Hey Guys,
Valid points all round, and a good, argumentative but non-confrontational discussion going on here.
Bern, problem with guys like me & Wouter is that we`re addicted to pure speed. The spinnaker makes SAILING the boat so much more fun that I wouldn`t be able to sail without it. Having said that, if I raced in a non-spin. fleet I`d ditch the kite & compete on equal terms, so in that respect i`d agree with you. I`d be the first one to go back to a Paper Tiger if we had a strong class here.
On the flip-side, if you sail with a kite everyone else looks on in disbelief as you fly a hull downwind in 5 knots & thinks "hey, looks like fun, for a small investment I can add that turbocharger to my boat too !". Of course there`s no guarantee it will work out that way, you may have a divided fleet as you said, and the whole fragile setup that exists currently could collapse. We had very real concerns when adding the kite to the Mozzie in SA (South Africa, not South Australia !), but after a year and a half we have shown considerable growth and a re-awakening in our existing fleet : Example - a Mozzie sailor sold his Mozzie & bought a Hobie 16, and has now sold the H16 & bought a new Mozzie with kite, as it looks more exciting & is faster than the Hobie. So we won back a sailor we thought we`d lost. My point is that if you don`t keep your class exciting to the sailors who ARE ALREADY IN IT, you will really struggle to attract new sailors, and may lose a few of the existing guys to faster boats. Of course, there is a place for non-spinn. 14ft boats, as newcomers to sailing would be overwhelmed by the spinnaker if they buy a high-performance boat first time. Not too many beginners start off on Tornados or I-20`s.
One thing I can`t agree with Wouter on is the A-class, it`s a perfect single-hander, and just becuase it isn`t the fastest catamaran anymore due to the introduction of spinnakers in other classes doesn`t mean it can`t survive without a spinnaker. I don`t believe that it will suffer just becuase other boats are quicker, as a class it will remain strong as long as it is supported by it`s class memnbers. Since it is the pinnacle of development class single handed sailing I don`t see a threat.
The Laser class is still strong despite the 29er being faster, I don`t think you`ll see a spinnaker on the Laser anytime soon.
The main resaon I think sailing is on a decline is that we are not doing enough to get NON_SAILORS into the sport, new boats come onto the market, but the only people buying them are existing sailors, so that in turn causes a decline in older classes.

Cheers
Steve