Gordon, I presume you have an M17. When sailing with Al Williams in his M17 the downward pressure required to release the main drove me crazy. It is the opposite of the M15. AL and I took the block mechanism apart and inverted the cleat so that you would pull up to release it. That of course moves the problem to using your foot to cleat it. Al may have hated this and put it back the way it was but I thought it was unsafe. Is this low cleat position with downward pressure required to release standard on M17's? If not, what is coming out of the factory today? Thanks Doug Kelch ________________________________ From: Gordon Gilbert <Gordon@FinancialWriting.net> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Fri, July 16, 2010 7:21:39 AM Subject: M_Boats: Raising mainsheet block cleat for easier release I was enjoying a fun, lively sail on Lake Michigan yesterday when a lull in the wind, followed by a hard gust, knocked me over a good bit. Part of the problem was that I was on the leeward side at the time, adjusting the jib sheet, away from my usual windward position (in gusty conditions, with one foot near the mainsheet cleat if I need to release it quickly). The low position of the cleat, and the downward pull needed to release the sheet, can make it difficult to release the sheet quickly. The situation has me wanting to raise my mainsheet cleat higher off of the cockpit floor to facilitate quicker release from anywhere in the cockpit. I've tried doing this using a loop of line or shackles, but the problem with that is that the block, shackles and whatever else bang around like crazy when I'm reaching or running in light and/or sloppy conditions. Has anyone developed a solution? Thanks! Gordon _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats Remember, there is no privacy on the Internet!