Personally I think the catamaran craze of the 80"s, arguably the "Hobie Era" was in a time of less stress, less work obligations, more family and leisure time. When I was a kid in the early 70's there was baseball and football, not soccer, Tee Ball, or even Atari. Families today(including my own) are stretched to the max with public, private, school, intramural games and obligations that make it difficult for us to get away every other weekend to race. I would drop it all if my kids(age 5 and 2) could go race, camp, swim, sail, whatever with me as a family every other weekend. But the reality is they are in to all kind of sports and activities that stretches them thin too.
Technology has made a difference, and faster, more technical designs(the spin) have made cat sailing more appealing, but it sure hasnt given us more time to get out on the water.

David Mosley
NACRA F18