Bill,
Wouter will have nothing good to say about the Hobie 17 - so I will. They aren't the fastest boat around the cans - especially downwind, where they are horribly underpowered. Upwind in 15+ kts, though, they are a hoot! The wings give you the extra leverage to hold the boat down and power past almost everything. I've beaten A-cats and I-20's to the weather mark (that's about as long as it lasts, though).
There is a fairly active H-17 group in your area. However, you are a bit large for the H-17. Optimum racing crew weight is 160 - 180 lbs.
The H-16 is another active class in your area, but again, you're a bit large unless you have a 65 - 80 lb crew (Optimum racing crew weight is 285 - 300 lbs).
The H-14 is sparsely raced and you are way too heavy. Optimum for that boat is about 150 - 160 lbs.
The only singlehanders that would fit your weight is an A-cat or an F-16. Both are going to be expensive and more fragile than the Hobies.
If you can get past the single handing thing, a good alternative for your weight would be a Hobie 20. It's a very active class in that part of the country, used boats are realtively inexpensive, and it would be a good introduction to high-performance catamarans without the complications of the F-18's spinnaker. Once you get the hang of the 20, you can move on to an F-18, which is also fairly active in that part of the country.
Resources:
Hobie Class Association of North America Hobie Community Forums Hobie Class Assn. HOTLINE magazine
