Congrats, John. Say what constitutes a "used owner"? Very old age? You certainly are in the right forum for dealing with a vintage sailboat. I have a 77 and my buddy just down the road also has a 74, His has the reinforcing ridges cast into the overhead. Also, his port side cockpit locker opens into the whole bottom of the hull where mine has a bulkhead on the midship and forward ends. You have been on this site for a long time. Is this your first 17?? I bought mine about three years ago and it could be sailed as is but I couldn't keep my meddling hands off of it so did a lot of voluntary repairs to the rig and gelcoat. My advice, splash it asap and decide what you really can live with and what you really want to change. Have fun, Tom B. Mont, 17, AS-IS.