Montgomery 15
Construction
Not many people buy a premium quality boat for their first sailboat - probably more out of ignorance than anything else. If they had the experience when looking at similar sized boats to know the subtle differences in the design and construction of the various boats, very few "bargain" boats would be sold. In sailboats, more so than in most things you spend your money on, you get what you pay for. There are more differences in the quality of sailboats than in practically anything else you can buy. But this quality is worth every penny you spend to obtain it. You'll enjoy your boat more, be happier with its performance, be free of worry over the safety of its design and construction, and obtain a higher dollar when you sell it.
Since 1969 Montgomery Marine Products has been quietly building the best vessels in their respective classes. One of these is the Montgomery 15 - a premium quality coastal mini-cruiser. She's a tough, seaworthy boat capable of braving severe weather conditions with safety and confidence and making moderate passages in speed and comfort. Here are some of the more important reasons why the Montgomery 15 stands above the rest:
SUPERIOR KEEL DESIGN
There are three types of keel configurations in common use on trailerable boats: the shoal-draft keel, the retractable or swing keel, and the combination keel/center-board. For the Montgomery 15 we chose the most expensive but by far the best design: the combination keel/centerboard. The Montgomery 15 has her ballast in a shallow-draft fixed keel that is molded as part of the hull, adding strength and reliability lacking in a retractable or swing keel. The lateral resistance area so necessary for sailing upwind, something, which is lacking in boats with only a shoal-draft keel, is supplied by our quadrant-shaped centerboard, which is housed in the keel. Because the ballast is in the keel, the lightweight centerboard can be easily raised and lowered by hand without the expense and complications of lifting tackle. The location and shape of our centerboard eliminates cumbersome, space-robbing keel trunks in the cabin interior, annoying pivot pin leaks, and speed- robbing pennant and slot drag, all short-comings of the swing keel design. Plus, in the event of an accidental grounding, the pivoting centerboard will bounce up and over the obstruction. This is in contrast to retractable keels, which will at best break upon impact or at worst literally cut the boat in half.
With the centerboard up the Montgomery 15 only draws 15" of water. Coupled with her kick-up rudder she's the perfect vessel for exploring remote coves or going ashore for a special picnic. Yet with her board down she has the draft needed for progress to windward with a minimum of leeway.
STURDY CONSTRUCTION
Our hull, deck, liner and all other fiberglass parts are entirely hand-laid. By so doing we can insure the proper resin-to-glass ratio in the laminations and avoid any blister-causing air bubbles. The sheer stripe is molded in gelcoat, not painted on the exterior or taped on - you'll never have to worry about it rubbing or peeling off. Our deck is balsa cored for strength and stiffness - you can even jump up and down on it without having to worry about flexing, cracking or breaking. Our end-grain balsa won't delaminate like plywood cores and greatly exceeds the impact resistance of foam cores. Its insulating properties give you a boat that is quiet, cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And by coring our deck with balsa we keep it light and our center-of-gravity low for added stability.
Our hull-to-deck joint is bonded together, capped with a teak toe rail then through-bolted. No pop rivets here! Because standard nuts loosen under normal use and vibration, we use aircraft type self-locking nuts on these bolts. When added to the stiffness of our hull and deck laminations, Montgomery owners have the peace of mind of knowing that their hull-to-deck joint will never work loose or leak, in spite of thousands of trailering miles or years of heavy sailing.
FUNCTIONAL ACCOMMODATIONS
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Our commitment to functional design is quickly apparent in the interior. You won't find any cute, glued-on decorations aimed at tricking people into a quick sale. Those things may look great at the boat show but have an annoying habit of falling off after the second season of use. Instead, you'll find an inviting cabin that is functional and attractive, easy to maintain and designed to accommodate all the food and gear a couple would need for a self-contained week of cruising. There's storage space galore, and every cubic inch of it is easily accessible. There are even two storage lockers in the cockpit. The port locker is cavernous, opening into the bottom of the boat. It's big enough to hold your outboard, gas can, fire extinguisher, life vests, anchor, rode, dock lines, fenders, cockpit awning and more. The starboard locker is a more modest 21" x 9" x 9". All locker interiors are finished with a gelcoat surface making them easy to clean.
The traditional Montgomery quality of construction continues inside the boat. We fully and thoroughly bond the specially designed liner to the hull at all points of contact, including the bulkheads dividing the three storage lockers under the V-berth. This not only adds strength and stiffness to the hull, but eliminates that nerve-shattering racket you encounter on some boats whose builders only bond the liner in a few spots, resulting in a "floating" liner. We also core the V-berth section of the lines with foam so that it's strong yet light. The berth itself is 8' long, 5'6" wide - plenty of room for two. And the 3" thick vinyl-covered cushions assure you of a comfortable night's sleep. Lift up the center berth cushion and there, molded in as part of the liner, is a retaining well for an optional head. Its location provides convenience and privacy rarely found on a 15' boat. The specially tinted leakproof windows allow plenty of natural light into the cabin giving you a bright, cheery interior, yet insure privacy from peering dockside eyes.
COMFORT
When the sun shines you have a roomy cockpit to stretch out in, with high coamings slanting back at a comfortable angle. But when it's cold or wet you'll appreciate the protection of the cozy cabin. The Montgomery 15 doesn't have a lapstrake hull just to look pretty! She's built with this design for several other important reasons. When you're in the cockpit of a 15' boat you aren't very far away from the bow. With a smooth-hulled boat in a chop that means you're going to get wet. Most people are pleasantly surprised with how dry the Montgomery 15 is. That's because with our hull every strake acts as a spray rail, deflecting water out and away from the boat. Combined with her beamy sea-kindly hull shape, the lapstrake design has a dampening effect on pitching in a headsea and a better motion in quartering seas.
