Hello to All!
I'd like to get my first beach cat and want some advise from a few seasoned players...
I'm 42 years old, 175 lbs, in good shape and want a cat that I can sail solo or take my wife and two young daughters out in. When I was a kid I did a little sailing in a kit that my Dad built (a Folboat) and can handle a sunfish without any problems. My kids are 10 and 8 years old so I'd like to teach them to sail on this boat. My older daughter is a little more adventuresome than my wife and younger daughter, so I think she'll pick sailing up quickly and will want to try to make it move, possibly on her own sooner than later. I was very close to picking up a 1988 Prindle 16 yesterday but the deal fell apart when the mast for the boat was stolen before I could pick up the boat(I drove 930 miles in my wifes car in 1 day!). I'd like to spend less than $2k to get my feet wet (I don't live on the water so I don't anticipate sailing every weekend).
My questions are:
-Is a Prindle 16 a good choice? If not, why not?
-There are a lot of used Prindle 18's for sale, could I "right" this boat on my own? Would this be a good choice?
-I like the "slick" look of the Nacra's but not the older Hobie's...Which of the Nacra's would work well for me?
-I've read alot of post's on this site as well as Phil Bermans' "Cat sailing, Start to Finish" book. Is there any other "required reading" before I jump in?
-Any other words of wisdom would be great!

Thanks,
TRowe