diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index f09cb7d..f2e659f 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ require 'rake/testtask'
 require 'rbconfig'
 require 'fileutils'
 
-spec = eval File.read('ruby-msg.gemspec')
+gemspec_file = File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/ruby-msg.gemspec')
+spec = eval File.read(gemspec_file)
 
 task :default => [:test]
 
diff --git a/contrib/wmf.rb b/contrib/wmf.rb
index f662dc4..899c0da 100644
--- a/contrib/wmf.rb
+++ b/contrib/wmf.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 
 # this file will be used later to enhance the msg conversion.
 
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def wmf_getdimensions wmf_data
 \b\f2\fs20{\object\objemb{\*\objclass PBrush}\objw1320\objh1274{\*\objdata
 01050000 <- looks like standard header
 02000000 <- not sure
-07000000 <- this means length of following is 7. 
+07000000 <- this means length of following is 7.
 50427275736800 <- Pbrush\000 in hex
 00000000 <- ?
 00000000 <- ?
diff --git a/lib/mapi.rb b/lib/mapi.rb
index 3dfd441..af9b364 100644
--- a/lib/mapi.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'mapi/version'
 require 'mapi/base'
 require 'mapi/types'
diff --git a/lib/mapi/base.rb b/lib/mapi/base.rb
index 91cf190..73e1920 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/base.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/base.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 module Mapi
 	#
 	# Mapi::Item is the base class used for all mapi objects, and is purely a
diff --git a/lib/mapi/convert.rb b/lib/mapi/convert.rb
index cc7e18a..2e86e67 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/convert.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/convert.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 # we have two different "backends" for note conversion. we're sticking with
 # the current (home grown) mime one until the tmail version is suitably
 # polished.
diff --git a/lib/mapi/convert/contact.rb b/lib/mapi/convert/contact.rb
index 6b02e21..1a2297b 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/convert/contact.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/convert/contact.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'rubygems'
 require 'vpim/vcard'
 
diff --git a/lib/mapi/convert/note-mime.rb b/lib/mapi/convert/note-mime.rb
index cd326d5..2156e8f 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/convert/note-mime.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/convert/note-mime.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'base64'
 require 'mapi/mime'
 require 'time'
diff --git a/lib/mapi/convert/note-tmail.rb b/lib/mapi/convert/note-tmail.rb
index 1688f97..b2930a4 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/convert/note-tmail.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/convert/note-tmail.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'rubygems'
 require 'tmail'
 
diff --git a/lib/mapi/mime.rb b/lib/mapi/mime.rb
index b278ff0..c8b007a 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/mime.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/mime.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 #
 # = Introduction
 #
@@ -106,8 +106,17 @@ def to_s opts={}
   		opts = {:boundary_counter => 0}.merge opts
   		if multipart?
   			boundary = Mime.make_boundary opts[:boundary_counter] += 1, self
-  			@body = [preamble, parts.map { |part| "\r\n" + part.to_s(opts) + "\r\n" }, "--\r\n" + epilogue].
-  				flatten.join("\r\n--" + boundary)
+        begin
+          @body = [preamble, parts.map { |part| "\r\n" + part.to_s(opts) + "\r\n" }, "--\r\n" + epilogue].
+            flatten.join("\r\n--" + boundary)
+        rescue Encoding::CompatibilityError => e
+          if ''.respond_to?(:force_encoding)
+            @body = [preamble, parts.map { |part| "\r\n" + part.to_s(opts).force_encoding('ASCII-8BIT') + "\r\n" }, "--\r\n" + epilogue].
+              flatten.join("\r\n--" + boundary)
+          else
+            raise e
+          end
+        end
   			content_type, attrs = Mime.split_header @headers['Content-Type'][0]
   			attrs['boundary'] = boundary
   			@headers['Content-Type'] = [([content_type] + attrs.map { |key, val| %{#{key}="#{val}"} }).join('; ')]
diff --git a/lib/mapi/msg.rb b/lib/mapi/msg.rb
index 8d8b286..c805ea4 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/msg.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/msg.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'ole/storage'
 require 'mapi'
 require 'mapi/rtf'
diff --git a/lib/mapi/orderedhash.rb b/lib/mapi/orderedhash.rb
index 34b9777..dc33741 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/orderedhash.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/orderedhash.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 # = OrderedHash
 #
 # == Version
diff --git a/lib/mapi/property_set.rb b/lib/mapi/property_set.rb
index 5e8abe9..d911b98 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/property_set.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/property_set.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'yaml'
 require 'mapi/types'
 require 'mapi/rtf'
@@ -282,11 +282,6 @@ def body_html
 					end
 				end
 			end
-			if @body_html && @body_html.respond_to?(:encoding)
-				@body_html.force_encoding("utf-8")
-				@body_html = @body_html.valid_encoding? ? @body_html : @body_html.encode("utf-16le", :invalid => :replace, :replace => "").encode("utf-8")
-			end
-			@body_html
 		end
 	end
 end
diff --git a/lib/mapi/pst.rb b/lib/mapi/pst.rb
index 57cd2e1..ce6bfda 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/pst.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/pst.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 #
 # = Introduction
 #
diff --git a/lib/mapi/rtf.rb b/lib/mapi/rtf.rb
index 8651a71..8a34467 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/rtf.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/rtf.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'stringio'
 require 'strscan'
 
diff --git a/lib/mapi/types.rb b/lib/mapi/types.rb
index c802682..cbf6092 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/types.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/types.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'rubygems'
 require 'ole/types'
 
diff --git a/lib/mapi/version.rb b/lib/mapi/version.rb
index 689b454..e2c4f06 100644
--- a/lib/mapi/version.rb
+++ b/lib/mapi/version.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 module Mapi
 	VERSION = '1.5.2'
 end
diff --git a/ruby-msg.gemspec b/ruby-msg.gemspec
index 438e9d1..e0dc99a 100644
--- a/ruby-msg.gemspec
+++ b/ruby-msg.gemspec
@@ -21,14 +21,6 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |s|
 	s.files += Dir.glob('test/test_*.rb')
 	s.files += Dir.glob('bin/*')
 
