Montego 25 experience

[jacobswe]

I'm traveling back home to Florida in about a week over spring break. I bought a "ready to sail" 1983 25' Montego - the deep keel model - off of craigslist for $1000 that I need to sail home the second day I'm there. The boat appears to be in pretty good repair (15hp outboard, sails), but I was wondering if anyone has sailed one of these before?

There isn't very much information about these boats on the internet, so I thought I would reach out here. I intend on sailing this boat about 20nm the first day to bring it home, and then this summer from Tampa, Fl. to the Bahamas.

[Barney Post]

Originally Posted by jacobswe

I'm traveling back home to Florida in about a week over spring break. I bought a "ready to sail" 1983 25' Montego - the deep keel model - off of craigslist for $1000 that I need to sail home the second day I'm there. The boat appears to be in pretty good repair (15hp outboard, sails), but I was wondering if anyone has sailed one of these before?

There isn't very much information about these boats on the internet, so I thought I would reach out here. I intend on sailing this boat about 20nm the first day to bring it home, and then this summer from Tampa, Fl. to the Bahamas.

Don't know that much about them but here's something:

MONTEGO 25 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

rb
sailboatdata.com

[Naptown82]

Hi, I saw your post. I have an 81 Montego 25. Yahoo groups has a montego forum. you may know the montego line of boats was designed by Jopie Helson in ST Petersburg, FL then purchased by Universal Marine Corp., then dissolved. I believe just over 80 of them were made. I have owned mine for 12 years. I have lots of info, dozen lots of work and upgrades on mine. Let me know if you still have yours, how the sail went and what your plans are with the boat. I'm willing to share my knowledge and any documentation I have.

Dan Keller
Southport, NC

[Barney Post]

Originally Posted by Naptown82

Hi, I saw your post. I have an 81 Montego 25. Yahoo groups has a montego forum. you may know the montego line of boats was designed by Jopie Helson in ST Petersburg, FL then purchased by Universal Marine Corp., then dissolved. I believe just over 80 of them were made. I have owned mine for 12 years. I have lots of info, dozen lots of work and upgrades on mine. Let me know if you still have yours, how the sail went and what your plans are with the boat. I'm willing to share my knowledge and any documentation I have.

Dan Keller
Southport, NC

Please yes. There was also a Helson designed 21 footer that must of been sold under at least 4 different names.

Randy Browning

[marke14]

Hello there everyone - sorry I know this is a bit of a zombie thread post but I wanted to add that I too am a Montego 25 owner, and as far as I know one of the only ones out here in L.A.

I have some files and things I've found but mostly it's just stuff from the Yahoo group mentioned in a previous post.

I love my boat, it seems very solid. Ours is in great shape. It is named QUANTA though the outboard mount obscures the Q and part of the U. I can also can see that it was previously painted with "BOSTON" at some point. I would love to know the history of the boat and the story of how it made its way to Southern California.

[ReRa]

We own a montego 25. It was neglected so we got it for $1000. It had good sails, a non running but not frozen yanmar, and a supposedly clean bottom. Here's what I can tell you:

1. The prev owner and an old survey said it was shoal draft, 3.5 ft. It had a 4.5 ft draft.

2. The bottom was only cleaned down 12" from the water line. The sail drive had never been cleaned. It still sailed great on a dirty bottom. The boat points up very well. It heals slowly and smoothly. If you're pushing it, it will heal over spill the wind and slow down. Take a less agressive sheeting on the genoa and she'll take off. The sail plan is very well balanced. The rudder is VERY responsive even though it looks undersized compared to others. I love the way this little boat sails. The mainsheet traveler is perfectly placed in front of companion way.

3. The fiberglass gelcoat on the topside is poor. I've seen older boats that did a much better job. We found horizontal cracks in the middle of the keel on haulout. Rainwater in the bilge had seeped down into the ballast over the years. The iron oxide expanded causing the stress cracks. The boat was not leaking. Upon repair we discovered the fiberglass was very thick, 3x thicker than our vintage fiberglass man was expecting.

4. The space in the cabin is huge for a 25 footer. Engine access is not horrible. You climb in from a cockpit locker. Headroom is average, around six ft. Electrical system is a joke.

In summary, you get what you pay for but sometimes it sails a lot better than you expected.