Yeah... that is often tossed at the Hobie 16...

I never campaigned a Hobie 16... But... I know of no data that says a Hobie 16 wears out faster then say a Hobie Tiger...

If you want to argue that the hobie pylon platform is flawed... i would just point out a new A cat designed by Melvin which looks just very much like a Hobie 16

Do Hobie's wear out faster then Tigers or Vipers? I don't know. The world of public opinion may not be all that reliable! just saying.

The history books show that most of the Olympic Tornado's suffered from oil canning and competitive boats got trashed after big events in breeze ... Eventually builders systematically got better until marstrom built a premium boat and made the Reg White's obsolete.

I would love to see some data on the competitive life of a hobie 16 and the other recreational boats.

Comparison to the Marstroms will happen at these trials and if boat build lifetime matters... Marstrom probably wins.