Thanks for sharing your story. It serves as great inspiration. And at 66 I need all the inspiration I can get!! G'd on'ya. Joe SeaFrog M17 ----- Original Message ----- From: Ted Weidenbach To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Cc: James Weidenbach Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 11:47 PM Subject: M_Boats: How sailing is a HUGE part of my life, worth reading! Hello everyone. First, thanks for all the great help. I love these e-mails and reading all about this awesome boat. I lurk everyday...mostly because I had never sailed my boat till today. So I thought I'd tell you a little bit more about me since you'll probably be hearing (reading) a lot more from me. I am 28 and have been sailing since I was 6 years old. My parents didn't have a lot of money to do vacations so my Dad chased his dream of owning a sailboat and the family turned it into vacations every weekend (Far better than any vacation you can take in my opinion)! We had a chrysler 22, Catalina 25 and currently they have a Niagra 31 on Lake Pepin in Minnesota. Since about the age of 10 I have been the primary helmsman in the family. As I have gotten older it has been harder and harder to get down to my parents boat to sail with my Dad so I have wanted my own sailboat for years. December 2010 I purchased a Monty 15 #115 and eagerly awaited the chance to sail MY boat. That winter I broke my arm so bad it required major surgery and essentially a year of very slow recovery. The injury put me out for the summer of 11' so I had to sit and look at it in my garage. Don't tell anyone but I'd just go an sit in the boat some days...dreaming of sailing it. My recovery has enabled me to sail...FINALLY! Yesterday, when I asked the main sail questions, was the first time I ever raised the mast. Today I believe I identified my problem...first, lubricant helped. Second, I ran the sail up on the stern side of the mast and had the line come down the bow side of the mast. It worked like a dream, hopefully it was rigged correctly. Today...was one of the best days of my life. I launched my own boat and kinda sailed (wind was 2-maybe 4 MPH during "gusts") I had my wife by my side and my Dad, the one who taught me how to sail, sitting right across from me. We did a little more motoring than sailing (had a few gusts) but the highlight of the day was a dream coming true. I love the water, I love boats and most importantly I love SAILING! I worked out a few kinks in the boat which made me grateful for such light wind. I have feverishly been refinishing the wood, added new cushions and I am still working on getting her all shined up and looking pretty. Hopefully Jerry is proud of me...3 years before I was born, my boat was crafted by Jerry and hopefully gave pleasure to many. 31 years later it is being reborn...fulfilling a life long sailer's dream and getting the much needed attention it lacked from previous owners. My wife and I officially named the boat, "Little Guy". It is a nickname for our miniature pincher and fits this boat perfectly. I am so thankful for sailing and the joy it has brought to my life. If it weren't for my Dad teaching me how amazing sailing was I'd be missing out on so much fun, relaxation and inspiration. Thanks for reading to the bottom. Hopefully it was worth it. -Ted