Rotomolded Polyethylene: The Poor Man's Carbon Fiber.

In addition to our small sailboats my wife and I have a kayak apiece. We live in Louisiana which begs for some kayak paddling once in a while.

I wouldn't say it's the future of sailing but small rotomolded boats that don't seem intimidating or complicated can introduce a lot of new people to the water without resorting to jetskis and that's great.

I think it would be fair to say that the Hobie Adventure Island is more of an advance for the kayaker. There are other kayaks that can be fitted with small sails (but without the amas that add stability a kayak with a sail needs). And the Islands sail is larger than the typical kayak sail.

The Island is also a pedal boat which may appeal to people not comfortable depending on the wind alone for propulsion. Some customers may enjoy a pedal boat instead of a sailboat.

We're really talking about two different products here. The Island is a convertible kayak with a sail, and hulls that make it a trimaran, and the Windrider 16 is a small trimaran sailboat, only. (The Island has 52.5 sq.ft of sail compared to 82 sq.ft. for the Windrider 16.) Some interesting irony is that the Windrider 16 was designed by a famous kayak designer; Jim Brown.

Fortunately, like all sailboats, the Windrider 16 can be picked-up slightly used by owners for whom sailing was not a big thrill. The cost of a used Windrider 16 all over the 'net is about $1,000 to $1,200. At that price you can have his and her's and plenty left over for a couple of kayaks to boot. To me, the Windrider 16 is a prettier craft and all of us (admit it) will pay extra for a prettier boat.

The Windrider 17 expanded the idea of the 16 but, no, when comparing that to a Nacra 5.2 is ludicrous. Those two are two different boats, as well.