I think Matt misunderstands why the class was formed. Our vision is the same.., an entry level boat.., and a boat that women, children, and the elderly can sail and be comfortable with.
The class has re-attracted teams of sailors that were starting to retire out of the sailing circuits. For example, Mary and I, Stan and Sharon Woodruff, Chip and Barb Short, et al, were and still are, on occassions a team on a two person boat. But, we bought two Waves for each of the team.., and that makes for more boats on the water.., and lets folks that usually just crewed take the helm and compete.., and compete they do. Many of the ladies mentioned have gone on to beat their skipper partners in some major races.
And we wanted it one design.

At the first Wave Nationals all there were was Hobie mfged sails. They were all very different. We measured some sails and found as much as 8" difference in the luff of some of the sails.

So, we all decided that it would be great to make this a true one-design boat. And that was when we formed the class association.

Hobie Cat Assn. at the time wanted nothing to do with the Wave. Again, that is why we formed the class. And that is a good thing in several ways.
1) HCA meetings usually take place at the H16 Nationals. It is there that all decisions for all the classes are decided. So, the destiny of the TheMightyHobie18, H20, H14, et al were generally decided by Hobie 16 sailors.
We did not want the Wave governed by people that don't even think it is really a boat at all. People that sail the boat regularly should make decisions about the class.
2) By allowing other sailmakers to design and build sails, we started getting sails that made the class much more one-design. And after-market sail prices allowed folks to get sails made of Mylar and Pentex at lower prices then stock sails made of Dacron.
Hobie sails seemed to improve as well and were very competitive with the after-market sails. So, people had options.
The big option is instead of one, cookie-cutter sail fitting all sailors, the sailor can get a sail custom-made for his style of sailing, his weight, or whatever.
Obviously, a 250 lbs needs a more powerful sail than a 100 lb lady or boy. The latter would need a flatter sail.
A very good helmsman can sail a flatter sail, while a lesser helmsman needs a fuller sail that will forgive his steering mistakes.
3)The vision of the class is that we keep building attendance at all of events and have events all over the country.
That pretty much has happened east of the Mississippi, but we have not heard much from the west.

Also, the class has made sure no speed devices can be added to the boat that would start to cost folks money.
All the add-ons mentioned, i.e., Hooters, etc, are absolutely not class legal. Those are add-ons that folks use to just soup up the boat to have more fun when not racing one-design.
By the way, Hobie Cat Company offers a jib and spinnaker for the boat.., so I guess we didn't invent the idea.
I personally do it for races like the Sandusky Steeplechase -- a short distance race based on Portsmouth. I actually won it two years ago on a Wave.
And I actually beat all the H16s and a Hobie 18 boat for boat.
But, again, that was NOT class racing.

Another reason I am trying to soup up the Wave.., I think it is a great buoyant platform that can handle a lot of sail area. For example, the F14 idea was thrown out there to see what would happen. Some folks souped up H14s and I decided to try the Wave. The 14 does not have the buoyancy of the Wave and were unable to handle much more sail power.

Also, I still do not think there is a good youth boat on the market yet. If I can get the rigging working that I want, it would be great for smaller kids (the 16 and other boats like it are more than most small kids can handle)
My idea of great youth boat would be the Wave with a fairly good sized, self-tacking, furling jib, and a furling Hooter.
That would make the boat a two-person kid boat and both would have lots to do.., and be able to do it safely.., and not have to worry about damage to a fiberglass hull (plastic has been holding up quite well)
But, again, none of this is class legal for the Wave Class.

Thanks,
Rick