[quote=shortyfox]There will be many varied opinions. Don't limit yourself to the boats you mentioned. With older boats the condition and experience of the seller should be first and foremost, not the year the boat was manufactured. A used boat that's being sailed regularly should take precedence over anything that has been sitting around for years. Be careful of anything that's had water in the hulls for years. And don't forget the price of new sails and tramps can exceed the price of the boat.
All the boats you mentioned should be good choices, but your experience and location should narrow it down a little. By location, I mean are you sailing from a beach with a shore break or dockside? If it's a beach how big are the waves you have to punch through? You might want to consider going boardless especially if you're alone. Boards will always be problematic. If you're a newcomer, you should consider the Prindle 18-1 if you can find one. It's boardless and parts are available. It's big enough for two experienced sailors to get their kicks but not so overpowering that you can't single hand it on some days. As far as performance is concerned, when you're tearing along on a whitecap day, you won't really be able to tell any difference in the speed of these boats. The only time you may notice a speed difference is when sailing alongside a faster boat and even then, with equal size boats, the faster boat will only seem to creep past you.
Ease of set up? This is very subjective because any boat can be made easier to set up. Are you keeping your boat in a mast up storage marina where you only have to trailer a few hundred feet or will you have to trailer miles to your launch area and step the mast by yourself?[/quote]
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