I've had a bit more of a chance to sail the 7.11 by now, and I've had a blast. Haven't gone over yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. She's not as tender as I first thought, once she's moving and the centerboard is working its magic. I had a blast. And though she's a "heavy" 90 pounds, I find I can move her around by myself and fit her in the back of the pickup. Another great Lyle Hess design! Dan Farrell M17 #301 Jared Prindle <gojopo@gmail.com> wrote:

That’s interesting…and maybe in a couple years I’ll feel the same way. I’ve owned an M12 (#3) for a while now and probably have put more hours sailing on it than any other boat I’ve ever owned. I’ve never tipped it before but I do agree she’s tender. But she’s tender in just the right way that you want a light narrow boat to be. I love the M12 and I’d say my only tiny bit that I don’t love is the fact that you’ll need to sit on the gunnel when the wind pipes up a bit. While there’s nothing wrong with this for an hour or so, longer sittings aren’t the most comfortable. But the positives are huge. Besides great looks, the M12 taught me how to sail so much better. She’s so responsive that small tweaks in sail handling are instantly noticeable. I’ve raced against several other similar sized older boats and have done quite well. I think this boat is a great teacher and yes…keep a hand on the main sheet at all times is the wind is anywhere around where you need to sit up high. Also, this boat picks up and skims the water with just the littlest of wind. I always cruise in and out of every slip and there’s honest to god stoke and jealousy from so many slip sailors who watch me cruise by. I have an M17 now and I really can’t believe how stable that boat feels. It’s a whole new ball game and it feels as if I could just fall asleep at the helm and wake up two hours later and all would be fine. In fact, last weekend when we took the M17 out, my wife and I were wondering if the M12 could beat it. The M17 feels sluggish compared to the M12…Jerry…don’t kill me. But really the feeling is due to the ballast/no ballast and being on a smaller boat always feels faster. Anyway…keep messing with it. Learn to shift your weight on the tacks…keep hold of the mainsheet…find the puffs before the puffs find you. You should love it. jP

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On May 25, 2018, at 11:00 AM, montgomery_boats-request@mailman.xmission.com wrote:

The Tender Montgomery 12 (Thomas Howe)