In 34 years of sailing I have been fortunate to have owned and sailed a number of trailerable sailboats in the 18' to 26' size (having upsized and downsized a number of times). The Montgomery 17 was always on my list of want-to-try boats. So, when a larger boat with standing headroom was out of my financial reach and a project M17 came along, it was not a hard decision. With the "project" part mostly over, the joy of sailing the M17 is coming into full. The dingy like handling with the added bonus of cruise camping capability is an outstanding feature. And, when the sailing is over the retrieving is a snap with the smaller scale M17 (trailer tongue extension not withstanding). This all being said, I will probably continue my quest for a larger boat with standing headroom in a few years. My wife and sailing friend does not embrace the "character building" confines of the smaller boat and I will have to say that I do not "bend" as easily as I used to. Steve Shenkel <>< _/) M17#263 Glendale, AZ