I own a Hobie 18 with an all-aluminum mast that I bought on Ebay for $750. It is bulletproof, sets up in 25 minutes from the trailer, there are all sorts of parts available for it, can be sailed solo or with three or four adults on it. It ain't real fast, but it seems like a tough combination of features to beat.
I have been racing as crew on a Prindle 18.2. That thing flies! However, it is really dellicate, it takes forever to set up and put away, and has a tendency to accelerate to really high speeds in little puffs. Most of the other "new tech" boats will have simmilar qualities. I can easily sail my TheMightyHobie18 up to a ramp full of PWC's and bass boats and not worry about killing anyone or cleaving anything in half! I can also dump it of the trailer onto a beach and not stress out about little pieces of gravel destroying the hulls. It is the Vovo Turbo station wagon of the catamaran world! The Hobie 18 is also non-threatening to the uninitiated cat sailor, so the kids and thier parents are happy too!