I have a Hobie 16 and a Marshall Sanderling catboat. I've owned the Hobie for 20 years and the catboat for 33. When you switch to the Hobie be prepared for exciting sailing. You sit on a Hobie not in it. It accelerates very quickly compared to a sloop. Your reflexes have to be faster. The higher speed affects the apparent wind so you may not point up as high as you are used to doing in a sloop. The basic principles of sailing don't change. When there is a moderate or light breeze I may sail the catboat and relax, heave to occasionally and have lunch. When the wind is up I sail the Hobie for fun and speed. According to my GPS, I have hit 7.5 mph on my catboat and almost 18 mph on the Hobie. I went faster on the Hobie but couldn't take time to look at the GPS. I don't know if you are into racing but I am not. I saw your post about the comptip mast. Hobie offered to retrofit it to my boat but I decided not to. I think it may be required to be class legal. Since I don't race, I don't care. I think the comptip mast is heavier, making raising and lowering it more difficult.

A friend of mine said you can learn all you need to know about sailing in 20 minutes and the rest of your life you spend trying to go faster. You won't have any trouble learning the Hobie.

Howard