Of all the makes and models to choose from, why did pick that particular cat to purchase?

The fact that my club has a great fleet size in what would be classified as a country based club, and has a number of National and State champions sailing on a weekly basis, can only help my sailing in the long run I believe.

I've wanted a Taipan since seeing the first one hit the water in its prototype stage, when Jim Boyer and Greg Goodall bought one to the Lake Bolac Easter Regatta many years ago.

Three equally important reasons: light weight, excellent performance, versatility of 1 or 2 up racing.

I bought mine to get ready for a Blade and to learn spinnaker on. And it was onlY $2700 <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Really heavy, decent performance, versatility of 1,2 or 10 racing, and can cary more beer than you'll ever need <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
And when you're screaming into "B" mark people usually get out of the way because they know you're not as agile as the smaller cats!

Of course its a Stiletto 27!

Wanna beer!

Clayton

Because I love ocean sailing, and the Nacra20 is by far the *Best* ocean boat out there at 8'6" beam.

Because we love tight one-design racing, which is more important and exciting than speed for us these days.

And we wanted to race one-up on our own boats.

And we wanted something strong and durable, because we are not into spending time on maintenance.

And we wanted something light enough that each of us can move around by ourselves.

And we wanted a boat that does not penalize people for big differences in crew weight (like 100 pounds difference).

And we wanted something relatively inexpensive, so as many people as possible would be able to get those boats, whether new or used.

And we wanted something relatively small, so we can fit a lot of them into the space available at the two clubs we belong to.

And we wanted something we can take the young grandchildren out on (like age 5) and put them on the helm without worrying about the boat capsizing (I hold the mainsheet).

And we wanted a platform to which we could add a hot headsail and make it fast enough to participate in Portsmouth races.

We wanted a boat that we could double or triple-stack to take to regattas.

We wanted a boat that would be equally sailable by youth (age 11), by elderly people (age 80+), and by women.

And we wanted it to be a catamaran! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

And I wanted to be able to raise the mast by myself.

I know, it sounds impossible.

But the Hobie Wave fits all those requirements for us. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You make great points Mary for a Wave

This is my 3rd cat in 3 1/2 years. I kept getting bigger and better boats (I think I am done upgrading for a while.)

I bought my Mystere 5.5 about 4 months ago and love it. I have sailed it every weekend, even in cold (60's here in Florida is cold to us) and rainy weather.

The guy I bought my TheMightyHobie18 from, sold it because he had just bought a Mystere 6.0. After I tested the TheMightyHobie18 we went out on his 6.0 and I loved it and have always loved them.

I had a H16, then TheMightyHobie18. I was sick of being in the B-Fleet. HATED being beat by lighter boats and lighter crew... needed a newer design, more powerful ride (since I couldn't lose 300 lbs of boat and belly to compete with them.)

My 20+ year old TheMightyHobie18 was starting to have structural issues. I had basically replaced almost every part on my TheMightyHobie18 and wanted a more expensive repair bills (kidding.)

We have 6 Mystere’s in our crew who sail on our beach.

I felt I could handle a much more powerful boat now.

I decided I had Peter Pan'ed and capsized enough times with my dagger boards because of sandbars in the area I sail... wanted centerboards.

There's more. It's not like it is either/or. Anybody who has a bigger cat can get a Wave pretty inexpensively and carry it on top of their racing cat so the family can come along to regattas and the kids can go out and play on the Wave while you are out racing on your fast boat. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Or, you could just not have kids, save the money instead of buying a Wave, and spend the money on one of the following:

Cheap liquor and expensive women
OR
Cheap women and expensive liquor.

The choice is yours...

No, the choice is YOURS. And someday you will have to make that choice. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Personally, I would suggest the cheap women and expensive liquor.

'94 Prindle 18.2

1. The main body of water I sail on, Lake Norman, is notorious for underwater obstacles, shoals and unexpected groundings. No daggerboards was a must and the P-18.2's rotating centerboards can be a real god-send.

2. I often sail with first-timers, friends, family - mostly unexperienced cat sailors. So ease of use was important. While it's not the most relaxing way to sail, I can solo my P-18.2

3. I can't dedicate the time to train and race all that much. When the opportunity does pop up, I don't mind an open class. So I wasn't looking for a fleet class boat.

4. I feel like it's a bit tougher than many of the lightweight speed machines you all sail. A litle more glass in the hulls adds weight, but I often beach it on many and unknown island.

5. The boat was new, never sailed, sitting around for 4 years from a dealer that went belly-up in a cloud of reefer smoke. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> It was a real bargain and Performance Cat actually honored the warranty from when I bought it since I was the first owner.

somebody give trey some chocolate milk!!!

ohh and i choose the supercat line cause they sail really smoothly and are very comfortable both on the tramp (8'X 9')and on the wire (rounded hulls) with no cramping feet....

I was in the market for a boat that met my requirements

* Capable of taking a passenger out for a few hours and not being cramped (sunfish and 2 people sucks)

*Still capable of single handing, as that is how I roll 75% of the time

*somewhat fast

*Room for snacks and soda

*I also wanted something that had readily available second hand parts, (for when I break stuff, because I can break anything and usually break something.)

*My 4 cylinder sedan had to be able to tow it

I really didn't care what kind of boat that I found, only that it met my requirements. I found my little beater H16 and I figure in a couple years I'll have enough second hand parts collected to be somewhat competitive.

I almost bought a laser, but it didn't meet my space requirements ( food and a passenger).

[quote
somebody give trey some chocolate milk!!!
[/quote]

-It goes great with Bailey's...

After a number of boats, all cats but for two, I just found it too difficult to find and keep crew. (this was during my pre- Paxil days)I looked at the H-14,Nacra 4.5,and Wave and others, but found the Sea Spray fit my needs best..why, well parts are cheap at Lowes, painting is done from a spray can (the good stuff), lines generaly can be found where you hang laundry to dry, the mast weighs in at 15+- lbs.(4in.dia. aluminum irrigation pipe on most)the boat full up is under 200 lbs.(fully drained of water) making it easy to deal with. It has digger boards,seldom wants to pitchpole,very easy to right, and Finally, because no one wants them, they are cheap if you can find one. Truth is, I love sailing the ugly little things...

The Sea Spray is NOT ugly. It's very cute. I had some great pictures and videos of them at a seminar or regatta somewhere out west, maybe Canada, a number of years ago. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Are they still holding their National (or is it North American) championships? I think they used to rotate it back and forth between the U.S. and Canada.

Hey! Let's leave the Govenor of NY out of this OK?

At $80k, I don't consider her cheap <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />