I am very new to Hobie and I am planning on getting a boat soon. I am down to the Hobie 16 or the Tiger. If I intend to race, which would you all recommend. I am leaning toward the Tiger because it is faster and is more efficient with a heavier crew (Im large). I know the 16 class is strong and always will be. If I were to get a tiger would I be in any danger of having to make a load of adjustments to make it race legal within the next few years? Any other tips on my decision would be nice. I will be sailing with my wife, which might be a factor. Again I am still very new (at least with the Tiger) so anything will be helpful.
Thanks,
McConkey
If you plan to sail with your wife... the key question is how energetic and into sailing is she? In a blow... its likely that you can manhandle the Hobie 16 without a lot of help from your wife..
On the Hobie 16, she simply needs to be able to sheet the jib in which she will do with her legs.
On the Tiger, You will not be able to manhandle the boat. You will have to sail the boat as a team. Your wife will need to be in good shape. She needs to hoist and retrieve the spin... and hold it and if you want to be fast down wind... trim it constantly. This is a workout and requires a decent amount of upper body strength.
Now... if you are not racing the Tiger you can handle much of the heavy work and have a great highspeed fun machine to play with.
I don't think you should start your wife out on the front end of any spin boat if she is not a cat sailor already.
You might start with a used 16 and then move up in a year or two.
As always... the best advice is to find your local club and get a tryout on what's popular in the club. See how your wife feels about sailing a spin boat. Sometimes faster is not always better!
Thanks, thats really helpful. I think I will be going for the 16 as you suggested. We are going out to the beach where everyone sails so she can get a feel for what it is like. If shes not on board...we dont have a deal, but that souldnt be the case.
Still look at the Tiger, but could you crew ?
You do all the real hard work and still get fastish boat with a kite 
I agree with Mark on this one. The Tiger (or any F18 for that matter) can be a real handfull and requires some considerable experience to handle when it gets windy without getting terribly frustrated. The Hobie 16 is a terrific boat to start on but does not handle additional crew weight much better. If you have the option, you might consider the Hobie 18. It is a good bit bigger than the 16 but handles weight much better. It's nearly as simple as the Hobie 16 is to sail too. The Hobie 18 also comes with a roller furling jib which means you can roll up the jib by pulling one line - very handy if you feel overpowered. Hobie 18's have been around for a couple of decades and good used ones are everywhere (although not quite as popular as the 16).