montgomery 17 sailboat interior

Montgomery 17

Design characteristics, history and description, written by jerry montgomery.

The Montgomery 17 was designed by Lyle Hess, a well-known and highly respected designer of blue-water cruising boats, as an able coastal cruiser; small enough to be easily trailered but capable of moderate offshore passages. The first 17s were made as fixed keel boats, with a 525 lb. cast iron, bolt-on keel, and we took the first two to the Newport, RI, and Annapolis, MD boat shows in the fall of ’73 and sold over 30 of them between the two shows, strictly on the reputations of the designer and builder and the obvious quality of the boat.

Several of these were fixed keel boats, but most were orders for the announced keel/centerboard version. A total of about 20 of the early fixed keel 17s were made and the remain very stiff, seaworthy boats. (These boats are now old enough that keel bolts should be replaced for safety’s sake, and I still have a supply of the old 5/8" hi-tensile galvanized steel bolts, which are very difficult to find now). Soon after the shows, we finished the tooling for the still-current keel/CB version. I believe that the M-17 was the first production boat to use end-grain balsa coring in the deck.

In the late 70’s we made several flush deck 17s, which were a racing version with a flat deck like a Soling or Etchells 22, with no house and a small, self bailing cockpit. This started out as a lark, actually, because a good friend, also a boat builder, agreed to make the plug (mock-up) for the new deck mold in exchange for a 17 hull, which he wanted to finish off and sail to Hawaii. I made a mold off the plug, and made the first boat, Coyote, for myself. I took it to the October race in Guaymas, Mexico a few weeks later, and even though I did not yet have a spinnaker, finished 6th boat-for-boat on the first day and 2nd on the second day. A Venture 17 and I were the two smallest boats in the fleet, and not knowing anything about a Montgomery 17, let alone a flush deck 17, the race committee rated me the same as the Venture, which is a slow boat, and I won by so much on corrected time the first day that I had only to finish on he second day in order to take first overall. I also won the second day.

Later in the year, I sold "Coyote" (to an incredible guy in Tucson who won the Guaymas race the next two years with it) to help dig up money for the down payment on a house. The flush deck was a little lighter than a normal 17, had less windage because of the flat deck, and had a taller and higher aspect rig. It was a handful in a blow, but a light air bomb! I ended up building 9 of them, but destroyed the deck mold when I moved to the Sacramento area in 1987.

During the late 70’s we also made 15 or 20 tall rig 17’s; the mast was 1’9" taller than normal. Most of these were sold in the light-air areas of southern California and Arizona (mostly sailed in the Sea of Cortez).

In 1981 we retooled the 17, mostly because the molds had had several hundred boats made form them and were getting worn out, but incorporated several minor changes, like improving the windows, cockpit drainage, and the hull/deck joint, and changing the toe rails, forward hatch details, etc. In about ’84 we changed from extruded aluminum toe rails to those of teak, mostly because of changing market trends. In 1987 we made a centerboard change; from cast iron to fiberglass with a lead core. The new centerboards were thicker in section but smaller in profile, and I can’t tell the difference between the two types in sailing them. This change was made in response to death threats and other complaints resulting from the rusting problem common to cast iron. The new centerboards are no better, but they don’t rust. The older ones are probably more reliable, being cast iron, but we’ve had no problems with the new after 6 years. At the same time, we changed from steel to lead ballast, and increased the total ballast weight from 55 to 600 lbs.

The older, pre-81 17s are nearly as good as the newer; the difference being mostly that of cosmetics and other slight refinements, but they are usually a good bit less expensive in the broker’s yards. The biggest improvement in the 1981 17 was the addition of the wet locker, and the resulting improvement in cockpit drainage.

Other changes have been in the interior. Originally the 17 had a "three berth" interior; a double berth forward and a quarter berth on the starboard. On port, opposite the starboard berth, was a molded-in galley unit consisting of a sink with storage under, and a place for a stove. A few years later (about ’78 or so) we tooled a new interior with four berths, replacing the galley unit with a port side quarter berth which was a mirror-image of the starboard berth.

Neither of these interiors was perfect. The 3-berth lacked sitting room below; two people could shoehorn themselves onto the starboard berth and sit there like a couple of sardines, but it was far from comfortable. The galley/sink unit was seldom used except in cold or wet weather. And its most valuable qualities were the storage under, and even more important, the cockpit storage behind it, accessible through the port side cockpit hatch. The 4-berth had great sitting room for two people (or cramped room for four), but no galley for storage, and since the portside quarter berth ran all the way back under the cockpit, no storage there. To me, the 4-berth was the least desirable of the interiors.

In about ’87, we changed to the present interior, which is an adaptation of the previous two. On port, instead of the galley, we have a shortened (5’ long) berth that allows the much-needed sitting room and is long enough for a half-grown kid to sleep on, but still leaves enough room behind it for cockpit accessed storage. This is by far the best interior of the three and we have long since discontinued the other two.

Sail Measurements provided by Jerry Montgomery

Standard rig.

• I - 22.92 FT
• J - 7.16 FT
• P - 19.33 FT
• E - 7.75 FT

Tall rig is same except I and P are 1.75 FT longer. Working jib as supplied by Montgomery was a 109%.

• I - 25.08 FT
• P - 22.5 FT

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• Sailboat Guide

Montgomery 17 FD

Montgomery 17 FD is a 17 ′ 1 ″ / 5.2 m monohull sailboat designed by Lyle C. Hess and built by Montgomery Marine Products starting in 1975.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Flush deck, keel/cb version of the standard MONTGOMERY 17.

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Sail with Grace

Montgomery 17

Montgomery 17’s have cruised the Caribbean, sailed from California to Hawaii and from Cape Hatteras to San Diego via the Panama Canal, and sailed the length of the Mississippi. I, and many others have crossed the Sea of Cortez and have made countless trips to Catalina and the Channel Islands.

The 17 is not a boat for everyone. It is, out of necessity, considerably more expensive than other boats in the size range, and there is a reason for this. The 17 is overbuilt, over-engineered, and one of Lyle Hess’s very best designs.

It is surprisingly fast, surprisingly stiff, handles like a BMW, and is strong enough to be an icebreaker. The 17 is one of the driest sailboats made regardless of size.

It is not a “floating house trailer”; the money is in fiberglass and hardware. When there is any question about the strength, quality, or suitability of any part, we go to something larger or better. The interior is clean, efficient, needs zero maintenance, and has an abundance of organized and accessible storage, but is not fancy. In short, the Montgomery 17 is made for the critical and demanding sailor.

The 17 is a true keel/centerboarder; the ballast is in the keel and the centerboard is primarily for upwind performance, but is weighted so that it will stay down reliably.    Montgomery Website

Montgomery 17 on Trailer! Ready for Renovation!

1976 montgomery 17.

• Make: Montgomery
• Type: Sloop
• Location: Houston, Texas, United States

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UFI approval for Moscow Boat Show

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Written by Zuzana Bednarova

September 17 was marked by meeting of the UFI Executive Committee. During the event, the Committe approved the admission of Crocus Expo IEC as a full member of UFI in categories of “Exhibition Organizers” and “Exhibition Centres. Moscow Boat Show has been granted the status of “UFI Approved Event”.

Moscow Boat Show

UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry is the association of trade show organizers, fairground owners, national and international associations of the exhibition industry, and its partners. As of 2012, it has 608 members in 224 cities from 86 countries covering 6 continents. The association members are responsible for the management and operation of over 4 500 profile events. The association represents more than 1 000 000 of exhibitors and more than 150 000 000 visitors.

The Crocus Expo Exhibition Centre is a listed member of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC), the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, the Guild of Exhibition and Fair Operators by the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Donald Tramp fund has awarded Crocus Expo IEC Diamond Excellence Award.

Crocus Expo IEC is an ideal venue for running of large international and national exhibitions of different profile including congress events, conferences and scientific symposiums.About 50% of all exhibition events of Moscow take place in Crocus Expo and average exposition space load comprises 85%.

Moscow Boat Show provides the perfect platform from which to preview new products, evaluate market trends, and establish long-lasting and commercially profitable partnerships. Despite the dynamic changes taking place in Russia and the rapid growth of the yachting sector, the show continues to complement and reflect the industry’s demand and is a promotional opportunity not to be missed!

The exposition space will increase up to 45 000 sq m in 2013. More than 350 Russian and foreign companies will participate in the show. The scale of the project confirms confident positions of its positive development.

Moscow Boat Show is the largest project in Russia presenting all the best in the world of yachting. The exhibition annually shows high level of attendance and has already proved as significant and noteworthy event in the world of yachts and boats.

Please contact CharterWorld - the luxury yacht charter specialist - for more on superyacht news item "UFI approval for Moscow Boat Show".

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Dyna-Ski Boats custom builds outboard powered water ski boats for recreational skiers and show ski clubs. We have customers all over the world including Malaysia, the Caribbean, Moscow, Russia, the Cayman Islands and Canada. This blog is used to keep readers informed about what is going on at Dyna-Ski and answers questions that are frequently asked. You can also visit www.dyna-ski.com for more information about our boats. Contact Dyna-Ski at [email protected] or call 715-854-7501.

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Update on things and how to buy a dyna-ski boat, sunday, june 16, 2019, it has been a long slow process . . . . . ..