The reason there are so many scows in Wisconsin -- and also in Illinois and Indiana is that the primary manufacturer, Melges Performance Sailboats, is in Zenda, Wisconsin, and the head guy in that company is Buddy Melges, one of the best (and best-known) sailors in the world and winner of two Olympic medals, a bronze and a gold.
You will usually only see scows on inland lakes because they do not handle big waves or chop well. They are flat-water boats.
As far as why Scow sailors would not be interested in catamarans, why should they be? They were the fastest boats before catamarans came along and are still in similar Portsmouth rating brackets. The A-Scow has a rating of 62.1 (a little faster than the Nacra 6.0NA), the E-Scow is 73.2 (rated a little slower than a Hobie 18). The C-Scow is rated at 79.3 (close to the Hobie 16) and the D-Scow at 82.7.
Along with catamarans, Scows are in the lowest (fastest) brackets of Portsmouth ratings for all centerboard boats, along with the 49er at 71.3, Flying Dutchman, 80.2; the International Canoe, 79.5; the International 505, 80.2; and the Suicide, a development boat, at 80.7.
When you already have one of the fastest and most exciting boats in the world and have big fleets to race in, in your area, why would you care about converting to another type of boat? And why would anyone want to try to convert them? When in Scow country, race Scows. You go with what there are there the most of in your area.
I would just like to say that "attitude" works both ways. When you are up there in scow country, you don't talk about catamarans; you talk about scows. I would absolutely LOVE to sail on a scow sometime.
If I were in scow country, I would beg for a ride on one. And then I would casually bring up the similarities between scows and catamarans -- very wide, has two boards -- and point out to them that the scow is actually much more comfortable because you have a deck to sit on and don't have to deal with that spray coming through a trampoline. Always praise the features of the other person's boat rather than extolling the virtues of your own. Once they have taken you out for a ride on their boat, you can invite them to go for a ride on yours (just to be polite, of course).
Here are some reasons why you find concentrations of certain types of boats in certain areas:
*Manufacturer in the area
*Aggressive dealer in the area promoting a specific type of boat
*Hot sailors in the area sailing a specific type of boat
*Long established fleets with strong class loyalty
* * * * *
About brightly colored sails.
I, too, love bright, beautiful, colorful sails. They are a great attention-getter for catamarans. And they are more visible out on the water, which is also a safety feature. But as racing sailors became more "serious" about their racing, they all started going to white sails, because:
*It is easier to read and adjust your sails when they are all the same color.
*White is the best color for holding up in the sun. When you have sails of various colors cloth, different colors can stretch or deteriorate at different rates with exposure to the elements..
*Makes it harder for your competitors to pick you out on the race course.
*Makes it harder for the race committee to tell which boat is over the starting line early.
*And maybe a little bit of a snob factor -- white sails indicate a serious racer, whereas colored sails tend to be associated with "cruisers."
