Douglas was reluctant to be drawn into the dispute when contacted, saying it was "all history", and he had "no wish" to comment.
But he said: "There's one thing that he [Montgomery] does say is that he had a conversation with Dalton and myself in Punta del Este, [it's] not true. I've never been to Punta del Este. But apart from that I've nothing to say."
He added: "He's remembering something that never took place."
Dalton is in Europe and could not be reached for comment.
The book, Peter Montgomery: The Voice of Yachting, claims the dispute began with the Whitbread race. Montgomery reported on it as two separate races - between a Whitbread 60 class built specifically for the race, and the more traditional maxis, of which Dalton's Endeavour was one of five.
It says that when the first leg from Southampton ended in Punta del Este, Montgomery and producer Doc Williams bumped into Dalton and Douglas, telling them they were in post-production summarising the two divisions.
The book quotes Montgomery: "Grant shot back: 'Well that's not how I want it.' We tried to reason with Grant. It may not have been how he wanted it, but the decision was not ours to make, the race had two divisions and the official results reflected that.
"Grant left us in no doubt about his displeasure. He wanted to make it appear it was one big race, which it wasn't."
Dalton's indifference to Montgomery only intensified at Punta del Este on the homeward leg - the race stopped twice in Uruguay - after it was reported that a big party involving Endeavour crew (but not Dalton), had got out of control and damage had been done.
"Dalton came up to me, white with fury and with steam coming out of his ears ... 'I've read what you said and it's so much bullshit. It's absolutely wrong and our relationship will never be the same again'," Montgomery says in the book.
Francis quotes others saying that the basis for the enmity lay in Montgomery's close relationship with Brad Butterworth and, in particular, Sir Peter Blake.
"Old Dalts - he's a bit of a blunt instrument," Butterworth says. He always had a grudge against PJ because of his friendship with Blake. Peter Blake wouldn't have been half as successful without the PR push he got through PJ. PJ had a very high regard for Blakey and so he should have - he was a great man - but Dalton found that very hard to deal with. He always struggled with that fact and he just doesn't have the same personality or gravitas as Blake."
In the lead-up to the 2007 America's Cup challenge in Valencia, with Dalton now in charge of Team NZ, their relationship was again compromised, and this time it would become shockingly public.
Montgomery was being lined up to commentate with TVNZ, with The Radio Network getting full access. Francis writes that Dalton and Douglas met his deputy at TRN to tell him sending Montgomery would be a retrograde step.
Francis eventually met Dalton and told him: "You pick your team, I'll pick mine."
By 2009, the sand had shifted and for the Louis Vuitton Pacific series the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron organised and controlled the event and Dalton used the opportunity to remove Montgomery, saying he preferred Martin Tasker and Peter Lester. Many were dismayed and by 2013 in San Francisco, Montgomery was back doing his first love, broadcasting via radio.
Francis approached Dalton to comment for the book and the reply was initially encouraging, then the Dean Barker axing story broke.
"Not interested in talking about him after the lies - yep, straight lies - he has told over recent days," Dalton wrote to Francis. "My book will be more interesting than his, that I can guarantee."
For his part, Dalton admitted to canvas magazine recently that he holds grudges, saying obliquely that they're reserved for people who try to "screw him over".
The pair's mutual antipathy, or perhaps hostility, will not be improved by the book, not that it will bother Montgomery in the slightest. He relitigates the America's Cup collapse, blaming the loss on a combination of factors that include the now infamous lay-day and Dalton's role as a grinder.
They are destined, it seems, to remain best of enemies.
Peter Montgomery: The Voice of Yachting
Written by Bill Francis
Published by Trio Books
