For family sailing, I'm not sure the H-16 is such a good choice. Not
enough volume in the hulls to provide good floatation if the whole
family is aboard. An H-18 may be a bit heavy but is a great boat.
It's forgiving and pretty tough. It is hard to beat the roto-molded
line like the Wave and Getaway but like Buzz said, the Wave may be a
little small. I have sailed a Wave and totally loved it. It was made
to handle 4 people, so maybe that may be the way to go. They are
pretty bullet proof. Small kids and getting started... I would go
with the Wave. Easy to rig (definately get the jib package),light
and tough. Hard to go wrong. Just be patient and you will find one
on the used market. Lee/Team Chums.



--- In beachcats@yahoogroups.com, "gmbond87" <gmbond@...> wrote:
>
> Stephen,
>
> Thanks to you and everyone else for your excellent input! It
really
> has been help and it has changed my thinking about what I need to
get.
>
> Michael
>
> --- In beachcats@yahoogroups.com, HobieCatSailor@ wrote:
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 8/9/2007 10:41:10 A.M. Mountain Daylight
Time,
> > gmbond@ writes:
> >
> > Second. What is it about sailing that keeps you going out on the
> lake
> > or the ocean on a regular basis? What part of sailing a Cat do
you
> > enjoy the most?
> >
> >
> >
> > Not knowing you, it is hard to make good recommendations. Kind
of
> like
> > asking Dear Abby to fix my relationship problems ... if I had
any
> <Grin>
> >
> > Sailing is a lot like chess, no matter how good you get, there
is
> always
> > more to learn. It is the consistent challenge to improve, and
the
> ever changing
> > conditions that feeds my continuing fascination with, and my
> enjoyment of the
> > sport of sailing.
> >
> > I'll try and give the best generic advice I give to ANY new
> sailor.
> > Sailing is a sport that challenges you on every level.
Depending
> on the
> > conditions, it will challenge you physically, mentally and/or
> emotionally. It is a
> > sport that requires you to THINK. You have to be willing to do
> more than turn
> > the key and hammer the throttle.
> >
> > Whatever boat you settle on as the "right boat" for you and your
> family, get
> > involved with the local fleet or yacht club. There are many
> things about
> > the sport and "your boat" that are not intuitively obvious to
the
> most casual
> > of observers. Getting involved with a group will significantly
> shorten the
> > learning curve. Be comfortable admitting what you do not know,
we
> all had to
> > learn it one step at a time and most all of us are glad to share
> what we know.
> > The quickest way to put other sailors off is to be
a "knowitall"
> when you
> > don't.
> >
> > Be patient and gentle with your wife and your children and
whomever
> else may
> > crew with you, they are there to have a good time also. If you
> are
> > impatient and rude to them they will not have a good time and
will
> not want to sail
> > with you again.
> >
> > Lastly, I would encourage you to race the boat. Even if only
for
> one or two
> > seasons. You will learn more in one weekend of racing than you
> will learn in
> > a whole season of day sailing. You will learn more in one
season
> of racing
> > than you will learn in 10 years of day sailing. Racing
teaches
> you how to
> > get the boat from one place to another as quickly as possible
> (something handy
> > to know when an unexpected storm blows in) Racing teaches you
how
> to make
> > the boat move in less than ideal conditions. If all you ever
do
> is go out and
> > reach back and forth in front of the beach on perfect days,
that
> is all you
> > will ever be able to do well.
> > Then, even if you don't care for racing, you will have learned
how
> to handle
> > the boat in a wide variety of conditions and will be able to
sail
> > comfortably and confidently almost anywhere and anytime.
> >
> > Some of the best and closest friends I have, both locally, and
from
> across
> > this entire country are people I have met at sailboat regatta's.
> >
> > I am sure others have even better answers to your question, but
> that is my
> > two cents worth.
> >
> > Warm Regards,
> > Stephen Cooley
> > H-18
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the
all-
> new AOL at
> > http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>




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