Sage Marine 17 - a New Boat for the 21st century

[Pacman]

Wow!  I went to the St. Petersburg boat show last weekend and the star of the show was only 17 feet long.

The boat, the Sage 17, looks like a Montgomery 17 but better in every way.  Carbon fiber structure, a full hull liner, nice hardware, opening ports, etc.

Of course there is one drawback that would keep me, and most others that I know, from buying one; 

The price is about $30,000.00 USD.

Makes our C-16s look like a real bargain. 

Now, if I find a used one in about 10 years..........maybe then.

[Bob23]

I read about these in Small Craft Advisor and they are beautiful. Saw one in Annapolis a few years ago. I didn't know they were that pricey. I'll stick with my 30 year old vintage Compac 23.

[brackish]

It looks exactly like a Montgomery 17 and I'm a bit confused by the design credit.  Lyle Hess designed the Montgomery boats.  And yet his name is never mentioned in the design credits for the Sage 17 which looks like an exact replica, maybe with some different materials and accessories.  Did Jerry Montgomery start a new company with the old mold and just spiffed it up a bit and claimed it as his design?  Maybe someone here knows the history.

[Bob23]

I don't exactly know and the issue of SCA is long gone but I thought that Jerry Montgomery was the Sage 17 designer. I like the structure cabin top which eliminates the need for a compression post. I never got the chance to board it in Annapolis.
Bob23

[kickingbug1]

   if you look closely you will see that the cabin is larger---extended forward somewhat.  i sure dont see 30,000 there but new compacs arnt cheap either. my compac 16 was a fine little boat, when i wanted more room i went to a (forgive me) catalina 18. 4000 was easier to swallow.

[hoddinr]

The newest Sage is their 15, the first of which will be rigged as a cat boat, but not a gaff rigged cat, like the SunCat, and no centerboard.  Instead?  A daggerboard! Yuck.

Ron

[NateD]

It looks exactly like a Montgomery 17 and I'm a bit confused by the design credit.  Lyle Hess designed the Montgomery boats.  And yet his name is never mentioned in the design credits for the Sage 17 which looks like an exact replica, maybe with some different materials and accessories.  Did Jerry Montgomery start a new company with the old mold and just spiffed it up a bit and claimed it as his design?  Maybe someone here knows the history.

My understanding is that Sage Marine was started by Sal Glesser, the owner of Spyderco knives. Sal and his wife were in the market for a performance oriented high quality trailer sailor/small cruiser and didn't like the current offerings. Sensing an unfilled niche, they decided to start making a boat that filled their requirements and hired Jerry as the designer/architect. I think the Sage 17/15 borrow heavily from the the Lyle Hess Montgomery boats in terms of hull design and aesthetics, but I believe they are built with new designs/molds, not the old Montgomery ones.

[captronr]

I'd like to offer a post on this subject, but I truly lack any specific data on these boats, so I can neither post anything or answer any private emails on the subject.  I have not followed who designed or built what.

I have met several folks who have boats of this lineage, and they love them.    And I do not want to post any negative comments on the subject. 

All I will offer is everyone, including me, should practice due diligence on the design, the builder, the seller, and the support for any sailboat any of us desires to purchase.

I hope this helps all of us to secure the boat that we really want to have.

Ron

[Catawampus]

Good advice Ron!
It worked for me!
Sun Cat!

[Ferd Johns]

Nate is correct. Sage Marine was started by Sal and Gail Glesser.

Jerry Montgomery is a skilled boatbuilder who had worked with Lyle Hess making plugs for some of his designs. Jerry also designed and built some small fiberglass sailing dinghies that were quite fast. He asked his good friend Lyle Hess to design a small cruising boat, and the Montgomery 17 was the result. Jerry was subsequently inspired to design and build the Montgomery 15, an even smaller but similar cruising boat, with encouragement from Hess.  Jerry eventually sold the "Montgomery Boats" name and the molds for both boats, as well as the Hess-designed Montgomery 23, to another builder, and they are still in production, but he is not associated with the company. Sal and Gail owned a Montgomery 15 and an unfinished Montgomery 23, wanted to support small, swift, seaworthy cruising boat design, and asked Jerry to update the concept and improve the already superior sailing abilities of the M17. The Sage 17 is the result. Beautifully crafted, lightweight but strong, weatherly, and designed to cruise two in relative comfort with two seats plus a comfortable vee berth below. Comparison with a ComPac 16 is comparing apples and oranges. Both boats are safe, solidly built, and shoal draft. Then the differences begin.

The Sage 15 is an even more interesting concept, and should be both fast and handy. It is extremely light, simple to rig, has sitting headroom below as well as a huge vee-berth, and is beachable. The dagger keel, with a streamlined bulb at the end, is deep for weatherliness and maximum righting moment when extended, but can be fully retracted for easy launching and beaching. The entire rig fits in a standard sized garage, and tows with a compact car. The cockpit is shorter than the CP 16, but is wide and deep.

Of course, neither boat, nor any new ComPac, for that matter, can compete price-wise with a used ComPac. Or a used Montgomery, for that matter. But I'm really glad top quality small cruising boat design and production is alive and well, thanks to long-standing industry stalwarts like Richard and Gerry, and newcomers like Sal, Gail, Jerry and their crew at Sage Marine.

Ferd

[Salty19]

The Sage looks like a really nice boat.   I hope they succeed in building tons of them and stay profitable enough to keep at it long term. There is room in the market for everyone to compete in the world of trailered sailboats, and if given time they may broaden their portfolio as well. 

A few thing stand out to me as both positives as well as concerns, but like they say each boat is a compromise in some way, shape, or form.
Just depends on what you want to do with it.

[Bob23]

I believe that the Sage 17 has a carbon fiber cabintop, eh? That's where it gets it's strength from so no compression post is needed.
Bob23

[JBC]

It's worth noting for those of you who subscribe to or read Small Craft Advisor that Jerry Montgomery has a comment in his regular column in the current issue (#97 Jan/Feb, 2016) comparing the subtle hull differences between the Sage 17 and Montgomery 17.  Cosmetics/rigging/cabin configurations are not the only differences.  The hulls, though similar, are not identical, and Jerry thinks the Sage 17 is a pronounced improvement in performance and design.  I believe the same holds true for the new Sage 15, which has just launched with a cat rig, the "Sage Cat."

I sailed a Monty 17 for a number of years and loved it, simply a wonderful Lyle Hess design, but when I made the decision to no longer slip a boat but to instead trailer-sail it, I downsized to a ComPac 16 because of its much easier characteristics for trailering (less overall boat/trailer weight, mast stepping, garage fit, etc.).  Had I found a Monty 15 at the time, I would have jumped at it, though I'm now very happy with the CP 16 for the kind of sailing I do on Colorado lakes.  Jerry Montgomery has always designed fast boats for their size and function and the 17 was a very lively and fine upwind performer.  But as I am now content to be a bit more lazy at the helm....

Jett

[domromer]

My buddy is one of the builders of these boats in Golden Colorado,  he's been talking about trying to bring one for the Florida 120, be neat to see one in person.  If I had one criticism,  I wish they made the cat rig free standing and on a tabernacle.

[Craig]

Most free standing rigs I know are keel stepped and use the deck to support the mast. Kind of an either/or thing