Affordable and Cool

At the root of it a skate board, snow board or BMX bike are all very affordable and COOL. We have affordable catamarans out there (not quite as cheap as a BMX bike) but those boats are bashed by the more experienced sailors and relegated to the un-cool. That's a deal breaker for kids. Being cool is obviously a central theme for a 15 year old.

The monohull guys have it right. A Laser is cool AND affordable. Guess what, there are tons of kids sailing them. Even the Opti kids consider themselves cool (300+ boats at regattas all over the country). Cool doesn't have anything to do with the actual equipment it's just a function of the culture surrounding it. Now as soon as a kid gets into a Hobie 16 or a Wave or a Bravo some A-hole has got to tell him how un-cool it is. Deal breaker.

What's really un-cool is having a brand new hotsh*t16, that mom and dad spent 15 grand on, and having to race by yourself. We need a culture shift and we could take a lesson from the monohull guys. Sailing is popular. If you go down to Sail Newport and try and get your kid on the waiting list for summer sailing lessons you will see what I'm talking about. Catamaran sailing has some work to do.