I'm 64 yrs old, pretty much a couch potato, but have no trouble lifting the mast on my M17.
I lift it and raise it in one continuous motion, grab the forestay and fasten it, no problem.
lowering is the same, just be careful none of the stays get caught on anything in the process.
 
good luck I think you will like the Montgomery
 
Wayne Yeargain
M17 #204 "Intrepid"
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeffco923@aol.com
To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 03, 2002 10:15 PM
Subject: M_Boats: considering the M17...request for info

Hi,
I'm glad to see that there is an active group of Montgomery owners here.  We have been searching for the perfect(for us) boat for sometime.  The M-17 meets most of our criteria and we're getting very close to placing an order when I stumbled on to a bunch of "stuff" on the net that suggested that the builder had some financial and credibility issues.  
If any of you have recent experience with the builder and can give me some info I would appreciate it.
Also, I'm interested in knowing how easy(or difficult) it is for one person to raise the mast on the 17.  I live in Portland Or. and will be using the boat on lakes, rivers and on Puget Sound.  If there are any active Montgomery sailers in the Portland area I would love to hear from you.
Thanks