Had the boat three weeks now and have been very impressed. The reviews, performance and numbers are all outstanding when compared to other 16-17ft boats. I had some reservations about the quality and hardware. I can assure you the glass work is impeccable and the boat is rigged to the teeth. The boat is remarkably stiff. There are a few items in the rigging which were “foreign” based on Hobie/Prindle/Nacra thinking. In every case the rigging differences are equal to or far exceeded the Hobie/Prindle/Nacra counterpart. We finally got some wind (and a little lightening too) this weekend, got trapped out and the boat just came to life! It is unlike any other catamaran. The helm is superbly balanced and the boat just accelerates rapidly in the puffs. The boat’s rigging sings at about 8 kts with the fantastic amount of apparent wind. The boat is so responsive it is easy to see it getting ahead of you. One of the big disadvantages of this boat is the lack of dealer network. I had done enough reading and research to purchase the boat sight unseen. With a dealer network, one could at least go down and touch and feel one. The purchase and initial shakedowns have gone really well. The folks at Taipan America have been very responsive and several other American Taipan owners have been extremely helpful (Kirt and Chuck – thanks!). Last night the phone rang at about 10 pm. A phone call on Sunday night at 10 PM is pretty unusual, so I apprehensively answered the phone. It was Jim Boyer; he called just to see how I was getting along with the boat. He called from Australia!