Yes, thanks, John.
Was about to buy a ticket to Europe and demo one. Ah, maybe not...
Been looking at the three boats: the FX, the Getaway, and the 16.
I love the pics here of Karl's FX. Amazing. Looks like it has rocket tubes for hulls.
The Getaway looks like a sensible choice and the price is right, but it looks BIG.
Have had some occasional experience in the distant past with H14 or H16, not sure which. The 16 doesn't interest me, but not sure why entirely.
My brother had the boat here in NC and then in FL 20 years or so ago. I sailed it little.
I asked my youngest, biggest brother about it the other day. He said. "Yeah, don't you remember, we used to THROW that boat out over the surf to get into the ocean?" He's 6'4" and I'm a little smaller.
I don't remember doing that, but I did grab my aching back when he said it.
At any rate, that boat was OK. Mostly remember thinking that it was fast tramp that we were riding on.
This kind of stunt shakes my confidence in the 16:
http://sailinglove.com/hobie-15-nosedive.html
It says 15, but it's a 16. Is that a stunt? I swear it looks staged.
At any rate, low and behold the Hobie 15 looked like a best choice for tidal water sailing, stable family sailing, non-nose diving, most of the time single-handed sailing fun.
But it ain't here, it's over there.
So, thanks for the feedback. Still looking.
I will add that my experience sailing was primarily on an old Windmill, a 15' wooden hull, with a centerboard that seemed about as long as the first wooden surfboards. I got fingers pinched many times trying to raise and lower that blasted centerboard. Especially when we rammed the convenient sandbar. Nothing more fun than pivoting a boat atop a sandbar when trying to raise the jammed centerboard.