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Yes, the Boston Whaler 16 hull and 17 hull differ in many ways. The 16 hull is lighter than the 17; a new mold was made to create the 17 hull; there is less wood below the non-skid on a 16; the non-skid grain is taller on 16 than later 17 hulls; the anchor locker is smaller (or smallest) on the 16, compared to the 17 later two versions. The 16 is a wetter ride when compared to the 17; but the 16 hull has better lateral stability. The 16 hull has a shallow transom splashwell making the mounting of a modern outboard motor more of a challenge, when compared to the later 17 hull (post 1983?) that has a deeper transom splashwell. The 16 hull has an interior lifting bow eye located in the anchor locker, whereas, the 17 hull has the bow lifting eye located above, outside of the anchor locker. The exterior bow eyelet is lower to the waterline on the 16 hull; The exterior bow eyelet is higher up on the 17 hull. I will defer to other members to comment on your questions of desirabilty and which is better handling in seas. Finally, yes, there is a Montauk 16 non-smirked hull model and a Montauk 17 smirked hull model.