I am planning on buying a catamaran, and would like some advice on a model.

Here is my background.
- I'll be sailing in Texas (Austin), mostly lakes, but possiblly coast.
- I have a decent sailing resume, with a lot of Laser sailing and racing, but larger boats as well
- I have interest in both recreational sailing and racing
- I'll race with my buddy (combined weight, about 365 lbs).
- I'll sail with my girlfriend and others
- I wouldn't mind having a boat I could single-hand
- Boat would likely be in dry storage on the lake
- I want a fast, fun boat, I certainly don't mind getting wet and or beat-up....I raced Lasers...I'm used to it.

Thanks for any help!

Mat

F18.

Being biased I'll say go for an F16

Seriously though, it'll tick all you boxes........

except that racing one.

How many other F16s are there in TX?

yeah.....


Dude, be prepared for the whole F16 crowd to come in here and try to tell you that the F16 is the end-all-be-all of catamaran design. It can sail 1,2,3,4 of your friends, do it fast, while sipping tea and taking out the garbage.

No really, it can.

Every class has to begin somewhere...

It doesn't mean that the boat as a concept is wrong. The flexibility in terms of soloing or two-up as well as the light weight of the boat makes it so attractive. For an ex-laser sailor it'll be more of a blast and more responsive than a heavy old F18.

Expect lots of responses from three general groups:

Singlehanders - F16, A-cat, Hobie 16. F-16 and Hobie can take crew. F16 has a spinnaker

Doublehanders under 350 lbs - F-18 fleet.

Doublehanders over 350 - N20 fleet

It is possible to single hand the 18 and 20, but not if the wind is over about 10 kts. Minimum crew weight for F18 and N20 is around 325, so you could sail with your girlfriend or your other crew on either (you'd be slightly heavy on the F18 at 365).

Both the F18 and N20 have lots of strings to pull, which may tax your crew (if your girlfriend doesn't want to yank strings all day, put her on the tiller), but the F18 has slightly smaller sails, which may make it easier for crew to handle in heavy air.

All three groups have relatively large, well organized fleets with plenty of racing opportunity. All boats are built for speed and geared toward racing (which means they are not indestructible, and will require regular maintenance of the equipment), but can be used for recreation.

All can be found used at decent prices.

Hope it helps.

Word.

I don't mean to be too specific, but I would go for the Hobie 16. Lots of fleets for racing, almost everyone knows the boat so you can get good advice from a wide range of people, tons of used parts for fair prices, and they are a pretty solid boat for rec sailing. You can also get a decent one for around $1000 in most of the country. When it comes time to upgrade to a newer or larger cat, you can also sell it for around $1000. They are very easy to single hand. I have sailed them with total crew weight of about 450lbs in heavy air.

Check out the forum on the Hobie cat website, Hobiecat Forum, for more information about the boat and to see if there is a fleet in your area.

So you are not for a specific catamaran, but rather against one specific catamaran !

Besides we never said (and never will say) that F16 is the boat for all people, simply because it isn't !

At 365 lbs combined weight a F18 would be better than an F16.
With respect to "taking out the carbage", I'll leave that to H16 sailors !

Wouter

Mat,

I would also base a decision on what is going on with the club racing, at the "home" lake. Who's racing what? And is that one of your choices in boats. Do they race handicap? Do you want to race handicap or OD? If not, do you have the
right lake?

I would consider leaning towards a bigger boat (F18 or 20) only; if you can leave it stored, mast up, and you've got a willing crew, when you go off to the shore or races, for set up and take down.

I made the mistake of buying the boat I "thought" I always wanted (and it's a great boat) and then found out noboby races them anymore. It's very frustrating to travel long distances for competition.

Hook up with the Austin Cat fleet, they have sailors with all varieties of cats. They run the website:

http://www.catamaran.ws/home.asp

for more information.

Why not "stand out from the crowd" of personal interest "barrow pushers" and say stuff them all, and get a "C" class cat, then none of them can give you "advice", they will look at your cat and just mumble AAAAAH, MMMmm, well yes, and the number of invitations to "high class" sailing venues, dinners, etc, that you will receive will go up one thousand fold. Go for a "C" class and never look back, (cause that’s the place where all the rest of the fleet will be) And a really good part of owning a "C", is that you never really have to put it in the water, just rigging it on the beach is enough to gain respect, wonder and awe from sailors, When you go to a sailing, off water, function, and some one says " what do you sail"? And you reply, "Oh I just own a "C" class cat"! Watch the hush come over the room, and feel the warmth as every sailor’s eyes elevate your importance to a higher level. You can bask in that “glow” for the rest of your life.