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[quote=monstacotyscott]Its hard to say without knowing your past sailing experience, or if this is your first dive into sailing.

The Hobie 16 is an easy boat to learn on, really basic setup, and you can find the boats and the replacement parts quite easily. But you are prone to pitch poling and may be limited with the amount of crew weight you carry on board. Another plus is that it is easy to setup, possibly even by yourself if you are strong enough to step the mast.

Moving up to the 18 footer makes setup a two person job, but you can also take more people on the boat with you at a time. They are also quite a bit faster than the 16 footer and provide more of a challenge. The 18s, although more challenging, are actually more predictable and stable than the 16, so your less likely to take an unexpected dunk in the water.

When it comes down to a Hobie 18 or SolCat 18, its harder to say. The Hobie will be easier to find replacement parts for, but anything made before 1984 will weigh a lot more and be harder to handle getting it on and off the trailer. The newer hobie 18s reduced much of this weight. The SolCat is a fun boat, but they are a bit more rare so finding replacement parts can be more of a challenge, although there are quite a few company's that still sale both used and new parts for the boat. The rarity of the boat can also be fun as many strangers will come up and want to talk about the scarcity of SolCats or their unique setups.[/quote]

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