Ryan,

I am sure we all can appreciate your enthusiasm and we all certainly want to welcome into the sport another cat sailor. It is a great sport and you and your wife will find a great bunch of people participating. You will also find many catsailor addicts here on this site. Being that you haven't owned a cat before, you have to start somewhere. You have set a budget of $2K, and there are plenty of entry-level boats out there in that range. To me, for what needs that you have described, the Hobie 16 is the most obvious. All prejudices set aside and addressing your needs, this is a good starting point. There are plenty of used ones out there, the parts are readily available, and the boat is somewhat bullet proof and forgiving for a newbie. No daggerboards, no mast rotator, learn the basics first. Plus, you have indicated the desire to race, and there are usually plenty of 16s around racing. If you and your wife are under 325# combined weight, you should do fine. Keep in mind, $2K will get you a decent boat, but you may want to add a new set of sails shortly, and that would run another $800 or so for a Hobie 16. That's not bad for a new set of sails, all things considered.

There are lots of other boats out there that are just as good or better than the Hobie 16, and you should definitely look. But, what you have described, the above sure seems like a good fit.

Whatever you buy, we all welcome you to the sport and I am sure you'll find a place to race whatever you select.

Just my 2 cents.