I am not trying to push the Waves -- just telling you what I know about them from experience.

The Wave is only 13 feet long, but I would be willing to bet that it has room for more people than the other boats you are looking at -- and more buoyancy to carry more weight, as well. I know for sure it has more seating area than either the Hobie 16 or the Hobie 18, because I have measured all three.

I'm sure the Topaz and the Dart 16 are prettier, and faster, than the Wave.

If you had a lot of wind in your area on a regular basis (like 20 knots plus), I would say you need to get Waves. However, I suspect you tend to have light to moderate wind conditions, so that is probably not a factor.

Personally, I would go with the best price so you can get as many boats as possible for your fleet. That way if one or two of them have temporary breakdowns, you still have enough boats for your sailors to use.