We are brand new to sailing and just purchased an M-15 (hull 322) on which to learn. On our first sail (we were out of town) the CB would not drop. Took her to a marina and they provided a temporary fix by "shaving" the CB which they said had expanded. After returning home we took her out yesterday for about 3-4 hours. Halfway through our sail water small amounts of water (no more than 1-2 cups) began to enter the cockpit through the hole at the CB rope. IS THIS NORMAL? Am suspicious we have some major CB work ahead of us. Can anyone confirm this? Is it safe to continue sailing? Thank you in advance for any insights, advice, etc. Nancy Lau
Nancy, Yes both can be "normal" The M15 cockpit drain is in the front of the cockpit and the CB pendent actually goes down the drain hole. The drain hole is large enough to drain the cockpit fairly rapidly. At speed in a chop the water will splash up this hole and come into the cockpit. If the boat is trimmed well fore and aft regards weight, the water will collect a quart to half a gallon or so on the lee side. When you tack it will drain out and splash up again on the new lee side. Consider it a feature as it helps keep your feet cool and your shoes clean :-). Actually I rarely get my feet wet. Lots of junk can also find it's way down this drain hole into the CB well. If the boat is not used for some time the rain can wash twigs, little rocks, acorns, coconut firber and what have you down the hole. The side to side tolerances for the CB are fairly tight and this debris can "Jamb the CB". Now that the marina has "trimmed" the board it may actually be too loose and will jamb when riding on the trailer. It is possible for the Keel surrounding the CB to swell up due to the iron in the ballast beginning to rust a little but this is not a big deal unless the swelling is very large. If the swelling is there and small the "trim" solution will work for quite a few years. I have drilled a hole in front of the CB pennant, large enough for a 3/8 wooden dowel to use to "push" the board down if it is stuck. Thanks Doug Kelch M15 G #310 "Seas the Day" On Mon, Apr 9, 2012 at 12:07 PM, Nancy Lau <nancylauprescott@gmail.com>wrote:
We are brand new to sailing and just purchased an M-15 (hull 322) on which to learn.
On our first sail (we were out of town) the CB would not drop. Took her to a marina and they provided a temporary fix by "shaving" the CB which they said had expanded. After returning home we took her out yesterday for about 3-4 hours. Halfway through our sail water small amounts of water (no more than 1-2 cups) began to enter the cockpit through the hole at the CB rope. IS THIS NORMAL? Am suspicious we have some major CB work ahead of us. Can anyone confirm this? Is it safe to continue sailing?
Thank you in advance for any insights, advice, etc.
Nancy Lau
Nancy, Do not worry about the water entering the cockpit via the pendant hole. This in normal and also serves as the drain for the cockpit. Water will enter during a lot of chop and attach of the wind. As far as the CB expanding, there are several reasons for this. You have an early boat which has steel punching in the keel for ballast. If the integrety of the keel has been compromised, then it is possible that the steel is rusting and causing the keel to expand and pinch the CB. I hope this is not the problem, but I would investigate to be sure. There is a lot of experienced sailors on this site along with the original designer and builder. So, no matter what issues you may experience with your boat, there is someone here who can help. Welcome aboard!!! Skip -----Original Message----- From: Nancy Lau <nancylauprescott@gmail.com> To: montgomery_boats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Mon, Apr 9, 2012 3:08 pm Subject: M_Boats: Is this normal? We are brand new to sailing and just purchased an M-15 (hull 322) on which o learn. On our first sail (we were out of town) the CB would not drop. Took her o a marina and they provided a temporary fix by "shaving" the CB which hey said had expanded. After returning home we took her out yesterday for bout 3-4 hours. Halfway through our sail water small amounts of water (no ore than 1-2 cups) began to enter the cockpit through the hole at the CB ope. IS THIS NORMAL? Am suspicious we have some major CB work ahead of s. Can anyone confirm this? Is it safe to continue sailing? Thank you in advance for any insights, advice, etc. Nancy Lau
Hi Nancy Others have addressed your concerns perfectly. Your boat has steel shot instead of lead. This rusts and swells sometimes. Lead will not rust. Shaving the board (we use a belt sander) usually works. If in the future the board continues to stick (not likely) we do sell a thinner board that is lead filled. Just contact me off-list for information. Water backflowing from that forward drain is not an issue. Nothing to worry about. I suspect you will have no further problems with the centerboard and will have a great sailing season on your new Boat. Your boat is perfectly safe and I hope you can come to the Lake Havasu event next year and bring the M_15 with you.! Always good to have new people attend. Here is the link: http://www.sailhavasu.com/ Sean Mulligans event.! Take care Bob www.montgomeryboats.com (949) 489-8227
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2012 15:07:56 -0400 From: nancylauprescott@gmail.com To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Is this normal?
We are brand new to sailing and just purchased an M-15 (hull 322) on which to learn.
On our first sail (we were out of town) the CB would not drop. Took her to a marina and they provided a temporary fix by "shaving" the CB which they said had expanded. After returning home we took her out yesterday for about 3-4 hours. Halfway through our sail water small amounts of water (no more than 1-2 cups) began to enter the cockpit through the hole at the CB rope. IS THIS NORMAL? Am suspicious we have some major CB work ahead of us. Can anyone confirm this? Is it safe to continue sailing?
Thank you in advance for any insights, advice, etc.
Nancy Lau
nancy: couple of things to add to the information already shared - * water coming up is situational. my M15 did this when the seas were 'up' and the wind was down ... the boat was 'rolling' a bit and not driving (little wind). i rarely had water 'come in' if the boat was driving well, even when the seas up to three feet (ie, good wind blowing so the boat sailing well). * you can reduce the amount of water that comes up by raising the centerboard a few inches. * if the water comes up and then runs aft you have to much weight aft. the M15 is very sensitive to weight being aft. move forward. when i single-handed my M15 i sat within 6" (or leaned on the cabin bulkhead) to keep the weight forward. a good tiller extender should be standard equipment on the M15. when sailing with two i put the crew at the bulkhead and then i sat _right_next_ to them so our weight was forward. if the wind allowed i would have both sit, port and starboard cockpit seats, at the bulkhead. you can confirm that the factory installed flotation foam is below the cockpit floor and under the forward 2/3rd of the v-berth. if the foam is in both locations the boat will float even with A LOT of water filling the cabin and cockpit. also feel confident that the M15 will self-rite if you are knocked down. usually you will just heal to the point that the boat will round up into the wind when the weather helm gets really bad and the rudder stalls. use the cam-cleat to hold the main sheet, to keep your hand/arm from getting tired, and ALWAYS keep your hand on the main sheet. as the wind increases you want to be able to release the main if the wind comes up you need to right the boat. :: Dave Scobie :: former M15 owner - www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred :: M17 #375 SWEET PEA - www.m17-375.webs.com :: Sage Marine - www.sagemarine.com --- On Mon, 4/9/12, Nancy Lau <nancylauprescott@gmail.com> wrote:
We are brand new to sailing and just purchased an M-15 (hull 322) on which to learn.
On our first sail (we were out of town) the CB would not drop. Took her to a marina and they provided a temporary fix by "shaving" the CB which they said had expanded. After returning home we took her out yesterday for about 3-4 hours. Halfway through our sail water small amounts of water (no more than 1-2 cups) began to enter the cockpit through the hole at the CB rope. IS THIS NORMAL? Am suspicious we have some major CB work ahead of us. Can anyone confirm this? Is it safe to continue sailing?
Thank you in advance for any insights, advice, etc.
Nancy Lau
participants (5)
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Bob Eeg -
douglas kelch -
Nancy Lau -
W David Scobie -
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