In mid-2016 one of the rare Jerry Montgomery Panthers became available and we jumped on the chance to own a piece of Montgomery Marine Products history. The Panther is a pure racing boat designed by Ron Holder. Jerry Montgomery only built about a dozen. The boat will plane in winds over about 12 knots. She has an unballasted centerboard so the crew is hiking out to keep the boat upright in anything over a light breeze. She is a fractional sloop with a HUGE main and TALL rotating mast. Jerry only built a few as his distributors were marketing the boat as a family daysailor because of the large open deck and cockpit. As she is a race boat she is a bit ‘twitchy’ and is not appropriate for casual family outings.
When we got her to the boat shop she needed a few fixes: repair the transom as the backing for the rudder gudgeons was rotten, retune the rig and fix a broken frame. Otherwise she needed some cosmetic work and the boat would be ready to sail.
Well. A strong storm came through Golden, Colorado, with 100+ miles per hour winds. The boat and trailer were picked up, meaning they flew through the air, and the boat came to a sudden crashing stop. The mast and boom are bent. The centerboard was broken. A chainplate pulled out taking part of the deck with it. One of the trailer tires came off the rim. Yeah it was one hell of a blow!.
So the Panther is now available to someone willing to take on the project. All the running, standing and miscellaneous parts are present though severely damaged … and some in better condition than others (see above). She is a project. First person that takes her gets the boat! Cost – FREE!
** THE PANTHER HAS GONE TO A NEW HOME AND IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE **
Happenings at Sage Marine 