Welcome to the Group Cal! Moondance is a sweet looking little ship. The "rise up" tiller looks like a great addition. You're in for a terrific sailing season!
Fair Winds, Bob Campbell, Montgomery 17 #615 "Alina" Lodi, CA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cal Spooner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 2:42 AM Subject: M_Boats: Introduction > Hi all, > > My name is Cal Spooner, and I hail from Mpls, MN. I have been lurking > on this list for some time, not because I'm in the habit of lurking, > but because I fell behind on the list right off.... and I hate > responding to 3 month old posts, as no one knows what you are talking > about anymore. But I caught up. > > Anyway, I purchased an '87 M15, hull #402 (Hi Connie... we're almost > twins) in Sept. of 2001 from a friend who used to be on this list, > Steve Alm. Steve and I play piano together for a living, and he > sucker-punched me with a midnight cruise under a full moon on Lake > Minnetonka (the boat's name is Moondance!) and then mentioned that he > had his eye on a Rhoads 22, and that if he found one, the boat would > be up for sale. The gears started turning immediately in my head... I > knew he would cut me a good deal on the M15. Funny thing, a Rhoads 22 > turned up in the next couple of weeks.... > > So, after a little wheeling and dealing, I trailered the (in > wonderful condition) boat off for $3500, which I believe is a pretty > good deal after reading prices on this list. It has been though some > minor modifications, like the mainsail having traveler slugs attached > for ease of raising/lowering, and UV covers made for the sails, and a > new rudder with a handle that curves upward so it doesn't bang on > your knees,with tiller extension. It has a jib downhaul and came with > running lights, and a 2 HP two-stroke Yamaha motor, oars, boarding > ladder, etc. I threw up a quick web page, if you would like a look at > her go to http://www.visi.com/~spoon/Boat/m15.html. > > I put a solar panel on since and installed a porta-potty. I'm really > new to all this, but I've sailed her in high wind conditions (not > reefed) and most of it (with a lot of training from Steve) seems to > come naturally. (My girlfriend's comment on one occasion... "Geez, we > could be pulling a water skier".) Not that I'm smug... on the day in > October that I pulled her out, It scared the hell out of me. Bad > weather, rain and huge gusts coming from all directions put the mast > horizontal a coupla times. Really humbles you. So I'm reading a lot, > and subscribing to a few pertinent magazines. > > I may be short on sailing experience, but I'm long on mechanical > know-how, and I'm really gonna have fun with fixing up this boat. I'm > going to get those keel guides on the trailer first... get a second > pair of reef points on the sail... then I'm going to cut out the > starboard locker like Connie describes, and put catches on the > lockers. And I'll bet that you could mount one of those low-profile > butane stoves to one of the plywood storage covers in the cabin, and > flip it upside down when you weren't using it, securing it with > rotating clips. And so much more.... > > Well, considering that my sailing season last year consisted of about > 2 months, I hope you understand my exuberance. Here in Minnesota it > was below zero yesterday, and all I can see out my window is a big > blue tarp, with mast sticking out both ends. It's torture, I tell ya. > -- > Cal Spooner > M15 #402 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 763.574.1482 > > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
