Yes, and no.

It would be nice to be able to take morons out on the boat without fear of going into the drink....unfortunatly my Ford Focus would not tow many sport boats.

The H16 is a fun boat, though I've yet to sail mine since I bought it. I fear taking my girlfriend or 80 year old grandmother out on a cat might be traumatic.

There is one more issue to consider and that is how much water do you have available, and how warm is that water. Down here in Florida many of the lakes and even bays are not deep enough for a deep keeled mono, but the water is warm most of the time (even in January it's still warmer at 70 degrees, than any water ever gets in July up north) so up in New England, they prefer to stay dry and warm vs. wet and freezing cold.

And there is the "get it by the wife" thing to consider too. If you have a wife and kids, and you tell her you are going to buy a beach cat, which YOU will be sailing, with -one- other person only, and that person is going to work their butt off, and be wet on the wire if there is any wind, and you might flip it once in a while, well, most wives I know are not going to buy into that plan.

If instead you can show them a boat (mono) that has a cabin, a potty, tell them "It will never flip over because of this 1,000lb. keel..." and you can take the entire family of 4,5,6 out on it when not racing, it's a much easier sell to the wife.

And if Mama's not happy, nobody's happy! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Keith... The Laser SB3 from England is a completely different kind of ride then the sport boats. ... The boat is designed so that you CAN'T hike out on the thing...you sail the boat from the ****. The objective is to take a lot of the physical, muscle work out of racing ... It seems to be hugely popular over in England.

I would imagine that boats like the SB3 targets the Star, Soling, Etchells, Lighting, and J 22 crowd more so then the sport boat Melges 24... M20 or Viper 640 and us of a catamaran ilk. In addition... I could see it attracting PHRF racers who keep their big boat for cruising and shift to the SB3 for Wed Nights and a couple of weekend races on their purpose built race boat, but one that is NOT super athletic. I think the SB3 could do Oxford in 20 to 30…. I know the other boat classes would sink! Now… where you sleep when you get there is just like the beach cat problem.

The Esse 850 is another design shooting for this market of a stable not too athletic race boat that needs a crew of 3 or 4…

The Brits are telling me on SA that much of their growth in sailing has been in the low performance boats….new, cheap and easy to maintain… NOT the High performance skiffs and cats.

The SB3 would likely cost you the same in operating costs a year as a PHRF C boat or one of the old one designs but with the advantage of an SB3 over an Etchells or J22 of being able to do the bay distance races making an SB3 a better deal in my opinion. …

But... you can take the family cruising overnight on a PHRF boat. (never happens but you tell the wife that this boat is a family thing and not a stress test for her)

I could see the appeal of an SB3 down the road when the body starts to wear out.... I would keep racing a cat until then…

Sell her on the Trimaran before a monoslug! My wife loved the test sail on a Corsair vs. my J-24!

Owning and sailing both a Hobie 16 and a Melges 24 lets me see both sides.

In deference to present company, sailing a beach cat at speed is about the most exciting thing you can do on the water (with your pants on)

On the other hand

Wednesday night on the Melges we get out and race around the cans. With 4 or 5 guys on board there is a never ending stream of humor, bonehead errors,briliant saves, successes and failures. This is the high point of each summer week.

Hope this helps
Chet

I can honestly say that approach worked for me - out went the 25' keelboat Northstar 500 and in came the F-27...

Chet - is the weeknight racing PHRF or OD? Weeknight racing is a great thing - if you got to choose whether to do it on a 2-person 20' sportboat or a 2-person 20' cat, would there be a preference?

Keith asked
Chet - is the weeknight racing PHRF or OD? Weeknight racing is a great thing - if you got to choose whether to do it on a 2-person 20' sportboat or a 2-person 20' cat, would there be a preference?

Reply -
For me, 2 people on the cat would be infinitly superior. That being said, I cherish the time with my chums on the Melges Wednesday night. We are racing PHRF, don't rate out very well against the newer designs, the courses are better for boats with genoas and symmetric spinnakers, but still have fun trying to beat whoever our arch rival du jour is.

I see you've tricked me into writing "on topic".

Regards
Chet

In terms of full on thrill I would place a skiff then a cat then a sports boat..

The skiff seems faster.. BUT its another level of energy and skill to keep her upright.. The cat with kite is almost as much fun but a whole lot easier to keep upright.. and the sports boat is for beer sailing!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Then Im old and grumpy!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

To answer Keith-

For too short a time my father had a Stiletto 27. My wife would actually ask if we could go out on it- and she flat refuses to sail with me now on any other boat. The speed, stability and comfort (read "DRY") were unmatched. Throw up the reacher off the tip of one bow and wave good-bye to everyone. And if you want more, rig a pole and big assym. I would love to have another one for beer can races and handicap racing (perfect Mug racer!). Easy to sail, brign all your buddies, food, beverages, and still fast!

I've noticed that on Wed nights... the social group is the 5 or 6 peopple on your big boat. With the cat... the social group is the 10 or 15 people in the bar.

I haven't sailed either boat mentioned, but like Matt have seen the Melges 24 up close in action. While it was faster than the J24s at the same (large) regatta, it was MUCH slower than the Melges 32, which blew me away with how fast a monohull could go (granted, it was blowing 18+ knots).

Having said all of that, I wouldn't trade my Hobie 16 for any of them. A trimaran, maybe... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Mike