As I said in an earlier post, sailboats are a compromise. If one has plenty of depth in his sailing area, there is no better boat in the 17 foot size than a Montgomery 17 but, like most Lyle Hess boats, it has a very deep spade rudder and with the board up performance to windward is severely compromised. I found the fixed keel to outperform the CB monty to windward but 3 1/2 foot draft is a problem in the area where I sail. Of course, one can have a keel/cb monty with an Idasailor rudder and be able to negotiate shoal water with severely compromised performance. I owned a Balboa 20 (another Lyle Hess design) with a swing keel and had to account for the deep spade rudder and suffered the consequences when I didn't; including, spending the night on a shell bank when I grounded the rudder on a rapidly falling tide in Gloster, Ma. If one sails mostly in water less than 3 feet, it requires a different kind of boat with a long shallow keel and the windward peformance is just not as good as with a deep keel or C/B. I owned a Slipper 17 for several years before I sold it when I moved to Germany. When I got the boat, it was a real slug to windward, especially with the board up but I was able to make several changes over the years to improve the windward performance. Installing tracks on the side decks to allow the jib sheeting angle to be adjusted did wonders and a 150 Genoa took care of the light air sluggishness. I am in the process of making changes to the Fox to hopefully produce similar improvements. At almost age 70, I no longer race so that is not an issue but being able to negotiate the Texas coastal bays in a boat that is self righting and ramp launchable is. We pays our money and takes our choice. Whitebeard
Date: Sat, 6 Nov 2010 07:40:36 -0500 From: joemoore@josephmoore.com To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: M_Boats: seaward fox
I once owned a Fox, it was a very pretty boat. I saw her at a boat show and fell in love. Bought her that day. However I found she didn't sail was well as she looked. It took a lot of breeze to get her going, and she didn't point well at all. Didn't win any races, but sure looked good going slow.
On 11/5/10 7:16 PM, W David Scobie wrote:
the seaward fox is a nice looking little boat. with her short keel does she sail even close to the M17? the 'wing' is said to help ... but does it really make up for lost depth? as you have a sloop version i'm she she does better into the wind than the catboat style.
her length makes the montgomery fans wish for a M19 or M20 ;-)
dave scobie M17 #375 - SWEET PEA visit SWEET PEA's www-site: http://www.m17.375.webs.com
--- On Fri, 11/5/10, Ronnie Keeler<ronkeeler@hotmail.com> wrote:
... my "new to me" Seaward Fox at the local sign shop and they look great too. Why sell my Monty and buy a Fox........ 40 inch draft with Griselda's fin keel vs. 20 inch with the Prudence's wing. I have less than 3 feet of water at my dock right now which is normal in the Fall. And, yes, I do sail year round. I was out in Prudence this afternoon in 15 to 25 mph winds with a reefed main and working jib. 68 degrees which is considered cold for this area. Of course, when it is 100f and 85% humidity in the Summer.............
Whitebeard
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