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9R, one other boat you may want to consider, which is popular along the Gulf in Texas, is the older 1970s Outrage models - in particular I'm thinking the 19 but the 21 is not much bigger.

I grew up in a Striper 15. When I was a teenager, 7 of us would spend the day in it waterskiing - we sat all on top of each other but we did not care. My father would go out in it a lot with my brother and me and a friend. Later, after I got married, we used that same boat to go from Morehead City to Cape Lookout multiple times, sometimes with as many as 6 people in it (my 1980 version was rated for 7, not the 5 that some later models were rated for). So, I've dealt with small size and know how it is.

Before I went big with an Outrage 25, I looked hard at the 1970s Outrage 19, which is for practical purposes a 3' longer version of the Montauk you are looking at - same shallow V style, could easily pull with a minivan, but a lot more interior space - I think it is about 1' wider also. I looked hard at it for the same convenience reasons you are looking at the Montauk 17. It does not need an appreciably bigger engine than the Montauk. If the in-floor fuel tank is good it can be very convenient, and if not you can use a portable just like on the Montauk if you don't want to replace it.

The Montauk 17 is a great boat (as are the side-console variants Striper 17 and Newport 17). But I suspect you may be happier with a 1970s Outrage 19.