CONTINUOUSWAVE

I am considering buying either a 2022 170 MONTAUK or a used 2018 180 DAUNTLESS.

Q1: can the larger 180 DAUNTlESS handle bigger water than the 170 MONTAUK?

I often fished the Merrimack River in Massachusetts in my 2002 MONTAUK 17, and I was comfortable.

A 180 DAUNTLESS boat is often described as a "bay boat."

Q2: is a 180 DAUNTLESS more suitable for water around Florida than it is for waters around Maine and Massachusetts?

Q3: can a 180 DAUNTLESS be taken a couple miles offshore?

Q4: can a 180 DAUNTLESS be put in a standard garage?

I loved storing my 2002 MONTAUK 17 in my garage; that kept the boat clean during the week--a trait that my former 208 Grady with hardtop did not share.

Q5: does a 180 DAUNTLESS actually have scuppers that would allow for the boat to be left on a mooring without a sump pump running and discharging the boat battery?

For me to tell if a 180 DAUNTLESS would be fully functional is hard

An increase in 60-HP on a 180 DAUNTLESS less than one-foot longer and on 300-lbs heavier [than a 170 MONTAUK] seems very significant.

Q6: will day-to-day operation [of the 180 DAUNTLESS] benefit from more horsepower by reducing time to accelerate to plane [compared to the 170 MONTAUK]?

Q7: is 90-HP enough for a 170 MONTAUK to operate safely and comfortably with four passengers?

Q8: is the quality of a 180 DAUNTLESS substantially different than the quality of a 170 MONTAUK?

Q9: are there aspects [of either the 170 MONTAUK or the 180 DAUNTLESS] that are not immediately noticeable but reveal themselves over the course of ownership?

[Both boats will be stored on trailers and driven to launch sites for use; a difference in total trailer towing weight is not a concern.]

Thanks for any insight you may have.

https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3658
This pervious discussion touches on the self bailing topic.

Thanks for that link. I didn't see the 180 specifically mentioned, but was interested to learn of the necessity for battery tenders even on the 210, for instance.

I don't know the dimensions of a standard garage space. I suspect the depth required to store a 180 Dauntless on its trailer will be insufficient. Perhaps it would fit if the trailer has a folding tongue. The opening of our single door garage is exactly 96 inches. We keep a Sport 13 in our single space and use an electric trailer dolly to move it in and out of the garage. The dolly is an enormous help when ensuring the trailer fenders are centered coming through the door and ensuring my back health.

In the general history of the two models, the characteristics of a DAUNTLESS that differed from a MONTAUK used to be:

• the MONTAUK used on-deck portable fuel tanks; the DAUNTLESS had a built-in fuel tank
• the freeboard on a DAUNTLESS would be less than on a MONTAUK, probably intended to make boarding from the water easier
• the DAUNTLESS would have a V-hull, and the MONTAUK a semi-rounded bottom
• the DAUNTLESS would have more gunwale-height deck area, while the MONTAUK was an open boat
• the DAUNTLESS might be a dual console boat; the MONTAUK was always a center console
• the DAUNTLESS might have in-deck storage space with opening hatches; the MONTAUK would not
• the DAUNTLESS would often have a large full-width aft bench seat with backrest.

Neither the MONTAUK or the DAUNTLESS were serious offshore boats. Many of these differences are no longer apparent in the current models.

A good source of information about how the post-2018 170 MONTAUK differs from the 2002 170 MONTAUK is

Boston Whaler Introduces the 2018 170 MONTAUK
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewto ... f=4&t=2588

The post-2018 170 MONTAUK gained weight, got wider gunwales, an internal fuel tank, and grew in length, beam, and draft.

vtbw wrote:Q7: is 90-HP enough for a 170 MONTAUK to operate safely and comfortably with four passengers?

The hull is rated for seven passengers for safe operation. More than seven would transition to unsafe operation.

Any small boat will see a significant change in boat speed and acceleration between operating with one person aboard and operating with four people aboard. Performance is always related to the ratio of weight to power. When the boat weight is increased by addition of more people, that change in weight becomes a significant percentage of the total boat weight. For example, using the dry-weight specification for a post-2018 170 MONTAUK at 1,700-lbs, and allowing for an increase in weight due to three more people of 175-lbs each, the change in total boat weight is 525-lbs for a 1,700-lbs boat, or an increase of 30-percent. This will likely result in a decrease in top speed of about 17-percent, and also increase the time to accelerate to plane.

vtbw wrote:Q8: is the quality of a 180 DAUNTLESS substantially different than the quality of a 170 MONTAUK?

I would not expect there to be any significant difference in the quality of construction between the two boats as delivered from Boston Whaler.

If you are hoping for standard garage storage, be sure to check console and tilted up engine height.

Con

Having transited the Merrimack River, and the ocean waters off southern Maine, New Hampshire, and northern Massachusetts for 12 years, I would select the 2022 170 Montauk II over a Dauntless 180.

The 170 Montauk II is heavier than its predecessor's, has a newer hull design with higher freeboard, and a taller console than the 180 Dauntless.

The problem: current new boat pricing is obscene, and there is an 8 to 12-month or longer delay from ordering until delivery for a 170 Montauk II.

For the above reason a 170 Montauk or a 180 Dauntless would be acceptable.

Very helpful information, all. Thank you.