Sarah,

Most of what has been stated here is good advice. Many of the posters are biased (as I am) for obvious reasons to many of us, however, you are new to this forum so I thought a little information might be of some use to you. Each of the posters that advocate the F16 are actively involved in growing this relatively new class, like Wouter, who came up with the class rules. I think each of them is telling you the truth as they see it and propose the F16 for those reasons. The drawback I see to the F16 is that trying to learn how to make it perform to its potential is difficult because each one is different. This differs from the Formula 18 because the majority of those are either Hobie or Nacra, and so you have identical boats to tune with. I don't mean that there aren't many things that apply to all catamarans (sailboats?), just that one design fleets help all those boats sail closer to their potential. Wouter's view that one design is a thing of the past is not a view shared by many on this forum, but in his defence, many of us like to tinker with our boats, which one design discourages for good reason.

The best advice is to sail each of your choices prior to purchase and make up your own mind.

I agree that sailing what others in your area sail is good advice, both for your own pleasure and for resale.

Lastly, I think you should try to pick a dealer that you like and feel you can trust. I have dealt with good and bad dealers, and the good ones deserve your business!