Thanks for the info Judy. By "releasing the bolt rope", do you mean actually removing it entirely, or in some way undoing its stiching? I should mention that I recently had a sail maker attach lugs to the luff because I'm not a fan of the bolt rope. I wonder if this could be contributing to the problem.... ________________________________ From: "Judith Blumhorst, DC" <drjudyb@blumhorst.com> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 4:37 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: proper boom placement Assuming that you don't have excessive rake in the mast, I would guess there's a good probability that the bolt rope has shrunken, making the luff seem shorter. The head of the sail doesn't go up as far and the leech hasn't shrunken, so the end of the boom droops lower. When the luff rope shrinks, the draft gets baggy. If that's the case, the sail is probably pretty old. You can release the bolt rope to lengthen the luff to back where it was supposed to be, but in my experience, that's a sign that the mainsail is well past its prime (unless it's been used in the tropics and subjected to hundreds of cycles of wetting and drying). Sails like that are usually shrunken n some places, and stretched considerably out of shape. Even if the fabric feels pretty good right now, it won't hold up to the wind as well as new cloth. It's old... and pollution and ozone, and lord knows what have taken their toll on the sailcloth as well as the bolt rope. You can extend the mainsail's service life a bit by releasing the bolt rope, but that won't make it as good as a new one. Judy B Sailmaker Life is too short to drink bad wine or sail with crappy sails. ________________________________ From: Thom Loftus <thom_loftus@yahoo.com> To: W David Scobie <wdscobie@yahoo.com>; For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 2:30 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: proper boom placement Hi Dave. 1987. The main is older I think, but in good shape. The previous owner didn't sail much and there's no indication that it's blown out. ________________________________ From: W David Scobie <wdscobie@yahoo.com> To: Thom Loftus <thom_loftus@yahoo.com>; For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 2:26 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: proper boom placement Thom: what year is your M15? how old is the main? :: Dave Scobie -------------------------------------------- On Tue, 3/11/14, Thom Loftus <thom_loftus@yahoo.com> wrote: Hello All. I've recently replaced the mast on my M15 and have noticed that when my mainsail is hoisted as far as it will go up the mast, and the luff is relatively taught, that the end of the boom droops at a downward angel from the gooseneck when the topping lift is eased. It's almost as if the foot of my mainsail is cut at an angle, but I can't confirm that at the moment. In looking at pictures online, it is difficult to tell if this is the way the boom is supposed to sit, or if there is something wrong with my rig. I have not yet installed a boom vang and I don't actually know how high off of the deck the boom should sit at the gooseneck. I have no cunningham rigged and to keep the boom from inching up in the mast, I usually tie it to the deck from a loop in the gooseneck. Can anyone enlighten me as to how hight off the deck my boom should sit and whether or not the boom should angle down as it moves aft? Thanks Thom