Hi Jack, I have a 2006 M-15. I use the jib halyard as a temporary forestay. First I place the base of the mast into the mast step on the cabin top. The aft end of the mast is placed in the mast carrier in its mast raising position. The mast is mostly horizontal, but slightly vertical. To use the jib halyard as a temporary forestay, the forward end of the halyard needs to be able to extend forward to either the bow cleat, or even better, the bow pulpit, when the mast is horizontal and the base is resting in the mast step as set forth above. Since my halyard is a wire to rope one, and the wire to rope connection is too fat to feed through the shiv on the mast, the halyard won't reach either the cleat or pulpit for such purpose. Therefore, I attach about an 8' or 10' length of line to the wire section of the halyard to lengthen it, and then attach the forward end of that line to the bow pulpit with an eye strap that I previously attached to the pulpit rail. I have shackles on both ends of this extra line so I can quickly attach it to both the eye on the pulpit and the jib halyard shackle. Instead of an eye strap on the pulpit rail, you could just as easily wrap the line around the pulpit rail and shackle it to itself. Now I begin to raise the mast, pulling down on the rope part of the jib halyard as I do so to keep slack to a minimum. When the mast is up, I immediately cleat the halyard on the jib halyard cleat on the mast. The mast is now secure, and you can attach the forestay in a leisurely manner without fear that it will slip out of your hands before you can attach it to the stem plate. I have used this method without any problems. I suppose if you have a very long jib halyard that can extend all the way to the bow pulpit when the mast is lying with its base in the mast step and still allow you to reach the other end of the halyard as you're raising the mast, you would not need the extra line. I hope this helps. Regards, Ron Casino M-15 "Spirit" ________________________________ From: Jack Zukowski <john7jack@aol.com> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 6:23 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: New M-15 owner... Hello everyone, Just wanted to thank all of you for your warm and welcoming response. I really appreciate that. My biggest and only issue that I can think of after setting the boat up only once is connecting the forestay after raising the mast. I am not very agile anymore and find it difficult to get down on my knees and and put that pin in, also not comfortable walking up on the bow to do so. I am afraid of losing the forestay and having the mast come down. I need to rig up some kind of safety between the mast and the forward cleat or bow rail so that I can safely get off the boat to install that forward pin. I sail alone often and my wife Beth still works and generally only sails with me on the weekends. I am wondering if anyone has a simple solution to my problem. Thanks, Jack and Beth On May 17, 2012, at 12:47 PM, judy casino wrote:
Jack, Best of luck with your new M-15. They truly are great sailboats. Ron Casino M-15 "Spirit"
________________________________ From: Jack Zukowski <John7Jack@aol.com> To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2012 12:38 AM Subject: M_Boats: New M-15 owner...
I just purchased a 2010 Montgomery M15. I've been sailing a West Wight Potter P-14 for the last five years. The Potter is Lateen rigged and takes very little effort to get her on the water.I have only sailed the Montgomery once so far and have a lot to learn let. My first day was last week here in Connecticut at West Hill Lake. The winds were blowing at 18 to 25 mph, if I had the Potter I would have probably gone home. Seeing it was my first time and and my wife was with me I had to give it a shot. The lake was totally white capped and I had plenty of fear going on inside me as we shoved off. I was afraid to hoist the jib! After sailing for a half an hour, and my confidence restored, I hoisted the jib. To my surprise, there was no panic, and the M-15 handled and rode like a dream. I sailed for 6 hours under those conditions and at the end, I had a lot of respect for the M-15. I am 68 years old and I've wanted one for years. You just don't find them here in Connecticut. I drove to Alabama to get this boat and luckily I met a wonderful couple of people whom made buying it a real pleasure. The setup is a little time consuming compared to the Potter, but I feel I'll get much better at it the more I do it. I loved sailing this rig, it was pure joy, it out did my P-14 in every respect except launching and retrieving, which took more effort and time but went smoothly. My name is Jack Zukowski and my wife is Beth. I sail quite often here in Ct. I sail most of the lakes in Northwestern Connecticut and we usually go on a couple of trips a year and sail. Hope to hear from some M-15 owners, I am always listening for something that can help me out and make my day more enjoyable.
Thanks, Jack and Beth!