I would think that it would be much easier to have a boat that is difficult to build to weight, than one that has to be artificially brought up to weight. None of the manufacturers are building a F16 at minimum. Right now the cost just can't be justified for mass production, but at some point the technology will be cheap enough to do so. I may be wrong on this but I don't think you'd find too many F18 sailors that wouldn't want to shave 50lbs off of their boats, which at this point could probably be done fairly easily and cheaply, but getting something as major as that changed in the rules would be difficult to say the least.

I think having the weight as low as it is, is a good thing. Allows room for growth, and the ability to take advantage of new or existing technologies as they become more affordable. When Brand "X" starts producing a model that is at or below weight, and does so at a competitive price, it forces the others to up their game. That is most certainly a good thing.