CONTINUOUSWAVE

Q1: what Boston Whaler boat from the choice of a MONTAUK 17 or a DAUNTLESS or an OUTRAGE would be the best boat for seven adults and childred to use in the Whidbey Island, Washington, area and perhaps also in Puget Sound?

BACKSTORY: I am 68-years-old and a new boater. I want to take out boating our children and our grandchildren from Penn Cove on Whidbey Island, and when conditions permit on Puget Sound.

For comfort you are looking at least:

Outrage 20, Outrage 22,
Outrage 210
Montauk 210
Dauntless 200

Anything smaller will be crowded and not fun.

Q2: what is the total number of adults on board?

Q3: what is the total number of children and what are their ages?

No matter what combination of adults and children that adds up to seven, a 17-foot MONTAUK is out of the question for seven people.

If your answer is going to be seven adults plus their grandchildren, you would need a boat like 320 VANTAGE. That boat is probably a $500,000 boat, and for a first boat for a 68-year-old guy, that is going to be a too much boat to learn about boating.

A photograph on the Boston Whaler website shows seven adults aboard a 320 VANTAGE:

Perhaps you should consider a pontoon boat and limit any boating times to fair weather.

When we lived in Washington, we would take our classic Montauk 17 up to the San Juan Islands often. Many protected areas there like your Penn Cove on Whidbey Island. The Montauk 17 has lots of interior room. We had 5-7 people in it often - worked great. Perfect for Island Hopping. Just watch the wakes of the big yachts. Make sure you have maximum power outboard (90 HP for classic Montauk.) for keeping the bow up when needed. Always had a kicker motor for safety. Watch the weather. Very cool for kids and adults alike to be so close to the water. And we got to use the "Dinghy Dock" in Friday Harbor!

Thanks for your replies. At present at the max we have 4 adults and 3 children under age 8...but of course the children will grow. We were hoping to spend $20k to $30k on an older BW...so we are in a totally different category than a 32 foot boat! Also. we estimate we would use it a max of 10x each summer for a few hours and have it on a float just off from our home for easy access

Regarding SEVEN people on a MONTAUK working "great": not really.

In a MONTAUK 17 the seating would be good for two people, who would sit at the helm side-by-side, in either the reversible pilot seat or on two molded swivel seats. Two more can sit in front of the helm if there is the optional cooler with a cushion seat added to the boat, but adults sitting on the cooler seats will tend to obstruct the view to the people at the helm, particularly the helmsman, who would have to stand to see over them.

To create three more safe seats for small children you will need to improvise. One possible solution might be to add a full-with bench seat behind the helm seats. In Figure 2 below you see a nice MONTAUK 17 with an owner-added seat in the aft end of the cockpit.



The effect is to convert a wonderfully open and enjoyable small center console into a crowded school bus.

The specifications from Boston Whaler list the capacity of the MONTAUK 17 as seven persons. So, yeah, it is legal to have seven persons on board. However, to keep it legal you will need to have seven USCG-certified personal floatation devices on the boat, one for each of the seven people and appropriately size for the person who will wear it. Also you need an eighth flotation device on board, a USCG certified throwable device, often a floating cushion. And you will need a fire extinguisher, fenders, mooring lines, distress signals for daylight and darkness, and perhaps a few other safety devices to comply with USCG and state regulations.

Then for the engine you need a fuel tank, maybe an oil tan, and a battery.

All this gear goes on deck, or inside the center console, or in the cooler (if you are not using the cooler to keep drinks cold).

Also, most people who go out on a boat usually bring along some extra stuff, like maybe a swim suit and towel, maybe a jacket or rain gear, maybe even a bag for their purse or wallet or cellphone or camera or other stuff. It is very unusual for people to just come aboard with nothing. More gear takes up more space and adds more weight

Where is all this stuff going to go so that your cruise will "work out great"?

A small boat like a MONTAUK 17 is relatively light. The performance will always be in proportion to the power-to-weight ratio. When seven people are aboard the total boat weight will increase significantly compared to having just one person on the boat. Even in the best case where all your family is very fit and weighs at or below the "average" weight, three adults are likely to weigh a total 450-lbs or more, and three children are going to weigh at least 150-lbs or more, so the boat weight is going to increase by at least 600-lbs--and likely more than that.

As a result of the weight increase, the response of the boat to increase in engine throttle is going to be more sluggish, and there is a possibility that boat may struggle to even get on plane, depending on what engine power is available. The way the boat will handle and feel to the helmsman will be quite different than with a light boat load.

Also, if you plan to leave the MONTAUK 17 on "a float" (which I infer means on a mooring in tidal saltwater) you will need to protect the hull with an epoxy bottom coat and then an anti-fouling bottom coat.

We did have the optional full width stern seat in our classic 17 Montauk. It was a regional option found on many Montauks in the PNW and Seattle area sold by Jacobsen Marine of Seattle (at one time the largest Boston Whaler dealer in the world). You still see some Jacobsen boats around with that option. A different full width Montauk stern seat is still available aftermarket new - we've has a few of those too - they work good. In Puget Sound it was great fun with adults in the stern seat and kids loved the sometimes wild ride in the bow.

I would recommend an older Outrage 18, I have a 1986, previously had a Montauk 17. The Outrage is better for larger adults, not as sensitive to passengers moving from side to side, more freeboard, more comfort when you get larger ocean swells. If you have the opportunity, do a test drive of both. They are both very easy to manoeuvre and operate, haul on a single axle trailer, and able to be beached. I have a keel guard on mine.

I have frequently run both my Montauk 17 and Outrage 17 with what I describe as a "full load."

Two adults or children sitting in front of the console on the 94qt cooler.
One adult standing next to me at the console.
Two adults or children sitting on the reversable pilot seat with the seat back forward so they are sitting facing aft.

Total load - 6 persons.

With 6 adults, a full fuel load (22 gallons for Montauk, 32 gallons for the Outrage 17), and 20 lbs of anchor gear, both boats are at their respective operational limit for the maximum rated horsepower in my opinion.

Note -The bow is not appropriate for passengers to occupy when underway.

Thanks to all for this wonderfully helpful information. I will use all of that information in my efforts to purchase a boat. I am deeply grateful.