I give you the Nacra A3, the Melvin designed and built A cat marketed by Nacra. If the A cats can do it with their low numbers but dedicated A cat sailors, then the F16's can do it too, if they want to.
BTW, while Nacra has come out with about 3 different F18's in the last 3 years, Hobie is still selling the same old Tiger and doing quite well with it.
Bad example i'm afraid <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Quote from M&Ms website: Morrelli & Melvin Design & Engineering, Inc. is now manufacturing and selling the A3 catamaran.
The A3 design has been proven on the race course with the 2nd and 3rd place wins at the 2007 Ronstan A-Class Catamaran Worlds in Florida. Elite sailors have complemented the A3 on its consistent speed and competitive feel both upwind and downwind.
Concepts and design enhancements made by Pete Melvin with contributions from Jeremy Laundergan of Askland Engineering have made the A3 the boat to beat in the future. The Morrelli & Melvin A3 replaces the NACRA A2 catamaran. Performance Catamaran is no longer selling the NACRA A2 model, allowing their company to focus on the tremendously popular NACRA Formula 18 (Infusion) catamaran.
Morrelli & Melvin's move to produce and sell the A3 benefits the customer with personal attention to the boat from order to delivery. European and Asian athletes will find the Morrelli & Melvin A3 is very affordable due to the strength of the overseas currencies. Contact Morrelli & Melvin for prices, shipping costs and delivery time quotes.
Macca: The name you are looking for is Alado (The Mystere Twister's design is also based on the Tiger).
IMHO producing boats like the Stealth on a large scale and for the price it is selling now would be commercially impossible (staff, overhead, etc). If I where a builder and would invest in a design I would want to be sure it is protected and cannot be used by others (Unlike the Blade for instance).
