Hobie 18SX: now there was a trip. These were sent out brand new from the factory for 1988 Nationals at Lake Erie without their wings. After the windstorm on the first practice day...there were no battens either! The sails had been built with flimsy Windsurfer straps for batten adjusters. With the taller masts and more sail area, they pitchpoled and/or capsized much more easily. The bottom of the bay must have looked like a fiberglass forest! They leaked excessively too, which took days to fix. Did their ratings ever get lower than the Hobie 18? Taller mast and more sail area does not always make a better sailboat.