New boat, quote from a dealer on 7/3/07. He does not have one in stock - in fact, Hobie US is out of stock until the next container arrives in a month or two. I suspect the boats coming in on that container will be more expensive.

The choice is difficult in the upper midwest because there's no single class that is regional like the H-17's are a little east of here. I don't want to sail against the same people every other weekend. You don't get better that way. I want to be able to travel a moderate distance (<500 miles) and have significantly different competitors - and a greater challenge.

I could get an FX-1 and clean up with it's "soft" rating for a year or two. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Then I'd be racing boat for boat with the F17's.

It all boils down to dealer support. The NACRA's have a very suportive dealer in Michigan. Hobie doesn't. Forget about A's and F16's. As far as the upper midwest is concerned - they don't exist yet.

Boatworks (the Hobie dealer) in Syracuse is a big reason why the Hobie fleet there and along the Mid-Atlantic is so strong.