about. By the way, I'm a former West Marine Associate, so I have first hand knowledge of their price mark-ups. Mark Escovedo M17F/D #103 "AMY" ----- Original Message ---- From: "paint4real@aol.com" <paint4real@aol.com> To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 1:40:54 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: A great resource for novice sailors I second that many times over.? I'm in up to my elbows in a gelcoat blister project, and the "Blisters and Barrier Coats" West Advisory was one of the first good looks I found into the problem and solution. For a real education, fast, go the the online site (www.westmarine.com) and click on "Product Advice" from the menu bar across the top of the page.? A half-dozen categories, including all West Advisories, are instantly available in one location.? You?find yourself browsing and learning all about things you're not actually even working on. The Interlux site?(www.yachtpaint.com/usa/) also has good links and?.pdf files, including some substantial manuals, all?very?helpful -- especially if you're into something you haven't seen before (and in the case of gelcoat blisters, hope never to see again.) Same with the West System site, www.westsystem.com Sometimes you wind up cross-referencing between "advisories," as when, say, you need to know how big the application window is for applying the first Bottomkote over the final coat of Interprotect, and whether to start out with Epiglass. -----Original Message----- From: Ronnie Keeler <ronkeeler@hotmail.com> To: Montgomery boats mailing list <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Mon, 23 Jun 2008 3:17 pm Subject: M_Boats: A great resource for novice sailors I have notice that many of the questions being asked are common to all sailboats. A great resource for questions of this type is "The West Advisor". The West Marine Catalog (both hard copy and online) has sidebars telling how to choose and use most of the parts and equipment they sell. For example, the catalog has a half page on how to set up a Boom Vang at the end of the boom vang and attachment hardware pages. If you order a few things online, a big phone book size catalog will appear in your mailbox and it is a great resource for folks of all experience levels who are upgrading or restoring their Montys. The online site is at www.westmarine.com. I have been dealing with the West Marine folks for many years and they were a great source for parts when I lived in Germany (working for the US Army as a High School teacher) and was restoring a Hardy 20 cabin cruiser for use on the German waterways. Ron M17 #14 Griselda BTW: I am a lifelong sailor (56 years) but there was no really good sailing area near me in Bavaria so we bought a motor boat. (we did tow a 9 foot sailingy dinghy) Cruising the rivers and canals in "Bullforg II", our little power cruiser, was a real educational experience. The European waterways pass through the oldest and most historic towns and like anywhere else, boating people are wonderful. It was fun bit it is also great to be retired back "home" where I can have a "fleet" of boats and my private dock 120 feet from the back door. RK _________________________________________________________________ Need to know now? Get instant answers with Windows Live Messenger. http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/connect_your_way.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL... _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats