Wow
Lots of recomondations of really high performance boats!! No questions to Johnathon about what kind of sailing he really wants to do. How likely is he to go sailing in 15 knotts... or is he really sailing in 10 knots and fair weather. How shallow is the Pamlico sound??? In many of the tidal bays, sandbars are constantly shiffing. A boardless boat or a boat with kick up centerboards and rudders is much more user friendly. How much weight can you and your wife move around on the beach...Will you be trailering the boat often and stepping the mast... Dead boat weight on and off the trailer will get old quick and stop you from sailing your toy. Similar... the raising and lowering of the mast are really intimidating to lots of people and require a good bit of stength or rigging to deal with.
There is no harm in moving up in boat performance slowly...I would recomend a couple of moderate jumps upward... as opposed to an I20 when you have sailed P16'.!
Boardless boats that would suit are the N5.7, the Dart 20 and a G Cat 5.7.... In addition, these rigs are boomless which is another user friendly feature for family and friends. These boats are noticibly faster then your P16 and have about the same level of conrol lines.
It does not sound like you are looking for a huge performance increase... however, a step up from the boardless boats would be the P18-2 and Nacra 5.5sloop. Mystere 5.5. The first has a boom and kick up center boards... the second is boomless with dagger boards. .. I would make sure that you sailed the P19, N5.8 and Hobie 20 plus all of the 20 footers in a decent breeze before you purchsed one... the power in these boats could be a huge surpise and much more then you want to deal with.
I own a Dart 18 and a Tornado.... I sail the Dart solo, and with family and non sailing friends.... Its simple, boomless and fun and extemely versitile. The Tornado is lots of boat (Similar to Nacra 6.0's and I 20's in power) It is not as much fun unless you have another sailor with you who can sail the boat with you...
Check out Mark Michaleson's buyers guide for some good info about possible boats.
Have fun.
Mark
