Maybe this will stir things up, and I am sure it has been conquered before BUT why didn't the HT take off? Why is everyone still sailing boats that weigh 400 pounds? Why wouldn't the popularity of the A class change some of the other classes (admittedly a cats certainly have durability issues, right? but you don't need to make them THAT light). I talked with someone recently who certainly knows what he is talking about who said he talked with one of the F18 manufacturers who stated that he had to try hard to OVERBUILD the boat to get it up to weight. Isn't the era of 400 pound 18 footers coming to an end yet? Even 400 pound 20 footers should die soon.
As far as reliability/durability, I haven't had my boat for very long but I see no reason why it won't last as long as any other boat.

Soooooo... WTF is with manufacturers that still make boats heavier than they need to be? There are minimum weights, etc etc, but when do you think the regular F18 class might decide to shed 100 unnecessary pounds?