Synthetic, low-stretch, highly durable materials are the #1 technological advance. I have an OLD Nacra with new flat-top Pentex sails, Maffioli lines, carbo blocks..ect. In comparison to buying a new boat, these upgrades were much cheaper and gave the boat a new lease on life.

As far as getting more sailors involved... you would have to be completely out of touch with sailing not to give Hobie's roto-molded boats the nod. Durable (when the hulls are cooked correctly), easy to use, as fast as the popular fun boats.

??? Design and materials are always big. Getting more sailors involved is all marketing though. Hobie, Nacra and any other boat builder need to exploit multi-media. Talk about a complete waste. Hobie and Nacra (more so than Hobie) have completely missed the boat...