Hi Dan

I think the number of boats that you point to who are committed to racing and ACTUALLY going racing on Wed is the key. The fun factor is high.. just tempored by the slow speed that it occurs at... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I will also snob out <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />... and say... what's the dif.. between one slow tub C20 and another slow tub... Flying Scott... or Albacore or Jet 14 or Snipe or Hampton Fill in you favorite tub... these are the ones on the bay... Nobody is switching classes either!.

Don't know the history... but I wonder what other dinghy classes have a foot hold on the left coast?

My ignorance will show through here... I don't see the differences in these monos. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

But... I do see huge differences between A cats, F18's(F16's), Hobie 16's, Hobie 20's and the Spin 20's Nacra, Tornado). Each of these kinds of boats suit a different market of the performance sailor, with respect to size and weight of the crew, experience needed, and power managed by the teams.

I agree with your point of view that the builder should take a different tack with the F16 Cap and not an F16 Taipan. Let the class go its way.

Hell they have been predicting the demise of the mid atlantic TheMightyHobie18 fleet for 10 plus years... The boats are 10 years older but the culture of the sailors hasn't changed and they hang in there and go racing. They probably stop sailing cats if the class made any changes.. they certainly aren't moving to a different hobie fleet after all of this time. (These guys are a bit of the counter example to the Cal 20's you point to)... They Simply don't align with the dominant class in the region, the Hobie 16's. ... So there is another factor to consider.

Mark