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Wife and I had sailed for years and last had a 34' sailboat in Miami. Now live in Central Florida close to the St. Johns River. Found a nice marina close by our home and really like the Montauk 170 and am planning on looking at a few and buying a used one in nice condition. Couple of questions to the Whaler experts on this forum:

-Power. In my mind Yamaha makes the best OB's and I was surprised to see that virtually all
Whalers come stock powered with Mercury OB's. The one I am looking at has a 90 HP Merc
4 stroke ... and from what I have seen online they are quality motors. Comments regarding the Mercs?

-What sort of range is feasible at moderate cruising speed with the "stock" two fuel tanks (6 gal each)?

-I see that some people have "upgraded" by replacing the two portable tanks with a Moeller 22 gallon fixed
tank. I read a couple of comments mentioning that the tank has a tendency to pinch the fuel line which is
located under the tank. One person mentioned mounting the tank on 1/3" tall brackets (one on each corner)
so the tank doesn't hold moisture under it and also doesn't impact the fuel line. Any recommendations
or comments on that topic?

-T tops ... have seen a couple of photos of boats with a "foldable" T top ... top half comes off so that a boat
can be put into a garage or a covered slip if it has a low roof. Anyone use a T top? Provides shade?

Really looking forward to getting the Montauk 170. They look like a high quality product and should be great fun
tooling around the St. Johns River (River is 310 miles long ... runs from Vero Beach to Jacksonville ... and passes
through lakes, springs, with Manatees, Gatos and tons of fish and birds. Thanks in advance to any comments that might answer my initial questions.