At the end of the day lots of boats will go to the trials, one will win. Doesn't matter what the community thinks, it is the ISAF that will make that decision (I believe they are the ones the trials... could be wrong).

My guess, Viper if AHPC can show build quality (already proven), and more importantly, ability to ship to all Olympic countries (probably the hardest part, something Hobie would have an easier time showing).

The Laser is an interesting boat to look at not because of price, but how "not high performance" that boat is. The sail is crap, the rig is crap, the hull shape is awful (especially down wind), yet it is an Olympic boat... what lessons can we learn from this? I wasn't around when it was selected, but I think any Cat builder designing a boat to put forth at the trials should study why it was chosen. My thought is that it was a reliable boat that can be mass produced and shipped everywhere, while also being a challenging enough boat that a better sailor does actually win....

The trials are going to be interesting, I can't wait to see what different cat manufacturers are going to put up for it. Until then, all this talk is really just an academic exercise, as who knows what F18s will look like by then, Vipers, etc (okay, we know what a T will look like).

As for mixed, I'm all for it. Guarantees if 20 countries are in the multihull division there will be 20 girls, way more then any "open" class would have.