Herb, I have been sailing for thirty years, in fresh water, on the Hudson River ( Hyde Park Area ) and I moved to Southern North Carolina about 3 years ago. I arrived here with a Seaward 23 in tow and intended to use it to sail the intecoastal, the mouth of the Cape Fear River and local coastal waters. It was very well suited for these waters with a fairly shallow draft, nice cabin space and very seaworthy. Since dockage is expensive and moorings are not available I was lucky enough to find an anchorage that I could long term the boat right near the house. I did this for a season, but found the upkeep on a boat in salt water to be more than I wanted to bother with at 58.
I began researching other boats and was actually looking at the Potter on a website when I spotted another micro cruiser in the background of a race photo. I was lucky that the site listed the other boats make and I began researching the Montgomery. I checked out the 15 and 17 and was toying with either when a beautiful Montgomery 15 showed up in Ithaca, NY. It was a 2003 and it looked like bran-new, almost too good to be true. I immediately sent a deposit and had the boat surveyed. It was in excellent condition and even had a roller furling system and new jib sail to boot. I'm glad that I got the 15, because the 17 would have been too big for my garage. The 15 is excellent in these waters and can even be gunkholed if you choose to. This boat is in my opinion the best boat for these waters if you're looking for ease of launch and inside storage. The cockpit is a nice size and the V-berth is bigger than I anticipated, the lapstrake is great for strength and beating down any splash. I think this boat is a great boat for an old-timer who wants to avoid allot of maintenance. It is easy to launch, and easy to sail! I hope this will help you with your quest for a new boat... Lou Aliotta _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
