Paul,

I think your argument only works if you have a boat with a 10 year competitive life span stucturally.... Eg Marstron Tornado's...

Fiberglass boats go soft unless you design and build to delay this eventuality. eg lasers and most production cats are softer after three years...

IMO, the depreciation expected is indendent of the class be it SMOD, OD or formula.

I think the major argument for SMOD is that ... no matter what... the gear is about the same... AND you pay that premium for the perception of a level playing field and NOT because the boat hold's it value better.

In your comparison... IF the N17 fleet growth in numbers were so brillliant that boats were hard to come by... Yes, the depreciation would be less. I don't see that in the cards.