G'day Rob my thoughts on the F14 is a pathway, for a beginner wanting a new cat (which is very rare) the F12 is more than enough for most, then if you want new and more you take a big step to the F14 which is a boat you never have to stop sailing unless you want to step up to the next level. Once you get to Aus you will find no end of cheap 14ft cats to get people into sailing and theres heaps of them out there sailing. I have 5 cats in my backyard 14ft or under and they're all probably 25yrs old. We need to have a pipe line of powerful new cats with square top rigs coming through so that in 2o yrs we don't all have 50 yr old cats for the kids to sail on.
If you want a cheaper option for a fast cat consider getting a good 14ft Arrow (the fastest standard 14ft cat you can trapeze on) with the new square top main then if you want you could put a spinnaker on it.
good luck with your boat hunting