As I stated above, the H16 and the N5.0 are are about dead even in regards to speed (PN for the H16 is 76 and the N5.0 is 76.2 I believe).

I think the hulls are a little more fragile on the Nacra. My friend has had his crack a couple of times now from the compression on the bows. The crack ran down the length of the bottom of the hull and had nothing to do with any impact. He just re-glassed the problem area and it now seems to be holding okay. Regardless, I'd consider the H16 to be a little tougher if that is a concern. The upward sweeping hulls make it better suited for coming onto the beach as well as the Nacra wants to dig right into the beach (rocks?).


Given the choice of the two (and money was no object) I'd take the N5.0... but money is always an object and in the long run I think the H16 is about the cheapest cat you're going to find. Given that the pros and cons seem to even out with these two (as this has been beaten to death), I'd suggest you save yourself a fair amount of money and go with the cheaper H16... save that cash for the next step up after the 16 footer. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />


BTW, one other thing you might want to consider is class racing. Given the huge popularity of the H16, you're more likely to find fleets with the Hobie if you ever wanted to race. I have to think the H16 is probably the most common class around.