As the coronavirus delayed 2020 sailing season begins I’ve received many requests on how to use the reefing systems that Jerry Montgomery installed on the Montgomery 17 & 15 and I installed on the Sage 17 and 15. I covered reefing before and here I’ll provide some more details and some pictures taken of SWEET … More Reefing the Jerry Montgomery designs
Trailer sailors are great boats … one of many reasons it is easy to inspect the rigging each time the boat is put on/off the water as we rise/lower the mast. … More Rigging Inspections
As Spring has come I am touching up AIR BORN’s rudder & tiller varnish. Sage 17 and Montomery 15 owners, as the rudder design is the same, will find this post helpful in doing rudder and tiller maintenance on their boats. … More Spring commissioning – rudder and tiller
In this post I will outline my process for finish varnishing … More Varnishing Part 2
‘How to varnish’ is one of those topics that sailors can spend hours discussing and never come to a consensus. In the end most agree that: … More Varnishing
For a new boat, or a boat that has never been bottom painted, the first step is ‘shooting the waterline‘. There are many ways to do this: water hose method, string and a level, or a laser level. These all assume you know where the waterline should be … not always obvious when the boat is brand new. … More Antifouling bottom paint – the waterline
If you plan on leaving your boat in the water for an extended period of time applying antifouling bottom paint to you boat required (usually). Most locations will result in bottom growth after a few weeks, though there are exceptions. … More Antifouling bottom paint: selecting bottom paint
Exterior and interior wood, to me, makes a sailboat ‘salty’ and appropriately like, well, a boat. From my early days, when my folks started sailing, a proper boat required some wood showing. When my folks went looking for a family boat a few 100% wood boats were considered (though only for a short time). … More Wood finishes
I just love going for a cruise and finding a quiet cove away from all the other boats. Gunkholing requires an anchor. Here I’ll discuss how I store, launch and retrieve an anchor … … More Anchoring
The [Sage 15 and Sage 17] sails way better with a small jib and a reefed main. All boats of this type should have a storm jib – if the winds looks like it’s going to come up to 25 or so, put up the storm jib; you’ll be amazed at how little it slows the boat down to even in a 15 knot wind … More More on sailing in strong & heavy winds
M17 #375 - SWEET PEA 