Hi Cal, I went from big boats to the M15 because, as a sailor, I want my peace and quiet when I'm out on the boat.
In the New England area the peace and quiet which was "normal" 20 years ago, are no longer available. Now harbors are wall to wall boats, with the power boats displaying their 200 watt audio systems from the tuna tower by blasing the anchorage with whatever they feel is music. Then there are the harbor launches running till 1 AM rolling you out of your berth as they charge by. Happy hour becomes unhappy hour as the PWCs scream around the harbor. So, I left the big boats and finally found the M15, which is a great little vessel. Now I go to sailing areas where the big powerboat boys can't go: where the number of PWCs approach 0, and I can enjoy sailing with a bit of Mozart playing accompanyment to a lovely afternoon on the water. If you have a big boat, you operate from a fixed base - marina, and your operating range is limited by your vacation days. With an M15, you fire up the car, and in a few hours you are at completely different sailing areas; yours to explore for the day, or just for the weekend. Operating costs for an M15 approach 0, since the only costs incurred are for launch ramp fees. Mine is parked next to the garage so there are no storage costs. I can work on it easily: and I don't have to drive an hour to, and from, the boat yeard where the big boat was stored. Yes, you do give up some of the amenities you would have in a larger boat, but my Admirable feels that this is by far the better way to go sailing. It's simple; no great amount of equipment needed for enjoyment. When we go to Lake Champlain we stay at a B&B, have the boat at a local marina, and sail when conditions are "proper". If there is no wind, we'll look into other activities. If there is too much wind, we are quite content to sit in the cockpit reading a book or just doing pleasurable snoozing. Of course, the M15 is a bit small for fitting a piano, which William Bulkley had in his 50 footer, but then he needed a captain and crew for sailing the big boat; we don't! Connie ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
