Michael, Congratulations on getting your M-17! You won't be disappointed. I installed an FF2 on Lynne L last spring, and it is fairly straightforward. The directions are pretty good. The most important step is cutting the foil to exactly the right length. The directions give a rule of thumb for getting the length right, but I found the surest way to get it right was to assemble the furler onto on the forestay with the stay lying on the ground. Then you can lay the foil alongside with the bottom end lined up with the stop pin in the lower assembly and then cut to fit at the top. Make sure that when lined up with the stop pin the top extends past the end of the stranded wire onto the solid rod at the top end so it doesn't chafe on the wire. If you cut it too short, you don't get a second chance! As it turned out, the manufacturer's rule of thumb for foil length was within a half inch of where I ended up, but I liked the added confidence of actually seeing in place before the cut.
I then removed the furler from the forestay, slid the foil onto the forestay, and reassembled everything with the forestay on the ground, then just carried it all aboard, attached the forestay to the masthead, and was done. You also need to make sure that your forestay has a toggle at the masthead end. I had to buy a new forestay to get this. I believe I remember getting around 25' of furling line, which seemed to be plenty. Good luck, good sailing, and welcome to the fleet! Rick M-17 Lynne L ************** Play online games for FREE at Games.com! All of your favorites, no registration required and great graphics – check it out! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1211202682x1200689022/aol?redir= http://www.games.com?ncid=emlcntusgame00000001) _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