-	s.has_rdoc = true
-	s.extra_rdoc_files = ['README', 'ChangeLog']
-	s.rdoc_options += [
-		'--main', 'README',
-		'--title', "#{PKG_NAME} documentation",
-		'--tab-width', '2'
-	]
-
 	s.add_dependency 'ruby-ole', '>=1.2.8'
 	s.add_dependency 'vpim', '>=0.360'
 end
diff --git a/test/test_convert_contact.rb b/test/test_convert_contact.rb
index b37c529..1466572 100644
--- a/test/test_convert_contact.rb
+++ b/test/test_convert_contact.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'test/unit'
 
 $:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../lib'
diff --git a/test/test_convert_note.rb b/test/test_convert_note.rb
index 09c9981..8aabccb 100644
--- a/test/test_convert_note.rb
+++ b/test/test_convert_note.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'test/unit'
 
 $:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../lib'
diff --git a/test/test_mime.rb b/test/test_mime.rb
index 124d428..e597d88 100644
--- a/test/test_mime.rb
+++ b/test/test_mime.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 #! /usr/bin/ruby -w
 
 $: << File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../lib'
diff --git a/test/test_msg.rb b/test/test_msg.rb
index e5435bc..ed52f0e 100644
--- a/test/test_msg.rb
+++ b/test/test_msg.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 #! /usr/bin/ruby
 
 TEST_DIR = File.dirname __FILE__
@@ -9,39 +9,36 @@
 require 'mapi/convert'
 
 class TestMsg < Test::Unit::TestCase
-	def test_blammo
-		Mapi::Msg.open "#{TEST_DIR}/test_Blammo.msg" do |msg|
-			assert_equal '"TripleNickel" <TripleNickel@mapi32.net>', msg.from
-			assert_equal 'BlammoBlammo', msg.subject
-			assert_equal 0, msg.recipients.length
-			assert_equal 0, msg.attachments.length
-			# this is all properties
-			assert_equal 66, msg.properties.raw.length
-			# this is unique named properties
-			assert_equal 48, msg.properties.to_h.length
-			# test accessing the named property keys - same name but different namespace
-			assert_equal 'Yippee555', msg.props['Name4', Ole::Types::Clsid.parse('55555555-5555-5555-c000-000000000046')]
-			assert_equal 'Yippee666', msg.props['Name4', Ole::Types::Clsid.parse('66666666-6666-6666-c000-000000000046')]
-		end
-	end
+  def test_blammo
+    Mapi::Msg.open "#{TEST_DIR}/test_Blammo.msg" do |msg|
+      assert_equal '"TripleNickel" <TripleNickel@mapi32.net>', msg.from
+      assert_equal 'BlammoBlammo', msg.subject
+      assert_equal 0, msg.recipients.length
+      assert_equal 0, msg.attachments.length
+      # this is all properties
+      assert_equal 66, msg.properties.raw.length
+      # this is unique named properties
+      assert_equal 48, msg.properties.to_h.length
+      # test accessing the named property keys - same name but different namespace
+      assert_equal 'Yippee555', msg.props['Name4', Ole::Types::Clsid.parse('55555555-5555-5555-c000-000000000046')]
+      assert_equal 'Yippee666', msg.props['Name4', Ole::Types::Clsid.parse('66666666-6666-6666-c000-000000000046')]
+    end
+  end
 
 
-	def test_rtf_to_html_returns_valid_utf8
-		msg = Mapi::Msg.open "#{TEST_DIR}/multipart-with-html.msg" do |msg|
-			assert_equal 1, msg.recipients.length
-			assert_equal 3, msg.attachments.length
-			html_part = msg.to_mime.parts[0].parts[1].to_s
-			if html_part.respond_to?(:encoding)
-				assert_equal 'UTF-8', html_part.encoding.to_s
-				assert html_part.valid_encoding?
-			end
-		end
-	end
+  def test_rendered_string_is_valid_encoding
+    msg = Mapi::Msg.open "#{TEST_DIR}/multipart-with-html.msg" do |msg|
+      string_version = msg.to_mime.to_s
+      if string_version.respond_to?(:valid_encoding?)
+        assert_equal true, string_version.valid_encoding?
+      end
+    end
+  end
 
-	def test_embedded_msg_renders_as_string
-		msg = Mapi::Msg.open "#{TEST_DIR}/embedded.msg" do |msg|
-			assert_match "message/rfc822", msg.to_mime.to_s
-		end
-	end
+  def test_embedded_msg_renders_as_string
+    msg = Mapi::Msg.open "#{TEST_DIR}/embedded.msg" do |msg|
+      assert_match "message/rfc822", msg.to_mime.to_s
+    end
+  end
 end
 
diff --git a/test/test_property_set.rb b/test/test_property_set.rb
index bd6b85b..a34451b 100644
--- a/test/test_property_set.rb
+++ b/test/test_property_set.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'test/unit'
 
 $:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../lib'
diff --git a/test/test_types.rb b/test/test_types.rb
index fc9c94f..4353fcf 100644
--- a/test/test_types.rb
+++ b/test/test_types.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# -*- encoding : utf-8 -*-
+# -*- encoding : ASCII-8BIT -*-
 require 'test/unit'
 
 $:.unshift File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../lib'