srm wrote:
Honestly, you would be better off getting a boat like a Laser or Sunfish ...
... Compared to a boat like a Sunfish, you will find that a catamaran is much more difficult to tack, quickly overpowered in a moderate breeze, and much more difficult to right after a capsize. ...
The good news is that the Sunfish and Laser have been around for decades,...
If you truely have your heart set on starting out with a catamaran, I'd go with the Wave. It's a good compromise between simplicity, performance, and fun.
sm
No no no!! A thousand times no!! This is the biggest fallacy on this website. People who haven't tried the Bravo continue to underestimate the benefits of this great little boat. Yes the Sunfish and Laser have been around for decades, but there's a newer, and better boat out there that fills that role! There's a reason why in the 70's and you went to a resort, you'd see a Sunfish, and now you see Wave's and Bravo's.
My Bravo can be rigged faster than a Sunfish, is way faster to sail, much more durable, simple to tack, easy to right after a capsize, has a furling sail to help you deal with heavier winds, you can fly a hull, and it's pretty cheap to buy. In fact, if you buy it used you can usually sell it for what you bought it for.
So yes... you could buy a Sunfish, get bored within an afternoon, and give up on your dream of sailing because the Sunfish is too boring, and the 16 is too much boat for you. OR... you could try a Bravo. Get used to it, see if you like it, then decide if you want to move up to a 16, or also have the option of moving to a Wave or Getaway.
The 16 is a great boat, but you want to start with something that gets you sailing and not rigging. If I have an hour free, I can spend that hour sailing, not rigging and de-rigging. That's what you want to do as a beginner.
People!! We're all Catamaran and Hobie fans, why would you send someone to a boring Sunfish when you could send them into a simple, and much more fun boat like the Bravo! It's a GREAT boat!