Dear Andrei! Thank you so much for your response! I am situated on that giant yet shallow swelling of the Rock River known as Lake Koshkonong; 10,000 acres but with an average depth of six feet! Thank you for your offer to take me aboard your boat! Sitting in a dry docked M-15 it seemed as though four agile adults (that were fond of one another) might fit just fine, especially since the boom clearance was so high! I was concerned about the weight factor especially. Truth is, I am not sure how frequently I'll have the pleasure of three eager sailors; more often I expect to sail singly, or at best with one other crew member. The small size is attractive to me for ease of trailering in and out of Lake K, or elsewhere, should I get the hankering to take her on the road! Thank you too for reminding me of the availability of barn storage. I have utilized the option of kind local farmers in the past. How long have you been an M-17-er? Are you sailing right there in Madison? Martha -----Original Message----- From: Andrei Caldararu <andreic@math.wisc.edu> To: For and about Montgomery Sailboats <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thu, Jul 15, 2010 11:00 am Subject: Re: M_Boats: Also Considering an M 15! Dear Martha, first of all, where are you located? I am in Madison, WI, and I have an M-17, if you are somewhere near I'd be glad to take you along for a sail someday. I did the same kind of research that you are interested in and the unanimous opinion was that 4 people do not fit in an M-15, the cockpit is too small. I was interested in sailing myself, my wife, and two young boys and everyone on the list agreed that it will be too cramped. In an M-17 4 people fit very comfortably for a day sail. Secondly I don't know about storing outside: around Madison (within a 30 mile radius) there are many farmers which offer in the winter their barns to store boats, sports cars, etc. This is a well established business and it's easy to find such people on craigslist. The cost is very reasonable, around $150 for the whole winter, and the boat sits inside. With my M-17 the only thing I do before putting her in storage is drain the water tank. Good luck, Andrei. _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats Remember, there is no privacy on the Internet!