When I first got into beach cats in 1985 I asked myself these same questions regarding the P16 vs Hobie 16. Nacra was new and relatively untested as far as I knew at this time. My reasons for choosing the Prindle over the Hobie were justified the more I sailed the boat. It is stiffer, and has more buoyancy in the bows. I have rebuilt two older P16s recently. As long as there isn't a lot of fiberglass work to do you can get them up and running for not too much time or money. Most of the time spent has been on stitching the trampolines and installing brass grommets on the edges because the loops used to make the tramp taught on the sides don't last. As some of the other sailors said-the rudder mechanisms are a poor design that take some care, patience, and understanding. Since I was in the learning stages I pitchpoled my P16 many, many times before I learned to ease the jib on a screaming reach. I've also pitchpoled backwards a few times but that was due to having a few too many people on board while tacking. On a minor note I found the inspection ports worked well for storing extra clothing, food, tools and spare parts. You'll need water proof bags for everything. There aren't any bulkheads to keep your stuff from getting jammed up in the bow after pitchpoling so you'll want to devise a method to keep them within arms reach. Murrays Marine has lots of parts.