On 19-Jun-12 2:03 PM, Tod wrote: Hi Bill, I can't comment on the rowing characteristics of the 6-8, but I can give you a bit of "dinghy-ology history" from my experience. We originally had a heavy 9 foot fiberglass round bottom dinghy in Europe. It rowed well, but towing it behind our 29-footer was too much drag, and if the weather deteriorated there was no way to carry it on board. (We also learned that you can't tow a dinghy with an open dagger board trunk in the ocean unless it has a tight cap over the dagger board slot. Otherwise you will find, as we did, that a 9 foot dinghy slowly fills with water squirting out of the dagger board slot, and finally, when full, becomes a wonderful sea anchor). First iteration: In Connecticut, a neighbor had a 9 foot AVON inflatable for sale. I bought it. The thought was, it could be deflated and stowed in the fore peak on long open-ocean hauls, and inflated again in the harbor. That worked, ... but... Inflating it every time you wanted to use it to row ashore, and deflating and stowing it again became a chore. So, you left it inflated and towed it. Inflatables tow terribly - lots of drag. The next problem was that an inflatable is a miserable boat to row. The rowing position is wrong - too high - the rinky-dinky take-apart oars supplied by AVON are a joke; and the first time you try rowing a mile against a strong headwind to get back to your anchored boat, you too will learn many new curse words. Inflatables only work with an outboard - which I tried - but the outboards at that time were temperamental, so mostly I was back to rowing against the headwind again. I now wanted a hard dinghy again - smaller, and lighter in weight so that we could lift it on deck; and that could be properly rowed. Second Iteration: I found a beat-up low free board Dwyer 7'-9" dinghy; bought it; and rebuilt it. The free board was low enough so that I could carry it on the coach roof, .... but .... It was fine for one person; add a second adult plus our two children and you needed a millpond if you wanted to remain afloat. God help you if a small or a large motorboat went by throwing a sizable wake. You rapidly became a submarine. However, it rowed very well; it towed easily; but I needed something that would take care of the four of us. Third Iteration: I bought a 7'-9" high free board Dwyer dinghy with sails. Carrying it on deck could still be done. I could put it on the foredeck for a long passage. It rowed well, and towed well. I bought a 2 HP Evinrude outboard for the dinghy, but it was a mixed blessing. In those days the engines were encased in a cover. The main problem was that the high tension wire to the spark plug was out in the open. When the dinghy was loaded, and the motor was really needed, the moving dinghy set up a burble at the transom creating a fine spray of salt water. When the salt mist found the ignition wire, - or at least when the next power boat wake came by and increased the amount of spray - it grounded the spark and the engine quit. That's when you appreciated a dinghy that rows well, fully loaded. It was sold with our 29 footer when we went trailer sailing. Fourth Iteration: We went to Maine with our new Bolger MICRO, but found only moorings available in the area we wanted to explore. There were no marinas with dock space. Without a dinghy we couldn't go sailing. We needed a new dinghy. I built a light weight Bolger NYMPH - 7'-9" long dinghy that winter. It was a great rowing dinghy, and could fit in the cockpits of the MICRO, and later the ComPac 16 and finally the M15. It also could be easily lifted and put on the cross-bars of the roof rack of the station wagon. The NYMPH is a two-person dinghy (plus groceries and a case of beer), and when you initially climb in it is tender, but once seated, it was a great little dinghy and I rowed it for many enjoyable miles up in Lake Champlain and in Florida. Bolger became aware of this stability problem and created an improved NYMPH model with a wider hull called the "RUBENS NYMPH". Bolger widened the hull by 12". This has improved the stability and carrying capacity. Happy sailing, Connie ex M15 #400 LEPPO

I rowed a 6-8 once.

It is a small boat and rows well considering. The main problem I had was in keeping my knees out of the way. As I recall, the boat was kind of bow down because the oarlock position dictated where I sat in the boat, too far fwd for the boat to sit on her lines.

Main disadvantage of a hard dinghy is worrying about banging your topsides with the gunwale, not just while boarding but while at anchor too.

Tod

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-----Original Message----- From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Bill Wickett Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2012 1:43 PM To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats Subject: M_Boats: M 6-8

Has been a relatively quiet list lately. Hope everyone is getting lots of stick time out on the water.

Can any list members comment on the "rowability" of the Montgomery 6-8? We have an inflatable now, but like the idea of a hard dinghy. Would it load upside down into the cockpit for trailering?

Thanks in advance.

Bill Wickett Makin' Time M17 #622

Hi Daniel, I'm in the Bay area for a while...may be up in Petaluma next Wednesday, to help a friend sail a Neptune 16 they recently bought. If you are around, would love to at least see your Monty on the hard...or if you want to go sailing, we would go to Tomales (Nick's cove). Also...this time of year...what are typical conditions there at Tomales? Does the wind come up in the AM, or not until mid-day, or...? If there's any normal pattern you know of, that is. thanks! John S. On 06/19/2012 01:11 PM, Daniel Rich wrote:

I am in Sebastopol, about 1 hour north of where you will be. I am unfortunately in LA all weekend. But, I am around Thursday afternoon. I can't sail then, but if you want to see my boat, I am happy to give you the tour.

Daniel Rich M15 #208 Kestrel

On 6/19/2012 11:55 AM, John Schinnerer wrote:

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Aloha,

I'm now in the San Francisco Bay area, most likely through this coming weekend. Hoping to connect with some M-boat owners to see a 15 and/or 17 and maybe even sail on one! I'm staying in Albany in the east Bay, have bike and car and public transport all available. Anyone in the vicinity wanting to show off their Montgomery, let me know... :-)

thanks, John S.

-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net http://eco-living.net