where is the incentive to sail a cat (other than to go fast).
So again, the boat doesn't matter. The Opti is a very, very slow tank (OK, more of a box). But, put a whole bunch of them on a starting line, and somehow, they're fun!?!?
Maybe the boxiness and slowness of the Optimist is its selling point - it looks safe to the parents and it's unlikely to scare the kids off the water before they get hooked. And they get to do what all the other kids are doing.
As Wouter indicated, I think the 29er may be a better model for us to understand. In terms of target market, what is the appropriate modern cat design to compare it with? The SL16?
