I don't like the idea of directing neophytes to old boats. I started on a prindle 16 that was ok but thankfully i had a buddy (PTP) that was as interested in sailing as i so we quickly realized that the 16 was a dog ( i apologize to any P16 people that love their boat). we quickly moved on to a 6.0 that kicked our butt however we felt what a real cat could do and haven't looked back since.
If you know people that are interested then invite them out for a spin or more. let them get a taste of the capability of these boats. you have to ride the line of scaring them vs. keeping them interested. If they can sail for a bit on a performance cat then you can avoid them buying an old dog that will sit in their backyard/driveway where they learn to hate the thing.
I have this guy at work that just bought a used 35K stink boat(motor). he is bumming because the head gasket is blown and he's looking at a 2K bill to get that repaired. its sitting at the repair shop and he's trying to negotiate with the previous owner and the surveyor to find the money to get his "new" boat out on the water. people talk a lot about how much these boats cost and i agree they can be expensive and we are not looking to finance buying a cat, however i think pointing a potential new sailor to old antiquated boats that are marginally fun to sail and cost them 1-3K in change is doomed to fail. we need to get them out on the water and feel the real speed and thrill of these boats to get them wanting more.
In short, when you consider the cost of the "dark side", our boats are a STEAL! why discourage someone by directing them to buy a dog for 1-3K when you could invite them out and give them some incentive to invest in a FANTASTIC sport/pastime/hobby, etc. If/when they do decide to buy a boat they can get a boat that will keep them wanting to sail.