I too sail an old boat that I had to pump resin into. That being said, if I hadn't found a boat such as the one I have, for under a grand, no way would I be able to call myself a sailor today. I may not be a great one, but I do think I've earned my right to call myself one. Old, used boats have their place in this community. When I got my boat I was a beginning freshman in college. I saved all summer before my first semester so I could buy a boat that I had never been on, and knew little about. Granted, I did my fair share of research on them before I got one. I got it and I haven't looked back. But having said that, affordable boats are one of the things that are going to help people get involved. In my opinion, a couple of grand isn't affordable to the majority. It doesn't matter how interested I would have been, no way would my folks have spent their money to buy me a sailboat,, transport me to sailing locations, and buy gear. But I more or less live inland, it would have sounded crazy to them. If I would have had to sit around and dream of a boat that was 3-4 grand until it was in my reach, I would have likely found something else to do. Without the boat, it's kind of like saying, "you can play with the team during practice, but forget about the game". And don't take that too literally, I know a lot of people crew for those that own boats while they may not. But having your own boat, reguardless of how old, beat up, and cheap it was is an accomplishment in itself. I guess I'm just kind of ranting now, but I'm more or less agreeign with Gree and Soulcat's comments that used boats do get people into it. At least for a start. I will have a better 16 someday or maybe one of the newer classes, but without my old refurbished 16 I wouldn't be typing this now. (and keep in mind that a sailing trip for me is trailering my boat 1-2 hours one way, plus set up, then de-rigging, and trailering back 1-2 hours)(there is a lot of commitment in sailing, and for the most part those outside the box think we are crazy).

But having had my little rant, I do agree that fixing up old boats isn't the ultimate answer for increasing cat popularity. But it certainly helps.