Jeff, Bob's is certainly an unbiased opinion :)
The spec's do speak for themselves and my personal opinon is that the M17 is the best boat in it's class on the market. However I believe in going sailing and I have come across a number of Precision 18's out cruising and the people using them seem quite happy with them. They may not know what the difference is but they are out there enjoying the water. My bottom line recommendation would be to get a M17 for the fall Phoenix sailing but if you can't, get a Precision as they are a decent enjoyable boat. If you buy used and get a good deal you can always upgrade to an M17 if you feel the need without loosing much money. Get ON THE WATER and enjoy it while you can. Doug Kelch PS: I love my M15 --- Bob <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Jeff > > I'll take this one. Without bragging too much, the > Montgomery 17 is a faster > boat, more weatherly and larger than a Precision 18. > Also the M_17 has > more ballast > (for better stability and windward performance) and > is built for much > rougher conditions. > > I've seen Precisions up close and was not impressed > with the build > quality. They are built > thin and light weight, have cheap plastic windows > and have poor sailing > performance overall. They are sold thru dealership > networks with the > usual 30% mark up, and mass produced in Florida. We > beat every Precision > (even the 21 with mylar racing sails) at > every SCA Cruiser Challange the last 4 years in a > stock Montgomery 17. > > Its funny how these boat factorys name a boat for > length. A perfect > example is the > Potter 19. The Potter is really only 17 feet 7 > inches long ON DECK, but > they count the motor mount as a foot and hence the > misleading 19 foot > length figure. > > Lets look at the Precision 18. > > Precision 18 Specifications > > LOA --17' 5" ..............The Montgomery 17 is 17 > feet 4 inches > without the mount > LWL -- 15' 5" ...............The Montgomery 17 is 15 > feet 6 inches... > BEAM -- 7' 5"................The Montgomery 17 is 7 > feet 7 inches wide > DRAFT, Board up -- 1' 6" > DRAFT, Board down -- 4' 3" > Displacement -- 1100 lbs. ........The Montgomery 17 > weighs 1650 pounds. > More material > > more ballast and a > stronger boat. Boats cost per pound to > > build. 1100 pounds > is really flimsy for boat that size. > > Ballast -- 350 lbs...wow.! The P-18 has slighty more > ballast than a > Montgomery 15..! > This > tells us that the > Precision 18 will be very tender. The > > Montgomery 17 has 600 pounds > of pure lead ballast. No > wonder > it is so seaworthy > and will go to weather. > > Sail area -- 145 sq. ft. .....the Precision 18 has a > fractional rig..the > M_17 has a proper > masthead > rig. > > Mast height above DWL -- 27' > Designer: -- Jim Taylor...............never heard > of him. Lyle C. Hess > designed the M_17. > > Nuff said.... > > As I said before your welcome to come visit Jeff... > > Fair winds > Bob > (949) 489-8227 > www.montgomeryboats.com > > > > Jeff Flancer wrote: > > >Hi all, My name is Jeff. I am looking at buying a > new or used M-17. I used to have a 1982 M-15. Good > boat, no doubt, but I need something a little bigger > (for 2 young boys & wife) so they can enjoy, and > newer, so I can enjoy(and not maintan too much). I > am also considering a Precision 18 and wonder if > there is any "unbiased" (wrong group I know) > opinions on either boat. I live in Phoenix, AZ, > and was a subscriber to this group in the past. > >Happy days to you all. Jeff Flancer > >_______________________________________________ > >http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
