29er bad move???

Mazza - as you said that you would be - "Mostly (exclusively, initially) sailing with crew"  I think you've probably made a good choice although I think you should probably have had  a look at your local clubs to see what they sail. blasting around alone is good fun  but it wears off. Sailing in a close race within a fleet can give just as good a buzz - albeit different. RE Blasting - Just a thought - Is yours a a windy location? Or is the mean wind speed below Force 2?

Reason I ask is that 29ers (and most skiffs except49er) don't really come into there own until a F3. They're ok but you'll find 'conventional' dinghies that are much more rewarding to sail in sub planing breezes.

As far as sailing single handed goes - get a singlehander. They are designed for it, go better in a wider range of winds are easier onshore and you can race competitively.

I can't understand  why so many on this forum seem to want to recommend doublehanded handed boats for singlehanded sailing. I'd say that in every case there is a better singlehander available. Can anyone look at the list below and tell me what doublehander is better for sailing singlehanded than something of the list?  (I know the list is incomplete so please don't berate me if your fave isn't there).

Optimist - Topper - Europe - Laser (various) - Phantom - Blaze - Int Moth - Contender - Vortex - Dart 15 - Shadow - RS700 - Musto Skiff - Int Canoe

Listening to your 'wants' and assuming you have decent breezes, from the list above, I'd go for a Musto Skiff as the best fit singlehander.

EDIT:- should have said I'm not familiar with the (presumably American) 'Vector' so that could be another good choice for singlehander -  but how would I know

I do agree with you to a certain extent- why buy a double hander when you want to single hand? I bought my 29er initially because I thought it would be a boat that I could sail single handed and then as my girlfriend got up to speed she could then join in ! Unfortunately she went and bought herself a europe instead! Also another reason for my choice of boat was cost, I would love to have a musto skiff but my 29er cost about £2,500 and you'd barely get the sails of a skiff for that!

what it has allowed me to do is get crew at my local club for serious racing whilst still allow me to push my own boundaries as a single handed sailor. I reckon that having spent a year on my 9er it will be quite a simple transfer to a musto skiff or RS700 in the future. In fact I was hoping to go and test sail a musto in the next month or so, but I don't think they are that suitable for the lake I mostly sail on.

The 600 is truly a fantastic boat and definately more practical for inland/round the cans racing than the MPS or 700 as you don't have the kite to play around with. Also with round the cans sailing you very rarely have a decent leg where you can really get the kite and boat sorted and up to max speeds.

I must say that I never thought that I would find a boat that I liked more than the 600 but the 700 has surpassed my expectations.

My advice would be to try as many boats as you can before you buy.