Personally, I think the Hobie 18 is a lot easier to learn to sail on than the Hobie 16, because it is much easier to tack. And when you furl the jib on the 18, it is very easy to sail singlehanded and tacks very well without the jib.

The Hobie 18 is one of my favorite boats of all time. And one of its best characteristics is that it does not like to pitchpole. We raced ours for 15 years and never pitchpoled it. And only maybe four capsizes in all that time, one of which was caused by a helicopter hovering over us.

Beach wheels are almost imperative for any boat that you get, and if they are centered right, it is easy to move any boat around on land.

For helping to right the boat (no matter what boat), there are various things, like righting bar, water bag, shroud extenders, and sea anchor to deploy off the front to keep the bows pointed into the wind during the righting process.