Todd

YOU can own and SAIL any damn thing you want to.. However, Sailboat RACING is pretty socialist... If you don't agree with 10 others on a set of rules.... you don't have a class.. Its a SOCIAL CONTRACT...

That is the value of buying into a class.... you agree to the contract of class rules.... It protects your investment AND sets your expectations when you go out racing... Most of those old single handed cats survive as race boats BECAUSE they Honor and respect their class rules.... Sailors buy in. You get good turnouts.

Each turn of the development cycle flushes some racers... not a problem when you are growing. So, How fast can you cycle and not flush racers in 2015?

In the two man boats... the N17 doesn't fly. THe Flying Tiger and the N20c do and are available. I bet that there are only 5 of these in North America and the impact on the F18 fleet is invisible. Not much of a problem.

And then The US A Class decided that International class rules did not work for them and made their own new class last week...
(Lets cycle FASTER....)
(THAT Sucks if you just dropped 25K on the latest ISAF legal DNA flying A class 6 weeks ago.)

So... you now have
ISAF A CLASS Floater ... which HONORS rule 8....No flying boats.
ISAF A class Flyer .... which uses the loopholes in rule 8.... Flying boats.
USA A Class Flyer ... which allows any thing by dumping rule 8 altogether. ... one of a kind flying regattas.

So ... Sail what you want... The A class is cycling like a spinning top...

Time will tell.