Having seen the one of the rare occurences of 15's, 17's, and a 23 all tied together in one raft, it is amazing how similar, yet different these boats are. Compared to my 17, the 15 is only 2 feet shorter on waterline, yet almost half the weight. It is easy to handle on and off the water. The fractional rig gives you a small jib to handle....no winches...only clam cleats to handle your jib sheets. No backstay...only two small side stays and a forestay. In shallow water, the kickup rudder is a marvel. Small and easy to handle...almost seems like a toy boat...but can handle rough weather. Yet...as recent posts will attest....the cabin is tight for a big guy with all the equipment on a longer trip. On a smaller lake for daysails....it would be hard to beat. And for her size....very fast. I sailed with Bill Riker and Doug Kelch last summer, and spotting them a head start on a downwind run...I eventually caught em...but it wasn't easy. And coming back out against a brisk wind....they waxed me. They were still sailing while I was changing headsails and reefing. At only 2 feet larger, the 17 does start to "look" like a bigger boat, and has most of the big boat options. Larger headsails; forestay, backstay, shrouds, vang, sheet winches, travelers, etc. I now carry 4 hanked on headsails. And compared to the 15, the cabin is much larger....yet you still don't have much room. The 15 and 17 are still "backpacking" on a boat. I use a 3/4 ton Suburban to tow her....but that's overkill. My old S10 Chevy would handle it for short trips. And on my lake, I'm known as "the tiny little boat". Most of the bigger boat owners....and especially their wives...look at me like I'm crazy to leave the dock in something so small. Still....I've spent over a week on her at a time, and always felt like I had plenty of room. And compared to the 15 or 17, the 23 is palatial. Stand up headroom and places to walk around, sit upright at a table, a real galley, etc. Too bad there aren't more of them around. I think that old Suburban could handle it! Howard M17, #278 Audasea On 1/28/04 8:08 AM, "GILBERT" <gilbert@mindgame.com> wrote:
I was very excited about the response, I think I would rather have something from a mfg that is still in buisness, due to parts, support etc. NOOWW aside from the price difference, and of course the size. I would think bigger is better. I probably will get runned off the list for this question
_______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats