Pete,

Your situation was mine two years ago if you are intending to race. The monohual I was bowman on was donated right out from under me. I started racing my Hobie 16 with a combined crew weight of 380# to 400#. We were constantly back of the pack. Yup it needed racing rudders, and yup, it needed new sails. On the few occasion we had enough wind and tried to double trap, the leeward hull would completely submerge, which was not fast as the stanchions caused a lot of extra drag. We would actually be faster with the crew trapping and me hiking. Last fall we bought a Nacra 6.0 NA. Yes the sails are in much better shape and yes it has dagger boards. On a good night (we make fewer mistakes than others) we finish in the top third. On a bad night (we make more mistake than our competitors) we finish mid-pack. I think the biggest factor to our improved race results is our boats ability to perform given our weight. In one year I don’t believe our sailing skill has improved that much to be consider the reason for our improved finishes. Our skill certainly has improved because we are in a lot more situations that require us to handle the boat well and make the right decisions.

I know there are many factors involved in finding the right boat. The Hobie 16 provided some great times on the water. If you plan on being competitive with 400#, I would think 20’ or more would be appropriate. We have a Supercat 22 in our club and that thing is unbelievable. We also have a team in our club that last year raced, I believe very successfully, a Hobie 18 with probably around 400# of total crew weight. I also believe their skill level is something to aspire to!

If I were looking at something in the 16’ range I would be looking at the revitalized Supercat 17, now the ARC 17. I don’t know what the crew weight range is for the ARC 17.

After all that, join us on a Nacra 6.0.