I've really enjoyed everyone's comments and suggestions. Kind of gets my windward hull out of the water a bit!

You have all given me lots to think about and now I need to investigate some boats. However, one of the primary thoughts that keeps going through this old and feeble head is that I wonder if it might be wise to avoid the newest style boats such as the Taipan, Nacra 17 and Hobie FX one simply because (rightly or wrongly) my impression is that these are boutique boats that will be replaced by something "better" in a few years. This may be the wrong way to think, but in my 20 years of sailing I've seen lots of excitement about new boats and then in a few years they are dwindling, no longer in favor, or practically gone. I can remember the fuss about the Mysteres (geez I liked sailing those--the center boards are sooo nice) but it seems like some boats "go away" fairly quickly. And yeah, I understand that the sport evolves and the companies need to bring new boats to the market regularly. However, my goals are mostly to sail a fun, fast boat with some lasting power (both structurally and parts-wise).

The A-cat seems like a good possibility. They have been around for a good long time, and probably will stay around. Also, for some reason, I'm attracted to the idea of the new supercat 17, possibly because it is built on hulls that have been around a long time and probably will hold up for a while too (albeit a lot heavier than the A). Both are kind of the oddball boat that seem to fit the bill. And, as Mark Schneider said: "With respect to odd ball boats...There really isn't any such thing... The days of 20 boat one design fleets are long gone... run what you brung and go racing."

That all said, I still want to sail some of the other boats--especially the three I called "boutique boats" at the start of this ramble.

Time to do some investigation!

Rick