Hi Sarah,

I'm now sailing single handed cats for 3 years. I started off with an FX-One and even sailed an Inter 17 for 1 year.
I learned that you shouldn't bother about all the technical details when you're still learning. You're not going to notice the difference between a 140 kg boat and a 130 kilo boat.

Both FX-one and Inter 17 have their specific pro's and con's.
The FX-one is very fast boat on easy water (small waves).
When you're sailing with bigger waves the trim of the boat (horizontal) becomes very important. The shape of the hulls will cause the boat to bounce more than an Inter 17.
The hulls are also more subject to damage when transporting as I experienced last year. Plain sand is ok.

The Inter 17 is much more robust. And can be fast too. More versatile. But rarely seen nowadays.

If you're sailing in Europe you'll see a big special competition for the FX-One ! Mary has a point, if you want to race, choose the boat most other people are sailing too.

For both boats the support is ok, parts and knowledge are plenty available. Both boats sail excellent with jib and spinaker kit. The Inter 17 imho is a little bit more suited for sailing with 2 persons.

Well, that's a big different with the higtech Carbonfibre boats like the M18 and the A-cat. As far as I know Carbon cannot be repaired.

I'd go for the FX-One.

If you're going for the max. Try sailing the Eagle 18HT Carbon.

Wish you all the best !

Maarten