Dave, I hope you are able to pick your boat up at the factory. I did that in the mid 80's with my M-15. It was worth the trip just to see how the boats were put together. It was very educational to see parts of the boat that are not accessible once everything is put together. It's like being able to see a house before the siding and sheet rock go on. The only drawback is seeing your boat in its dirty, messy post construction condition. When you get a boat from a dealer, it's all spiffied up and sparkles like a new boat, but when you get it from the factory, it's covered with dust, shavings, and small fiberglass scraps (unless Eeg has hired cleaning elves after he took over). This is balanced by being able to inspect the boat and get any problems fixed before you tow it home. My boat had a minor lay-up error on the lip of one of the under bunk storage compartments. Jerry had the boat moved back inside for repair and took me on a tour of the plant and bought me lunch while the problem was fixed. The time spent was well worth it as Jerry gave me many good ideas on setting up the boat for my individual taste. He showed me where to mount a compass and thermometer and gave me scraps of teak to mount them on. He also gave me advice on future upgrades and modifications. When the repair was finished, I was almost reluctant to leave, because I was enjoying myself so much. After picking up your boat, you can use it as a camper to sleep in on the way home. If there is a strong resin smell (like mine had because of the fresh repair), leave the hatch board off while you drive to air out the boat (after making sure there's nothing loose in the boat to blow out). I slept in the boat one night on the road and one night in the water at the dealer's dock, before actually taking the boat home. Even though I bought the boat through a very good dealer, I decided to pick the boat up myself to save the transport charges. Saving the transport money, however, turned out to be minor compared to the experience of seeing the boat building facilities and talking directly to the boat maker. I got more than I bargained for and would definitely advise picking the boat up at the factory if you can swing it. The only real problem I had was forgetting a temporary license plate from the dealer. I was towing the boat from the factory to the dealer's facility so he could rig it for me and check me out on the boat. About 50 miles short of the dealer, I got stopped by a cop and got a ticket for not having plates on the trailer. The dealer paid the ticket even though it was both our fault for forgetting the tag. I forgot because I was excited about getting the boat, and he forgot because he was used to picking the boats up and transporting them himself and didn't think to make sure I had a tag. Bill Day David Thomason wrote:

Except for the $200 an hour. I don't know about CA, but here in Michigan, the prices come down when they like you :-) I've already got the beard!

I was in contact with the folks at the M boatyard on Friday, they say the last 2004 M15 comes off the line this week, and the 2005's start on Auggy one. I had asked about next spring, and if I could pick her up at the boatyard, so as to save the delivery fee. "Sure come on down". I've never driven to CA, and for 1,200 bucks, I could be convinced. If you've got the time, how could you resist? Anyway, they are starting to use a dealer network as soon as they can establish it (a dealer in Lansing too, GLSC, I think). Of course, the prices will go up, but so will service opportunities.

Convincing my wife that buying two boats in one year is another matter; she's only sailed a few time in her years; but maybe.... The paint started going on my wee yawl this week. Paint can hide a multitude of sins, and she's starting to look pretty good (the boat, wife is pretty all the time!).

Take care,

Dave _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats