Leo: There is no reason to avoid an older boat. There are many 'good old' montgomery boats. I've owned an M15 and currently have a M17. Both boats are from the early/mid 80s – '84 M15 and '83 M17. Both are excellent craft and neither 'show their age'. M17 Pictures – www.m17-375.webs.com M15 Pictures – www.freewebs.com/m15-named-scred based on your 'crew' size an M17 would be my recommendation. The 17s larger cockpit will be better for a two humans and a mid-to-larger sized dog. the cabin with sitting room will provide some indoor space. the cramped for a human 1/4-berths will be fine for a dog. The drawback to the M17 is a 1000 pound increase in towing weight and 1/3 longer rigging time over the M15. Remember: a smaller easier rigged sailboat is used more often. One concern that many have is the pre-mid-80s boat and the steel ballast (M15 (ballast and centerboard) and M17) and cast iron centerboard (M17). IMPORANT: the steel ballast/centerboard has only been an issue for boats that were wet stored ... and of these only a few report any challenges. my M15 is (or is it was as I sold her when I purchased my M17) a steel model and there were no issues before and during my ownership. She was always dry stored the M17s with steel ballast and cast iron centerboard have always been more prone to rusting issues. the centerboard is the weak link. SWEET PEA (my M17) spent most of her life in the water in quartermaster harbor, vashion island, WA. SWEET PEAS centerboard has been dropped, blasted, treated and there is no issue. this was done in 2005 and was the first time done (she is a '83 model … and spent 6-7 months EACH YEAR in saltwater for about 20 years). in my search for an M17 many of the 'iron' models have received the same treatment. issues such as sean mulligan's M23, DAUNTLESS, have been reported in the M15 and M17 in a sub-sub-sub-sub-sub set of boats. only 2 or three come to mind out of a run of what, 700ish boats before the lead models? don't overworry the issue. IMO, you are better served being concerned about the outboard motor not working correctly, a failing trailer, sails needing replacement than having a problem with the steel ballast/centerboard. :: Dave Scobie :: M17 #375 – SWEET PEA – www.m17-375.webs.com :: Sage Marine – www.sagemarine.us --- On Mon, 3/7/11, Leo McMahon <lpmcmahon@charter.net> wrote: Hello Everyone, My name is Leo McMahon, and I am currently "between" boats (as they say). My last boat was a Catalina 27, which we sailed on San Francisco bay for a couple of years. The Catalina was our third boat. Many years ago, we learned to sail on various lakes in Pennsylvania with an Oday daysailer and later graduated to a Hunter 23, which we sailed mostly on Chesapeake bay (Bohemia River) before moving to California. We currently live in Hollister, which is about 100 miles south of San Francisco and a bit too far to travel for sailing every weekend. So we decided to sell our Catalina in the hope of finding a new or possibly used Montgomery 17 (or 15) that we could trailer to sail Monterey bay and lakes not too far from Hollister. My wife and I mostly daysail and cruise weekends. We usually sail with my 70 pound German Shepherd, so cockpit space is a serious consideration along with overnight accomodations. From what we currently know about the Montgomery 17, it seems to meet all our needs very nicely I look forward to reading all the comments about the 17 (and the 15) in the archives, as well as any comment that you may have for a "newbie" to the Montgomery scene. Talk to you soon. Leo