ahh yes, incedentilly, I had no idea the 5.7 and the hobie 18 were supposed to be so close. there aren't alot of hobbies in our area, and to myu knowledge my freind has the only 5.7 (not alot of cats in the immediate vecintity al all actually) At anyrate, the only few hobies we raced against, i nearly lapped with my 5.2 in a longer course, and the 5.7 is at least as fast, if not(and I won't admit this to the owner) a little faster. Perhaps the hobies were just poorly sailed. And I guess my 5.2 does enjoy a couple mods(self tacker and 5.8 jib) that help it along a little. But I never would have guessed they were so close.