I'm 5'11 and 170, so we're the same size. I've taken another guy out who is about 185, and we were still able to fly a hull. It was more work sailing that way, and there's no question that the Bravo isn't designed to fly a hull with that much weight unless there are very strong winds, but the boat EASILY moves through the water, even fairly quickly, with the two of us aboard.
As far as having two people on board, the boat isn't really that small. I just tested it out. I laid in the boat from the front storage hatch to the back one. I fit inside the indented area. In other words, it felt very much like lying down on a couch (not love seat, but full couch) So if you can comfortably fit two people sitting side by side on a couch, then you'll be fine on the Bravo. Often times in lighter winds, I sit my passenger with his/her back to the mast, and legs stretched out parallel to the hiking straps. It's a bit like sitting in a lounge chair, and allows me to control how much the boat can heel, while the passenger just sits and enjoys the ride without ever having to switch sides when tacking.
Performance suffers a little bit with the extra weight, but it's still fun. It's a really playful boat when you sail alone, and I like to push the limits sometimes. It's not really all that tippy in my mind. It's fairly stable for such a little boat, and you can easily keep it level with a little bit of practice. Adding a passenger makes it more stable again, which I like, because most of my passengers want the thrill of sailing without the feeling like they're about to tip. When you're sailing, you know how close you are to going over, when you're a passenger, you just assume that if the one hull comes out of the water, that you're almost over.
I hear what you're saying about the Bravo over the Wave. The Bravo is an underrated little boat in the Hobie line-up. The roller furling mast is great if the winds are too strong, but I've never used it for that yet, instead, I love it because I can dock or beach the boat in seconds, and relaunch just as quickly.
I can go from trailer to sailing in literally 5 minutes (I had a trailer custom built for the Bravo, and that probably helps) but it's as easy as dropping the mast in place, securing that with the turn of a knob, dropping the rudder in place, and hooking up the sail. It honestly takes less then 5 minutes. You can't do that with any other Catamaran that I know of.
As far as taking the boat on small lakes and bays, it's great to take on small lakes because it's so manoeuvrable compared to the other bigger Cat's. I like the versatility because I'm also quite comfortable sailing it on Lake Ontario in good sized waves, with much bigger boats around.
Let me know if there's any other questions. The Bravo Forum seems a little less busy then the other forums, and that's a shame because it's a great little boat.
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