Dan,

What sort of budget do you have for a boat, this might be the limiting factor !

deleetd as duplicate

Dart 16s are unlikely to hold your interest and it is high risk buying a new untried version. It may not "work" as a concept and you will lose your shirt. Unless you are absolutely certain that catsailing is the love of your life, I would suggest buying something that is not too expensive and has a good second hand market, good class asson & racing circuit. A Dart18 suggests itself as a good family boat and dimensionally more of a boat than a D16 - only drawback is that it does not have a kite. Fine with kids though. Our dinghy park has a lot of D16s bought after Med holidays and never sailed!

 The F16 is a great boat but might be better when you have really got to grips and decided if the sport is really for you. In that line, of the new asy boats it is the only one designed to be sailed s/h as Scooby Simon does or two up but they aren't cheap. If you just want two up then you should look at the Spitfire. If you want a s/h then you should also look at the Shadow.

Dan

Another way to consider might be to buy one of the D16's lying in compounds for a steal.  Fit a genny kit when ready and then trade up if it had everyones interest or sell for the same money you for it if you/the family decide they don't like.

As a starter boat the D16 has many things in it's favour - fairly unbreakable so you won't get stressed with gelcoat damage, furling jib so nice and easy coming in to shore, reefing main and with the genny really good fun.  A guy at our club picked a virtually unused one up c/w trailer for just over £2k, it's a lot og laughs for that sort of money.

The F16 to my mind is more of a racing boat and will be far more technical to sail, mast rotation, outhaul, prebend + diamond tension etc will give you a far steeper learning curve than the D16.  It may not be as 'family friendly' as the D16 either but will be much quicker!

Other things to consider are where will you be sailing and what cats are sailed there? Sailing with/against other similiar boats usually helps with learning.

May be out of budget, but the new topax 16cx is pretty much a spitfire rig on a easy to maintain chassis - no daggerboards etc... I've seen one up close, but never sailed one - anyone else?

Hobie 15 is also good fun, easy to maintain and you can upgrade with a spinnaker kit if required.

hey thats all good advice!

I agree particularly with favouring what type is sailed at your home club, usually there is a reason that class is popular there.

Dart 16 would be my bet for you, it has the kite option and you can easy trade up to a faster class after a while

good luck

Ok as know one has yet mentioned it:

Where are you based?

Are you a member of a Sailing Club?

The best bet is to visit a club, I can recommend mine in Essex, http://www.marconi-sc.org.uk - www.marconi-sc.org.uk , others will recommend theirs. The best bet is to visit a club near you, go down and see what boats are there. See if you can crew for someone so you get more experience etc etc.

The Cat course is great but as has been mentioned the Dart 16 is good to try cat sailing but doesn't provide the thrill of real Cat sailing.

So see what boats are sailed near to you, try crewing for others and then make a decide after that.

Dan,

Spend a few £ now on a cheap bot to get you going and have a year or so making mistakes. 

If you are ever at Grafham I'll take you for a spin on my F16

Originally posted by DanW Thanks Scooby If thats a genuine offer i'd like to to take you up on that sometime in the summer.

Sure thing.  If possible a little notice as I don't sail every Sunday and I'd need to rig the boat for 2 up !

"I was probably getting a bit carried away with wanting that extra speed and runnung before I can walk." to quote DanW

Don't think so , theres a lot of bravado spouted about hp cats , but they are relatively just pussy cats to handle

AS GM says above he went straigt into a stealth and coped .

After all if total non sailors can learn to winsurf in a short space of time and fly about a high speed , how difficult can cat sailing be for someone whose sailed allready . Scoobys offer of a shot on his new beasty is well worth taking up , don't be frightened of cost either an older stealth is the most economic way of getting that 16 foot hp feel  cheaper than a second hand shadow or spit (both gr8 boats too) plus you get a sexy carbon mast plus wings on yur rudders if your lucky , last years F16 nats winner was an "old" stealth with f16 main and kite ,

My first Cat (apart from the holiday H16 and D16 thing) was a Hurricane59. I was 80kg at the time and sailed with a 60kg crew. I did then and still do find it easier to sail than a D18. The only problem is that it takes twice as long to rig and it's a heavy beast to haul up a slipway.

Anyway, I'm not here to plug the Hurri. Just to agree with the others who have said that fast a more advanced cat than a D16 is probably not beyond you.

Much of my sailing and skiing education has been via the Army. I only know one way to ski (assume the tuck, hold the tuck, turning slows you down) and I sail much the same way. If that story is familiar to you, then you'll get to grips with the speed of cat sailing easily enough. Be aware that NONE of the skills learnt in a Bosun are transferable!

if you want to put a spinnaker on your D16 there are a number sailed/raced this way at eastbourne.

This would give you a bit more zip and get you used to the kite and chute systems used on the faster boats.

In fact its the same chute as on the Spitfire