Here is what I am doing in my area:

First I am a dealer for Hobie, Catalina and other boat lines. I have contracts with 3 resorts and the Girl and Boy Scouts. Plus I run a cruise business with an R33 and rent a C22 (the local college rents Waves and Vanguards). In addition to all this I run youth and adult sailing programs on Wave’s & Open Bics, plus Access Dinghies for those with disAbilities. We also just got are local Hobie Fleet going and we focus on H16’s and Islands (that’s right Islands; we already have a fleet of them). We are more focused in our fleet on the NAHCA events so we don’t really pay attention to US Sailing or the ISAF, and we don’t care what they think or want. Several of our members just bought new H16’s and we have a good size fleet of older H16’s. As you can imagine I am very busy with all this but it is all scheduled in and is working well. At some point I will be purchasing a couple new H16’s for our fleet so more of our youth can race on new boats. Basically our path is to get our youth to the Hobie Nationals and on to the H16 worlds.

I had Art come to our program for 3 straight years and have continued the “fast n fun” program here like in Seattle. We are really not interested in of course bringing SL16’s to our program sense we are a Hobie fleet and have our plan already set but I think its great for the manufacture of the SL16 and Art, I wish them the best.

Year after year I find my kids and the other youth want to simply have some fun racing and flirting. Several of our kids want to go to Ricks Wave World event. And again we are working hard to some day go to the H16 worlds. I find it funny that some people think the H16 is not good enough for the ISAF youth worlds but then I looks at the old monohull designs currently being used and all I can say is whatever. There are a lot of hands and attitudes related to the Olympics, US Sailing, and the ISAF and I really do not want any part of it. I am not saying those that do want a part in it have a problem; I am just saying I do not have the time to deal with the attitudes, changes in boat selections, etc. I want the kids in my programs to have fun, learn good life time rec. skills, and go on as happy people. Plus turning up the heat to become some world class sailor is not what many people want and want to spend their hard earned money on. I have wanted to go to the H16 worlds for most of my life and have yet to do so because of many factors, one of which was commitments to more important things in life, but even so finally I will be going I believe in the next couple of years, my wife is going to stick me in a suit case and send me.

Also many of my youth sailors are in other sports such as soccer, etc. Parents are not going to spend a lot of money on boats and gear. They will however buy a boat they can use and their kids can race, this is a consistent theme in my sales, VERSATILITY.

Guys what I think is going to happen here with this effort is you’ll love the SL16 for a while and the move on to another boat in a few years, and then to another, and so on. I have always believed consistency is best and sticking with one design over the years is best even though I know you all will not agree. I am certainly not going to tell my club member hay a new boat is out now its time to move to that, oh and by the way its now 2010 and there is another new boat out, now you need to go to that boat. Sorry consistency is where it is at and the SL16 is not going to be a consistent and stable future.

Again I wish Art and the SL16 manufacture all the best with their selling program.