PERFORMANCE
Well start by saying right up front that we didn't design the Montgomery 15 to be a racing boat, so we didn't have to make any compromises to beat a rule or obtain a more favorable rating. However, we're never believed that sailing performance had to be sacrificed for the sake of comfort and cruisability. You'll find that the Montgomery 15 has the sail area needed to get going in light air, yet her fractional rigged sail plan is properly positioned and adjustable to allow easy reefing when the wind pipes up. We use slab (jiffy) reefing because it's the easiest, most reliable and effective way of reefing the mainsail. It also gives the best shape to the reefed sail. So when the heavy stuff comes the Montgomery 15 will still be sailing resolutely along after the other mini-cruisers have long since gone in. A standard shaft 2 hp outboard will easily drive the Montgomery 15 at hull speed, which is surprisingly high for a 15' boat because of her long waterline.
TRAILERABILITY
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At 750 pounds your Montgomery 15 can be towed by even today's small compact cars, something not practical with heavier boats. Our keel/centerboard design not only gives you keelboat performance, but makes trailering, launching and retrieving your Montgomery 15 a breeze. The deck-stepped aluminum mast is light enough for one person to raise and lower - a real plus for single-handed sailors. With the simple three stay rig, once you raise the mast all you have to do is attach the forestay and the standing rigging is complete. The running rigging is equally simple and straightforward. After you're rigged your Montgomery 15 a few times you'll be able to drive up and sail away in 15 minutes. The overall length and height of the Montgomery 15 allows the boat to easily fit in most standard home garages, eliminating the expense of leasing a slip. Best of all, her practical size will have you day-sailing a pristine lake one weekend and coastal cruising the next.
SAFETY
Sailing is sunny days and fair winds, yet the wise sailor takes precautions against the unexpected. The best precaution you can take is to make sure your boat has the ability to handle the unforeseen. The Montgomery 15 has the stability to handle a sudden gust of wind and the strength to weather a surprise storm. She has positive foam flotation. That means shell float even if filled with water. She's also self-righting, even from a completely knocked down position. The high coamings of the self-bailing cockpit give you the security of knowing that what needs to stay in the cockpit will, and what shouldn't be in the cockpit will drain out. When it's time to change a sail or pick up a mooring you'll appreciate our wide side decks and sure-grip non-skid. Our non-skid deck and cockpit surfaces are second to none. Its pattern is permanently molded in and provides excellent traction in even the wettest conditions. The full-length teak toe rails also assure firm footing and look great. Safety is one more area where our lap-strake hull design has an advantage over other boats. With our lapstrake lay-up we achieve a much stronger, rigid hull than is possible with the same lay-up in a smooth skinned hull. Here's a thought on seaworthiness: In June 1982, Little Breeze, a nearly stock Montgomery 15 (same lay-up in the hull and deck and the same rig as every other Montgomery 15) set sail from California, headed for Hawaii. Mike Mann, her owner and sole passenger, arrived in Oahu 36 days later- a remarkably quick passage for a boat of 15 feet. Mike encountered the full range of weather, from dead calm to catching the tail end of Hurricane Daniel. Through it all Mike says the boat "handled extremely well." Of course, the Montgomery 15 wasn't designed for crossing oceans, but the Little Breeze passage to Hawaii illustrates the fact that the Montgomery 15 is a very seaworthy vessel. You don't have to be coastal cruising to be concerned about seaworthiness the safety of you and your loved ones is just as important when you're on an inland lake.
FIRST CLASS QUALITY
By now you can tell that we put a lot of care and forethought into everything we do. The pride we have in our boats is carried through to the small details of construction and outfitting. We bond and through-bolt our hull-deck-toe rail joint because it's the best method there is. All of our fiberglass parts are laid-up by hand. Our non-skid is the real thing, molded in. The hardware on the boat is carefully selected to be the best for its function, with wide margins of strength to withstand unexpected loads. This includes our heavy duty mast and boom extrusions. They're clear anodized for corrosion resistance and low maintenance. All the standing rigging is top quality 1/8" 1x19 stainless steel wire. The running rigging is low stretch Dacron yacht braid, and the main halyard is wire to rope, so stretch is held to an absolute minimum. Instead of the inexpensive plastic variety, our hefty mooring cleats are hard black anodized cast aluminum. They're backed with large metal plates and will not bend, break or pull out. Of course, you can design the cleanest hull shape and use the finest construction methods, but if you put bargain sails on a boat it will only have mediocre sailing performance. We supply high quality sails with the Montgomery 15, cut to our exacting standards out of durable, long lasting 3.8 ounce Dacron.
FUN
When you consider the superior design, sturdy construction and functional accommodations of the Montgomery 15, add to that her comfort, performance, trailerability and safety - what do you have? FUN! And that's what sailing is all about. With your Montgomery 15 you'll be in the water sooner, sailing longer, and going places you've always dreamed of. The Montgomery 15 is a boat you will be proud to own. That pride will swell every time someone goes out of their way to compliment you on her classic appearance -which will happen everywhere you take her. And the exceptional value of Montgomery boats is reflected in their consistently strong resale value. So if you're looking for the best trailerable mini-cruiser there is MONTGOMERY makes it!