That is a very true observation in my opinion. The cost of cats is much higher than windsurfing, so it is understandable tough. Balancing cost vs development is a very fine act of performing on a slack line, with entrepreneurs trying to find loopholes in the ruleset all the time. A different view on the same problem would be "do we want the sailor with most money to win, or the best sailor". The answer is usually trying to control development, so it happens slowly and in increments. Not in large jumps rendering lots of boats obsolete and uncompetitive. And what about spending money on the latest "hype", just to discover that it did not make you any faster <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
The C class is an example of an class which nearly have developed itself into extinction by not limiting their development over the years. Those rigid wings are drop dead sexy, but wildly impractical for club racing.