Hi Bill Enjoyed your account of rudder sculling your Monty 15. Might be intresting to you to know I too have used this technique on occasion on my M17 & it does work, however as the weight of a boat goes up the effect goes down proportianally. I have even used it on my previous boat a Hunter 23 which weigs in at #2500 . Regards
Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill & Gigi Day" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 9:56 PM Subject: Re: M_Boats: C'mon, join the Pardey! > I've been lurking on the list, for some time, enjoying the questions and > answers, and especially the friendliness and helpful attitudes. > > I thought I'd drop in and mention how easy it is to scull the '15' with > its rudder. By rhythmically flipping the rudder from side to side, it's > very easy to propel the boat forward. I discovered this the very first > time I took my boat out, which happened to be in the San Juaquin delta. > My 2 horse Honda died just as I left the marina and entered the main > channel. The current immediately caught me and was carrying me toward a > low bridge and I didn't have time to get the sails up. Out of > desperation, I started pumping the tiller back and forth and, lo and > behold, I started moving against the current. I sculled the boat about > a quarter mile against a slow but relentless current and got back into > the marina. At that point, without the current, I probably could have > pulled a skier or two. Fear does that to a person. > > Since then, I often maneuver into and out of slips and away from docks > using this rudder sculling technique. To move forward just flip the > tiller rapidly from side to side and as far as possible each way, with a > very slight hesitation at the end of each stroke. To turn to port, flip > the rudder rapidly to the port side and return it slowly to the the > starboard side and repeat. You'll be able to turn the boat almost on a > dime. > > I discovered that first day of sailing my "15" that I hadn't opened the > gas valve on the outboard, and it died as soon as it consumed the > thimbleful of gas in the carb. Now, that's on my checklist of > pre-launch tasks. Also, that day, I realized how easy it would be to > lose the gas cap on the Honda motor. Fortunately, I didn't lose it, but > I figured I had better do something before I did. I bought a plastic > spring loaded clip (like you would use for clipping papers or a small > towel on the wall) and attached it with double sided tape to the motor > case. When you remove the gas cap, you just clip it to the motor with > the clip and it stays put. Later, I got a more substantial clip and > mounted it with screws, but the original one lasted two years or so. > > We're Bill and Gigi Day and we bought our boat new in 1986. It's number > 363, but we've never named it. We jokingly call it "das boot", but > don't really want that as an official name. After reading this list and > seeing all the clever boat names, I've decided that I must soon name the > boat lest it develop a complex. When we settle on something, the list > will be the first to know. > > We sailed mostly in the delta, San Francisco Bay and many northern > California lakes. We enjoyed camping on the boat or guesting in marinas > and yacht clubs. We belonged to the Potter Yachters, and also the > Lakeville Yacht Club. > > About 6 years ago, we moved to Houston, Missouri. If you can find > Houston on a map (it's only half a dot, and one of those places Rand > doesn't even tell McNally about), you'll see that it's the farthest > place in Missouri from any body of water. We can drive a couple of > hours, though, and be at some pretty nice lakes. Most of the lake > traffic is power boats, and as a sail boat, we're pretty much a novelty. > I don't know how many times I've been asked what makes it go, and how > can it sail into the wind. When I explain, I usually get, "Whooeee! > What won't they think of next!" > > I'll look forward to participating in the discussions on the list. In > my years of sailing the '15' I've made every mistake possible (repeating > some two or three times), so I'm a treasure trove of bad experience. In > a future message (this one's already too long) I'll relate my adventure > of picking my boat up at the factory. It's one of those events that > wasn't too much fun at the time, but is funny to look back on. > > Bill & Gigi Day > > > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
