Once again... Dave gets it wrong (grin)
In defense of SMOD!

There are advantages to SMOD.

A rec sailor could care less if their boat is Formula or SMOD.... All they care about is warranty and replacement parts cost and availability. So... they are paying the builder for his reputation and the dealers reputation and service. The fact that there are lots of xxx's at the club or sailing on the lake computes to the rec sailor as ... "this must be a good boat. everybody seems to get one."

A racer buys the boat in a SMOD class for the same reasons as the rec sailor. In addition, You place a huge value in having LOTS OF Boats in the class who go racing.. You are ALSO buying the manufacturers support for the racing game. You place a HIGH VALUE on the boats all weighing the same... you place a HIGH VALUE on the next sail that you purchase is the same as your old one.... AND your competitor gets the exact same gear that you have. So, you are willing to pay a premium for the SMOD race class on the initial boat and the replacement bits.

You are also paying for service beyond the warranty... Things like a gear wagon at a big regional event. Charter boats for Nationals or Worlds. Paid staff who organize the volunteers to make the major events happen.

When the sailing numbers cratered... the business and racing model had to change and builders spend less money on racing support and now support racing in different ways... Lots of long time racers have very bitter experiences with this transition. The Laser class is in chaos with crap boats built over the last couple of years and now a huge legal crisis that could get the boat kicked out of the Olympics in September. You now have a Torch boat which is identical to a Laser with an upside down class symbol built by the original builder. SMOD that has gone really badly!!!

To make any of these models work.. You need a builder who turns out a quality product year after year and supports it. You need racers who have a clear idea what the class is about and show up for the regional and /or national/international schedule

So, in 2012, ISAF insisted on a SMOD for the Olympic mixed multihull class so that they (and the builder) had control of the equipment used for the racing class... just like the ol days. Why? because they believe that it is easier to control the builder then the sailors who continually try to beat the rules (cheat in ISAF's view) to get an edge (see US headsail for China)

So, We now get to choose ... Does the SMOD or Formula support the kind of racing that you want to do.
YMMV

The critical thing is to understand what you want and how much you are willing to pay for your game... keeping in mind that your fun completely depends on a bunch of other racers choosing the exact same thing that you do. The N17 class has it made in this respect.. The Olympic Gold Medal makes it clear what the class is about and racers who join the class know the costs to play and what the class is about.

IMO... I think the Hobie 16 class (SMOD) and the F18 class (Formula) get it right and are good deals for cat sailors!