In my opinion the 18 was the last of the truly great multi-purpose cats (some will argue that the 16 is still that, I prefer the 18). Tough and great for recreational sailing (especially with wings), enough performance to make them fun to race. My boat needs have moved on, but if I ever find myself back into pure recreational beach cat sailing I'll probably be looking for a good used 18 again. The current casual boats just don't get it for me (Wave is fun but not big enough).

My advice - keep sailing your 18 until the hulls turn to mush, then find another good used one and buy that. Add some new sails (my 18 really came to life with a new set of Hobie rags), maybe a square top main, add a spinnaker, have fun. Until I see video of a Getaway blasting off the surf in Hawaii that's my advice...