Thanks all for the replies to date! More welcome, it's nice to hear what a solid heavy weather boat we have. Jerry, was that Catalina trip in an M17? If so...yowza! Like Henry, I'm not dealing with ocean waves either, just lake chop. There is a pretty big fetch if I'm towards the downwind areas, but I've never felt any concern about the boat handling that. I'll be curious to get my former high wind racer friend out and see what he thinks of an M17. He's used to much bigger boats, like big enough they have four reefs in the main...! Also he was quite a bit younger then I think. cheers, John On 8/18/23 16:47, Larry Yake wrote:
Timely subject. I was just out today in steady winds of 20+ with prolonged gusts of 30+ on Priest Lake in northern Idaho. One deep reef. Boat was solid, no problems.
On Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 12:53 PM Jennifer Wood < jennifer@buskersguidetotheuniverse.org> wrote:
Last year I was out in about 18mph w/ gusts > 25, and it was ... surprisingly stable with a storm jib and a single reef. This is a reassuring little boat!
I have a new main on the way, and your stories have convinced me to ask them to put in a second reef. I'm hoping to get out on Superior next summer -- even if it's "just" the Apostle Islands. Things can change fast out there from what I hear, so it'll be good to have options.
Somewhat relatedly, anyone spent time out on Rainy Lake? It's a "little" great lake of sorts.
On Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 11:43 AM Henry Rodriguez <heinzir@gmail.com> wrote:
I absolutely love going out in 25-30 knot winds. 40 knot gusts is the highest I've been in. Storm jib and double reefed main. I don't get ocean size waves on my inland lake.
The picture was taken just before I put the second reef in.
On Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 10:58 AM Jim Poulakis <picfo@comcast.net> wrote:
That beats me!
In San Francisco Bay summer winds regularly get over 20 knots in "the slot" around the Golden Gate Bridge. In wind vs. tide conditions the seas can get over 5' with steep breaking chop. With a fully reefed main and a slab reefing jib "Spirit" handled these conditions with winds gusting well into the 30's without trouble. It's a great place to build confidence because if everything goes to hell help is *usually* nearby.
- Jim P.
M17 "Spirit"
On 8/18/2023 7:54 AM, jerry montgomery wrote:
A friend and I sailed to Catalina Island, probably in '84, when it was blowing 42 with gusts of 50. These were Coast Guard figures. Wind was right on the nose. We got to the well-sheltered Avalon Bay well after dark and gratefully tied up to a mooring.
Waves were WAY higher than the mast!
________________________________ From: John Schinnerer via montgomery_boats < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2023 11:09 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats < montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Cc: John Schinnerer <john@eco-living.net> Subject: M_Boats: What's the biggest wind you've been out in?
A question for the list...especially M17s, but 15s and 23s feel free to chime in.
Just curious what kind of high wind conditions anyone has dealt with on their M17. 30 knots? 40? more? Anything that broke the rigging, blew out a sail, etc.?
Part of the reason I'm asking... I've got a friend originally from South Africa who in his younger days sailed bigger boats, racing, in the Cape region, where he says regularly it blows 30+ and they would commonly go out in 40+. Triple and quadruple reefs and storm jibs for a nice day on the water... :-!
cheers, John
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com
-- Jennifer Wood (she/her)
Itinerant musician? Try the Guide to the Universe! https://www.buskersguidetotheuniverse.org/ https://buskersguide.org <http://buskersguide.org>
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com