Well, the Hobie 17 is probably heavier to move around and harder to right and takes a lot longer to rig than a Wave.

Plus, I don't know where he sails, but if it is on United States midwest or northeast inland lakes, summers have notoriously light wind, and ANY boat is going to be slow and boring. If that is the case, he is going to want a hooter on the Hobie 17, too.

Plus, his weight won't particularly affect boat performance with the Wave, whereas it probably will with the Hobie 17, which has a lot less buoyancy.

And at his age, the Hobie 17 might be a little more athletic than he wants -- is he going to want to trapeze off the wing if it is windy? Especially when he is solo sailing and probably pretty much alone out there on the lake as far as other sailors watching out for him?

On the other hand, in lighter air, the wing is more comfortable seating for us older folks -- I have thought about putting some kind of lawn chair on my Wave. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />