Wouter,
thanks. Good to know it's not just me being a total wimp!

Avalondalyn,
what exactly did you like most and what do you miss most about your H-18? I know that it seems that "I want it all, and I want it now (Queen)" But what I'm basically trying to do is not compromise from the start but at the end, once I get the big picture. Now all I have is a lot of fragmented information and lots of missing pieces.
That said, I'm afraid the Hobie 18 will be out of my league for single handing. But please convince me otherwise if you feel I may be mistakenly writing this excellent boat off! The mast float is an excellent idea. I think I'll build one with an internal radar reflector when I get my boat.

Gree 2056 and pepin,
good to know you both still love your old Nacra 5.2s and can right them solo! Now that (Inter 17) spin sure sounds interesting... Is the 5.2 easy to move around solo on the beach and can you also step the mast by yourself? pepin, thanks for those windspeed indications. To me that indicates the boat is manageable under the conditions I would normally encounter.

1943,
Of the boats you recommend only the H16 (of course), the Dart (15 or 18?) and last but not least the Nacra 4.5 appear to be readily available on the second hand market in my area. Given the above; I don't like the aesthetics or the relative lack of buoyancy of the H16 (sorry), though I have sailed one (a rental) with no problems. The Dart has a strong class assn. around here, which is a definite plus. But It appears to have been geared more toward "easy to rig and sail" than toward the "exciting performer" end of the scale. I have not sailed one, so please correct me if I'm wrong. The Nacra 4.5 looks nice and must be really easy to handle solo, but it also seems to be geared toward ease of use mostly. I'd like to know how many people it could carry without tripping up all the time.

Andinista, AndrewScott and JeffS,
thanks for the warnings and the tip (A class). Personally I consider solo righting without extra complexity a minimum requirement. This means I will only buy a boat which I'm confident I can right without mechanical aids. If it turns out otherwise I'll then still have the pole as plan 'B'. If OTOH I were to buy a boat thinking it would be all right with a rigting bag or pole, and it turns out that I can't get it to work.... (I tend to sail in places and at times where no one else seems to go very often)

The way it looks now I'm most interested in the Nacra 4.5, 5.0 & 5.2. Performance wise any F-16 or a less extreme "A" class boat found to be affordable sounds like a nice option!
I think buying anything much over 16' (5m) will be biting off more than I can chew...


Thanks everyone,
Dennis