Greetings, folks: I am a new member to this list as of this morning, and I must say I'm a little surprised at how active it is (I suppose, I really should read the archives!). In any event, it looks as if I'll learn plenty in here. I am currently living in the Lansing, Michigan area, but I consider Marquette to be home (You know, Michiganian by birth; Yooper, by the grace of God!). I'm probably not alone here is not actually owning a Montgomery. I have a 13 foot wooden yawl, which is currently being refinished (pictures can be seen on the Wooden Boat forum under Swifty 13, if you'd like a peek at her). It's a fun boat, but definitly an inland lake boat. She's hull #001 by the way, and was hand built by Fred Shell himself as the prototype for his line of boats. The picture of the Swifty 13, on his website, www.shellboats.com is my boat, which he kept for his own day sailer for several years after her build in 1992. I joined this list because I'm going to need something a little bigger to satisfy my urge to cruise the Great Lakes, and it didn't take long to decide that the M17, is not only a great boat, but it appears to meet (exceed) all of my needs. It's not going to happen this year, but with luck, I'd like to have one for next season. So, I'm up to my elbows refinishing a boat that I love, and dreaming about the next one... I've got it bad!