The 2By4 pages

As well as the better-known kayak (or qayaq), the Inuit used other skin-on-frame boats. One of these types was a larger, more open boat, called the Umiaq. Since I already had kayaks, this was an obvious name. As to the spelling, well... It's all an Anglicization of a language without written form anyway, so I'll choose my own spelling

She's a cute boat. Here we are at anchor in San Domingo Creek, just South of Saint Michaels MD. The M-15 is large for a 15 foot boat, with a cockpit that is spacious for two, tight for three (unless one is a child) and small for four. The airy cabin has two comfortable berths (yes, really), room for a Porta-Potti and a small open floor area with full standing headroom. Full standing headroom? Yes, but only if you're seven years old. Actually, for an adult there isn't even sitting headroom. But the cabin is remarkably spacious for this size of boat, and includes far more storage space than you would expect.

The reason for the spacious cabin is that there's no centerboard casing in it. The M-15 has a shoal-draft keel with the centerboard retracting entirely into the keel. The obvious comparison here is with the Potter 15 (which is actually a foot or so shorter) that has a rather flat bottom and a heavy centerboard that retracts into a casing that takes up space in the cabin. I assume that the Potter is easier to launch and beach, but really appreciate the spacious cabin and fixed ballast of the M-15, as well as the improved windward ability from the keel/centerboard combination. Since there is no significant weight in the centerboard (mine weighs about 55 pounds) it's easily controlled by hand without the need for a tackle.

The Montgomery takes a different approach to stability, as well. Instead of gaining form stability from a flat bottom and hard chine, the M-15 has a round bilge, somewhat disguised in the picture by the imitation lapstrake pattern molded into the hull. The result is that she is easier to heel initially but has a gentler motion.

For a boat of this size and type, I cannot recommend the Montgomery 15 too highly: A truly excellent boat.

The engine in the picture is a Honda 5HP four-stroke. This is more powerful than I think is needed, and at 62 pounds is certainly heavier than is comfortable. The reason for it being there is that, at the time I bought it, Honda did not have a smaller engine that had a clutch, and I've used fixed-drive outboard motors enough to know that I prefer not to. I now have a Honda 2HP motor with a clutch that does double duty as an auxiliary motor for Umiaq and as a motor for Moby Dink, the inflatable tender to Dolphin.

Here's an account of a multi-day trip in the Choptank area of the Chesapeake Bay aboard Umiaq. Not a Big Adventure, but I enjoyed it.