Hello all,
I am not arguing with your point about PR, marketing etc etc. I think that is the easy part! The problem is two fold. Ease of Use... and Ease of access to the water.

Matt's point that Hobie has really made the rotomold boats simple and easy to set up quite true. But that does not solve the problem either. They still weigh more then most people can easily move around and they don't fit in the garage well and so the neighbors will complain. Couple the weight with the work it takes to get the boat to water and the hassle factor is quite large.

EG. I have 3 new Hobie's at my club (mast up and 20 yards from the water). (Wave, Getaway and a Bravo)... the owners WERE really gungho...At the end of the season.... you never saw them. I predict the boats remain at the club for one more season before the owners decide that the costs don't match up to the fun factor and they are gone.

Now compare the effort needed to go sailing off the trailer at a public launch with that needed to launch a speedboat or a pair of jetskis. 10 minutes versus 45 minutes. (That 45 minutes in the launch area can be a big problem if the powerboaters are waiting for you to get in and go!) Then you have the stress factor of sailing out the channel with the powerboats coming and going. Alternatively, you can drag the boat 300 yards across soft sand to the water from the small boat launch (providing that you are in the park by 10 AM. (Even with wheels… its work!) Bottom line... cat sailing is not gonna happen under these circumstances!

You need to solve the entire problem or your marketing dollars are simply flushed!

So, It's not the marketing and it's not the boat....

The problem is you are targeting a small group of people who potentially enjoy sailing a WET fast ride versus sailing a dry boat or simply power boating. (So the pool of people is small) This is made all the worse by how difficult it is to get to the water via public access routes.

Finally there are other issues that speak to racing participation. Themajority of cat clubs exist on paper. We have no physical presence that anyone could find! We appear for one weekend a year at a site and that's it. We are virtually invisible... How do you even find us ... Thank god for the internet or the community of racers would have been long gone. Oh! and to make matters even worse we form our own organizations and don't integrate into the existing sailing organizations.

Caleb points to the success his club has enjoyed. The essential factors are 1) A facility to work out of .... (Costs you significant $$$ to support) 2) Elbow grease to support the sailing programs at the club.... (Costs you time that's not racing). I agree with his solution to the problem.

Finally, speaking for myself, How much interest is there REALLY among the racing sailors to participate in growing the activity of recreational sailing? I have taken enough people that I don't personally know on sailboat rides so they could experience catamaran sailing... What a pain in the butt! It better that they go to vendors who take them cruising on the bay then waste my time! The club activities that will yield good results are those that will take an interested newbie (go sailing day) and support their sustained participation (lessons or some such)

There... got that off my chest... now if only the chest cold would do the same.

Happy New Year
Mark