Are you looking for a second hand boat or a new boat ?

In the second hand range I would look for Prindle 16's, nacra 5.0 (nacra 500), nacra 570 and Hobie 16's as your first cats. These can be had cheaply and are good boats to sail at the weight you give (both solo and doublehanded). The nacra 570 may be a bit much to singlehand tough.

When looking at buying a new boats I would suggest you look at

Nacra 500 and nacra 570.


And if you are really up to it take a look at the Blade F16.



The last is truly a lightweight boat (110 kg or 240 lbs) that may be just right for you. That is under the assumption that you have prior sailing experience and know how to take the first steps on the catamaran learning curve without completely crash-and-burn'ing the boat. The professional builder is in Titusville Fl and a test ride is possible upon request. The F16 class is (slowly) developping in Florida. If you are serious in doing some recreational racing then this (class) aspect may be of interest to you. But as I said, it is designed as a fast race boat. As soon as the main is trimmed right she will accellerate and develop high speeds. Last weekend when I signlehanded my own F16 (Taipan 4.9 based) I nearly got thrown of the back after a gibe because of the sudden acceleration. I allowed the boat to head up to far and the power was ON right after the flow reattached itself to the mainsail. Still I very much consider the F16 a forgiving boat. Go to This post (click on link) and read a report by another interested sailor to get a first idea of what I mean. If you got the chance and if you are in the market for a 12.000 US new boat (build in US) than I would certainly advice that you get a test sail on the Blade F16 and see if it fits your needs well. If you background in sailing is sufficient it may well be the best option. Otherwise I advice the 16 foot nacra, hobie and prindles.

Wouter