Ok I agree lets keep the side talk/ banter to a different thread and let the pictures live on in that thread....

Now to the real discussion Who makes the best cat?

and what does it have to do with tighter box? (grantid the tighter the better)

Are you talking about design or build quality?

<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

well lest go With both... who makes the best boat all around?

I would have to say from a quality standpoint, Marstrom tops the list but for second, it's a toss-up between AHPC (Capricorn) and Vectorworks Marine (Blade F16 and Bimare A-cat).

Sorry, this is impossible !

Single handed
2 up
Hi performamce
lower performance
spi or no spi
Wire's or not
Daggers / centerboards or skegs

etc......

I am surprised to see people playing along with this one. But since my heroes have participated....
I was impressed with JW's capricorn when I looked at it briefly but I think there should be two categories: 400 poundish quality and "lightweight" quality. This narrows down the "lightweight" category pretty well. I guess you would also need a subset of A cat as well.
I was impressed with the Bimare actually although I know people have their opinions about them. My old one has gone through some pretty rough episodes with a relatively heavy team and nothing significant has developed. The Riba mast is bulletproof (I only say that because I don't own the boat anymore... I would be inviting catastrophe if I did).
I am very impressed with the VWM Blade construction. Some parts are somewhat overbuilt (lots of aluminum backing plates and thick nylon backing plates on the fittings). However, I still smile when I pull it up the beach without any help and can almost lift the thing with my pinky <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ok how about this who makes the best boat that can be sailed by two people and is under 400 lbs... as far as speed ease of set-up and ease of finding parts when broken if broken...

US experience only, Vectorworks Marine offers the best quality AND the BEST customer service. I may not be the most experienced person to ask, but VWM is very responsive to customer inquiry and delivers a high quality product.

1-up Bimare A Class and 1-up/2-up F16 both seem to be excellent (and getting better, not that the first go-round was bad).