I'm returning to cat sailing after a 25 year or so hiatus. I learned to sail on cats in the late 70s at Jax Beach in Fl - and owned and kept a Prindle 16 there for a couple of years. I lost the storage location, and was forced to sell.

Skip forward about 25 years!

I've only rented Hobies a couple of times in the intervening years. My life situation has changed a bit, and I'm determinted to get back to spending some quality time at the beach sailing - only to find that there are a very few (and constantly shrinking) places that still rent cats.

At this point, I really just want a recreational boat that I can trailer to the water relatively easily; something fairly durable. I've been looking for another Prindle, but they seem few and far between (I'm in Central Virginia, but willing to travel as far as DE/GA to pick up a boat).

I've done a little reading on other newbie/beginner boat threads here, and probably ought to list the following as 'requirements' or information:

- I weigh 165#, but would generally be sailing with a crew, for a combined weight of approximately 270#.

- I had no trouble righting a P18 w/ a righting line at 130#.

- I'd like something durable - particularly up for beach landings

- speed's not too important

- I'm landlocked, and would need to trailer to every location - ease of setup is desireable.

- I'd like something relatively inexpensive, in case this turns out to be a hobby I just don't have time for.

I've found a Hobie 18 in South Carolina that I'm interested in - for my target price of $2500, but perhaps it's worth it to wait and try to find a Prindle 18-2 or another used P16?