Montgomery 17

[akagilligan]

Are the new Montgomery 17s as good as the old ones? Had been looking at a Sanibel 18, but the Montgomery looks like a better design. Any thoughts on buying a new Montgomery 17.

[MarkCK]

I have been doing some research into buying a new Montgomery also. From what I have gathered they are every bit as good as when Jerry Montgomery built them. Quality wise they are way above the Sanibel 18s. The Montgomery's are the priciest boat you will find of this size, but I have always heard that the build quality is as good as it gets for a mass produced 17 footer.

You might also look at the Sage 17. It is a boat that is not yet in production. It was designed by Jerry Montgomery as an updated Montgomery 17. I know the Sage is a 3/4 rig vrs a 7/8 rig of the Montgomery. There are several other design changes though offhand I don't know what they are. I haven't heard one way or the other if it is built to be and "offshore" boat. Or as much as a 17' can be.

[sailingdog]

IIRC, Jerry is still fairly heavily involved with the company and I doubt he'd let the quality of the boats slide much without calling them on it, considering it is HIS NAME that is associated with the boats. A couple years ago, they outfitted a customized M17 for a circumnavigation... so they're pretty tough little boats.