I don't know why anyone would consider a catamaran a "toy" boat. Perhaps it comes from the fact that at one point, H16's were so abundant that it seemed that they were being made along with plastic trinkets in the sweat shops of hong kong. As to the fact about catamarans not tacking, I'm sure that at one point, they tried to tack a catamaran just like a monoslug, and they started cussing the boat out, because they couldn't figure it out. As to the multicolor sails, Hobie still makes them.

I used to be a monohull sailor, but when I sailed on my friends 18SX, I was converted immediately. I don't know if they "look down upon" catamarans more than they just haven't had the opportunity to sail them.