Chesapeake Bay 1999

my introduction to the Montgomery 15 and 17

and a few of the people who sail them


Prior to the internet, I had never heard of, or at least didn't recall, Montgomery boats. One evening, while browsing the web for small sailboats, I came across Keith Diehl's web page where I saw a couple of photos of a rare flush-decked Montgomery 17, although there was no mention that most of them were built with a deckhouse with accomodations below. I remember thinking that it would sure be nice if the boat had been built with those features and then continuing my browsing.

Sometime later, maybe a year or more, I came across the builder's web page with some pictures of a Montgomery 17 with a deckhouse and interior, and my interest was rekindled. About that same time, I came across the Montgomery list-serv and then, thanks to all the knowledge of the participants, began to learn more about the boats and their history.

I was interested in seeing for myself how the boats handled, and my chance came when it was announced via the list-serv that there would be a get-together of Montgomerys in the Chesapeake Bay. Doug Kelch graciously invited me to sail aboard the mighty Seas The Day. So, I hopped in the truck after work Friday and took off for Point Lookout, Maryland. When the evening grew late, I pulled into a rest area and tried to catch forty winks.

Next morning, it was off for the remaining distance, and upon arrival, about noon, I met three M-boaters, Doug, Bill, and Abbey, each with an M15. When everybody was launched, Doug and I set out in Seas The Day, and out we sailed into the Potomac, upstream. There was a good breeze, and the three 15's beat up the river, Seas The Day with her Egyptian-cotton colored sails, main reefed, and nighthawk ribbon streaming from the masthead, Bill's Storm Petrel with her tanbark sails,

both main and jib reefed, and Abbey's 15 with her reefed white mainsail and tanbark storm jib.

The doubled crew on Seas The Day allowed her to stand up to the breeze better than the other boats, but Abbey was still the fastest with his boat sailing in perfect trim.

At the end of the afternoon, we sailed into Smith Creek, tied up at a dock, and walked across the gravel drive to a restaurant; Spinnakers, I think it is called, where we had a good meal and some yarns were spun.

Back on the boat, Doug put some gear out in the cockpit to make room for his cabin guest, and I can report that the vee-berth on the 15 is really quite large, allowing two big fellows to each have their own spacious half. Headroom is a bit low for sitting, but once sleeping it's great. With one person in the cabin, sitting under the open hatchway provides more than enough headroom for even the tallest person! ;-)

The next morning, a 17 by the name of Spoonful joined the group, sailed by her owner, Greg, and crewed by the originator of these Chesapeake cruises, Gary. Greg was kind enough to let me sail Spoonful for a bit in Smith Creek and then generously drove me back to my truck so I could head back to Ohio.

I was smitten, especially by the 17, although really both boats were super. It could have been just the tuning, but I really liked the feel of the 17's helm, both on a tack and during tacking, and she felt like a much bigger boat while still showing very fine performance. My boat at the time was a 17' Thistle, which if you are familiar with them you'll know that they are a very speedy planing dinghy (people have actually waterskied behind them before), and I had sailed a variety of other boats before, so I had something to compare the M17 to.

I wanted a boat I could cruise on for weeks at a time, so the sitting headroom and extra cabin space appealed to me despite the slightly more involved set-up time, compared to the 15. I was not planning on having to set the boat up each time I wanted to sail her. If setting up each time had been what I was facing, I would've gone for the 15. Also, the cockpit of the 17 is absolutely great; more comfortable than the majority of boats on the market regardless of size. Lyle and Jerry really got it right.

Anyway, I drove back to Ohio while the others continued their cruise up the Potomac, poking in and out of the creeks as far up river as St. Clement's Island.