Dave the M 5.0 he looked at was your old boat. Ali's.

I thought it was that old beater from Craigslist. The guy selling that one had rags for sails and the hulls were mush. Little Jon thought the same. If Ali is willing to sell the old XL I should talk to her. With her getting married to a non-sailor her need for it is zilch. Next she'll have kids and you know what that does to most sailors (me, for example).

The old beater was Stevie's. Call her.

Also we will run (if possible) the Mini Macho so the upwind leg is in the Gulf so the board boats will have a easier time with the inside.

The boat I was referring to was Ali's boat. The main has been sitting in an inch or two of water for probably a year or so. Very moldy. Ali told me the boat cannot be towed out of where it is (in Clearwater) until the axle is fixed on the trailer. The outside port hull bow is quite soft. Both hulls had a couple of inches of standing water in them (and more mold.) Most of the blocks and cleats were sun damaged (the plastic was dry and cracked,) and she told me she wanted $1500 firm. My sailing friend who I consulted suggested it would probably cost $2000+ to get the boat back into useable shape. I was looking for something that would be ready to sail rather than a fixer-upper. I didn't even go look at the beater from Craigslist.

I might be able to convince a friend of mine with an Inter 17 to sail the mini-macho as well. His boards are much longer than mine, but we are both used to sailing in Clearwater Bay so hopefully we can handle the terrain. I guess we will find out when we sail them up to Dunedin on the Saturday before the race. :-)

for me its the lagoon 500

H-17.

That is a capital idea. You could make one out of carbon fiber, but it would be prohibitively expensive. That was an idea I had for a business. You could make licensed carbon fiber copies of existing boats. Name the company Carbon Copies. The problem is I don't know the first thing about how to build boats, and I don't have the capital to start it.

Wouldn't there be a licensing problem?

Several people have just stated what their perfect boat is, but haven't given any reasons why... Personally, I'm more interested in the reasons than the final boat choice. Especially those that chose something like the Lagoon 500. Why would you want one? What need/desire would it fulfill?

Why do you think a (Hobie 18 minus 100 lbs) or (H-17) be better than any other boat?

Prying minds want to know. :-)

For me, storage and "forgettability" are high on the feature list. If you have a boat in the water it's a 24/7 concern. I want one that will break down into the smallest possible package so that it doesn't take up too much space in my side yard (I refer to this area as the boat yard. My wife doesn't go there.)

Once launched it needs to be able to live off shore as well as in mangroves, because those are the places I like to sail.

cost
ease of use
ability to sail to places I like
low maintenance/worry factor
chicks dig me

If I'm dreaming, cost isn't an issue. Count me in for early retirement and a Gunboat 66 with a secondary outside wheel option (why are all these configured to drive from inside the cabin?) and dual davits. There would be a dingy on one and an a-cat on the other. A couple of kayaks would grace the bow and I would have a port that would have groceries and supplies ready for me to pick up based on my internet restocking order.

For me, the Hobie 18 is the perfect boat (at least right now) because I find it to be the ultimate combination of durablity, simplicity, carrying capacity, speed, and overall fun - an extremely versatile boat. Not to mention there is a decent size and competetive racing class in my area.

I don't know of any other cat that I can repeatedly drag across the sand without fear of dammaging the hulls, comfortably blast double trapped in 4+ ft ocean swell with relatively inexperienced crew, easily depower by furling the jib if the wind gets too strong, take three adults out on when it's blowing 20-25 double trapped - ripping across the bay (crews with beer in hand), single hand in light and moderate breeze, rig in 30 minutes or less, not be encumbered by a heap of lines and gizmos, add wings if I want, continue to enjoy after owning for 25+ years, the list goes on...

As for the minus 100 lbs, well that would be my only complaint about the 18 - they are fairly heavy. But that's the price you pay for durability and affordability.

sm

Alright.
If I could have any boat, it would be a modern US aircraft carrier. I want something I can't drive a golf ball to the end of, and I can drive a go kart around on.

Completely self contained as well. As an added bonus it'd probably take me six months with a map to poop in every toilet on board.

Karl

You don't want a carrier. Been there done that and life on board is not that fun. Plus it takes you enough to get crew for a Viper, how you going to single hand the carrier?

This talk is silly. We all know the H-16 is "THE" perfect boat. There's nothing it can't do.

The only thing I don't understand is why does the Tornado get called old but not the perfect boat?

Not sure if Mike is trying to be sarcastic about the Hobie 16; if not, you beat me to it.

If so, I'll be the first to say that the Hobie 16 is the perfect boat. Big enough to be fast, small enough to be nimble, simple enough to teach new crew quickly, yet HARD to sail fast within its super-competitive fleets, which makes it great for racing.

I also like the Hobie Wave, but there is a LOT that I miss about the Hobie 16.

Mike

You're under the assumption I need her to leave anchor.

cost
ease of use
ability to sail to places I like
low maintenance/worry factor
chicks dig me

that's my prindle 16 to the t...bang for buck it's unbeatable, i wouldn't trade for anything. my hobie 16 is collecting dust, i grew up a hobie guy and was restoring mine after the hurricane when i bought the prindle...always thought prindles were goofy looking, not anymore.

I've noticed that several people seem to put "ease of use" high on their list of perfection. For me, "challenging but surmountable" is more the ticket.