I'm in favour of the Tiger as an Olympic multihull class - and not just because I sail one (I race F-18 class - not Tiger OD apart from the Tiger Worlds).
The performance differences between the F-18 boats are not huge, and the Tiger is already an established ISAF class. I think selling F-18 as the Olympic class would be problematic - more potential for 'secret weapon' type development like some of the recent Tornado history - which is not what ISAF want out of an Olympic Class.
The equipment is cheaper to buy (I know boats are a small part of campaign costs and a Tornado will likely last longer than a tiger) - which addresses one criticism levelled at the Tornado.
I can't see how making the Tiger the Olympic boat would hurt the F-18 class. A lot of folk at the top of the class are on other platforms - and seem to think there is some small edge in this (or why change?) - do we think a bunch of Olympic sailors are going to get Tigers (with Tiger class sails from Hobie) going quicker than Infusions/Wildcats/Capricorns and ruin the class some how?
Someone in this thread made a comment about less 'Cat Only' regattas as a way of increasing exposure to catamarans and getting youth excited about sailing cats. I think that is a great idea. We attended the Buzzard Bay regatta with over 100 420s and a ton of lasers and the F-18s got a lot of attention blasting out through the crowds on the way to the course. Growing youth participation is a separate discussion though from supporting John's proposal or making constructive comments / counter proposals.
