I guess that the first F18 owner overthere was warned that he would be on his own for a long time as well. If F18 class grew from 1 to 8 in 2 years than so too can any other class with a sound foundation.

But anyway, I still think that the intended use should play a dominant role in what he eventually buys. Several things will point to class so-and-so and other things will point to class that-and-that. Seems to me that for your budget you got alot alternatives ranging from H16's to H20's and from F16's via F18 to I-20's. All have their strong points and all have their weak points. So what do you want to do with the boat. Sail solo alot of times ? Have large numbers at events ? have the most high performance boat available ? All these questions will point to different types of boats, no single type will be on top of the list in all aspects. Without knowing the answers to these question one will be struggling to make a founded choice for one particular type; and maybe even end up with one that isn't really what you wanted. So my advice would be to formulate precisely what you want and what you expected usage will be and than look for a good fit.

Wouter