fatty knees dinghy

Fellow forum members: i currently stow the 8 foot montgomery dinghy which came with my BCC upon purchase in 2004 on deck, in front of the mast. Reviewing the archived comments I note at least one owner stows their 7 ft fatty knees above the house. First question: if I replace my current dinghy with a fatty knees and keep it up front on chocks do I purchase a 7ft or 8 ft dinghy?. Second question: any opinions as to wisdom of replacing the montgomery with a fatty knees?

Thanks,

Richard Smith
Sentient #63