There was a detailed thread by Myself, Wouter and Bob Hodges which went through the history of the HT class development in the USA. Basically both classes started at the same time here in the US.
The 18HT boats were all built in the EU... and only the Bim's made it over here. The US dollar was very very strong... so boats were dirt cheap for about 2 years.
In the USA... Hobie and Performance had no plans to build a light weight boat. (Matt Miller spoke of Hobie's experience... Performance was of the same mind. Internationally the F18 class had a hell of a good start and was the dominant class in the EU and growing.
Peformance's major market is the EU... so they had to build a competitive boat for the EU market. Nacra had the Inter 18 in production... Snagged the Cirrius design of the French and then came out with the F18.... and then the Infusion. Hobie could start quickly in the US using the French built Tigers. Hobie solved the comp tip problem in the USA.
So ... The US and Australia market had to choose. Hobie and Performance decided to market the F18 in the states. The dealers offered support through the combined dealer network. The dollar collapsed. The major promotoer of the class, WF Oliver, had life changes and stopped actively promoting the class. And thus it was so... The US Sailor wanted the F18... not the F18HT.
So... what are the tradeoffs of Heavy versus Light?
Heavy... (Well.. it IS a two person boat.. its only 200 lbs per person... Thats just a bit more then an A cat... a suck it up wuss!)
Cheaper to build (Well... that just goes to profit margin because the hulls are not that much more to build then an 18 foot A Cat if the estimates are to be believed.)
Performance... discounting Mary's preference for a tank in a blow... She is a Hobie 18 sailor at heart after all.. Heavy costs you in sailing performance! Less speed... less helm feel.... less quick in the turns.
Tougher/stronger... This notion has been shot down many a time. Weight has nothing to do with structural properties sailing.
Heavy means the ability to take abuse from the user... Well.. that is Matt Millers point... I am not sure I understand how this actually works though.. How does more resin equal more abuse resistance?
