Hi all,

I've been doing lotsa research lately about getting into doing some beach cat sailing.

First let me start with some background ...
I've been around boats most of my life living in AK. Most power, but have launched row dinghies into surf. Very little sailing other than rides/crew when young. My wife hasn't been on water much at all ...

I've also repaired boats (some quite extensive), so working with wood and fiberglass is not a problem for me.

On a recent vacation, we took out a beach cat for a few trips. That was enough to get her hooked, and now we'd like to get a cat we can use in the lakes here in the pacific northwest (probably trips down to the gorge too). We'll probably be moving to CA in the next few years which would increase the season we'd use a boat also.

I'm curious on suggestions some of the "salts" here would have about us getting started ...

Some options I've been considering.

1) Get a used boat (h16?), fix it up, and build my sailing skills. Would probably also mean lotsa renovation to be reliable and a decent performer. boat + trailer + refit == $3000?

2) Get a new boat (getaway?). Would get me sailing immediately, but may be disappointed with performance? Also, at $7500 (for a getaway+wings), I'd want it to hold some resale if/when I wanted.

3) Build a boat (Blade F16). Something I'll probably do (and the scope of the project doesn't worry me), but means I'd be building rather than sailing for a year. Any ideas on the cost here. Not looking for a fully race ready rig, but quality components (au spars, harken blocks, etc). If I went with option #1, how much of that rig could move over? For example, say I can get a cheap H16 that needs sails, could I get a F16 sail (perhaps with new spars), fit it to the H16 until I get to building new hulls?

My current thoughts are to keep my eyes out for a decent used 16' cat, but if nothing shows up perhaps bite the bullet and get the getaway. Then perhaps next winter I would start on a blade ...