What a great thread! I am a little confused about what everyone is defining a "youth boat". Is it a boat designed to introduce young sailors into sailing, or is it a boat to train young sailors into more advanced sailing and racing? I think these are two VERY different requirements and instead of saying "this boat vs. that boat", let's define the requirements for a youth boat and then look around. It's very likely that there is a single boat that can meet both of these requirements but I believe we are talking about two different things.

[color:"green"] Youth boat for introducing new young sailors (age 8-16): [/color]
A) affordable (so the parents can actually buy one) - what are comparable youth dingy costs?
B) simply rigged
C) reasonably powered
D?) should it be strictly a two up boat? One up? or have the option for both?
E?) Spinnaker? NO WAY! A spinnaker is not for beginners! Two sails is more than enough for this group to focus on.

[color:"green"] "Trainer Boat" for advanced youths (age 13-18): [/color]
A) moderately affordable
B) not quite so simple rigging
C) more powerfull (spinnaker?)
D) two up
E) now let's look at a spinnaker