Hey all, I went out for a sail this afternoon at a nearby lake (Round Valley S.P. NJ) and I just want to say that I'm absolutely loving my boat. :-) The M15 is perfect for me singlehanding. The shallow draft and kick up rudder allow me to just walk from the boat to shore. I had a big grin on my face when I did that.
The new shrouds are working well but I think they are just a bit shorter than the old ones because my forestay feels short now. I vaguely remember i read somewhere that Jerry Montgomery prefers this kind of setup with the mast sloping back slightly because it makes the boat go a bit faster. I don't know how much of an angle sloping backwards is good but I think I can do a little more...however I'll need a forestay that's 2 inches longer. I can almost sail the boat hands free if I set up and the sail right and sit at the right spot. It's the rudder that's messing it up right now. I think the boat should sail well rudderless in moderate wind, I might try that next time. Anyway, it was an whole afternoon of fun and only one shackle is lost...not bad. :-D Another thing, I have two sail battens missing and I've been trying to find replacement at West Mariner and other local boat shops. None of them have the right size and the materials feel very cheap compare to the original. Does anyone know where I can get some good sail battens for the M15? Finally onto a maintenance issue, I noticed that the bottom paint has been peeling off my M15. I'll need to repaint it soon. What kind of bottom paint does everyone use? I heard the West Marine stuff is pretty good. Also, what's the best way for me to remove the old bottom paint? There seems to be just one layer on my boat and large sections are beginning to peel, doesn't seem like it'll take much effort if I have the right tools. Thanks for your advice! Cheers, Donglai M15 #612 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
