The H20 took out that P19 and F18 took out the N20. You're going to have a hard time convincing me that obsoleting the fleet and making it a **** ton more expensive is good for the class.
It's also worth noting that the most successful multihull fleet on the planet is the Hobie 16 fleet!
Very good points as usual, Ding. Perhaps instructive would be to delve into WHY the H20 killed the P19 and the F18 killed the N20.
Were either of the new platforms (H20 / F18) technological leaps forward from their bretheren (P19 / N20)? Or was it something more sublime (class governance, promotion, ease to sail/compete, cost-effective, platform/design rules, etc)?
Does the F18 class seek to grow by sniping sailors from other classes? Is higher-tech the only way to do that? If so, why the heck do Finns, Sabots, and 470s still exist? Shouldn't they have died after the introduction of 49-ers, skiffs, and that foiling A-scow thingie?
Certainly the H-16 class should have died off long ago if technology was the only thing people were interested in.. And yet they maintain a strong class... so it's something different.
Or is it because there is some sort of program or goal to be achieved by participating in a particular class? Like youth programs designed to develop collegiate sailors (Opti, 420, 420c)?
Is there an international push to move toward foiling boats at levels other than the elites? Are weekend warriors (possibly 85-95% of any fleet) ready and willing to pony up the clams to play in a high-tech fleet? The Moths (or maybe foiling kiteboards) seem to be the most developed and cost-effective way to go high-tech. Why didn't everyone just jump on those? What keeps you sailing two (or three) hulls?
Sincerely,
Card-carrying dead boat society member who sails PHRF now (ouch). But I still sail (and pony up regatta fees and bar tabs), so there's that...
