All the political crapola aside (and most of it is just that), here are my top reasons for the downturn in sailboat sales, and I'll start with my guess at why jetski sales are down a bit.
Jetskis - in many places these craft are being banned from the waterways, including parks and the like. So if a family was looking at buying one or two to drag to Lake WakaWaka State Park behind the Winni, they may not make that purchase after skis are banned from Lake WakaWaka.
Sailboats - while general water access is a problem, the fact that powerboat sales are up indicate people can get to the water. I think the main reasons are 1) fuel is affordable enough to powerboat 2) for general use a powerboat offers more options and bang for the buck (fuel costs not included) 3) it takes specialized skills to sail.
#1 is a no brainer - fuel is still cheap enough that for most cases power boating is not going to break the bank. If this were not the case power boat sales would drop.
#2 sounds like heresy on a sailing site - I consider myself to be a "non-denominational boater" which means what's most important to me is be on water first and worry about the mode last. I prefer to sail, but I appreciate power boats. I believe that for the usual family who just wants to get out on the water, power is probably the best option to get the whole family interested. You can ski, you can fish, you can get to a destination and back (be it your favorite crab shack in some river or a favorite place to anchor) in a reasonable amount of time. Most sailboats being monohulls, you'll not be able to much besides launch, sail around for a bit and go home. Unless you're able to sell the rest of the family on it, they're going to be bored silly. On the Chesapeake, you won't make it to anyplace you want to go unless it's an overnight or extended day trip. Where I live, a good evening activity is hop in a boat, head to Magothy Seafood for Nutty Buddy with the kids. Easy on a powerboat, not so on many sailing vessels. When people purchase boats, the activities they plan to use them come into play. For me, the answer to this is easy - have both a power boat and sail boat! But most people are silly and limit themselves to one boat... My wife grew up a powerboater, and if it weren't for multihull speed I'd have to go more power - leaning around at 6 knots max is not her idea of fun! Riding on the trap or wing nets is. Now, I know that you can do all these things on sailboats too (only if the conditions are right!), but we have to admit it will happen easier on the powerboat.
#3 is both a plus and a minus - I have to admit part of the reason I like to sail is that it DOES take special skills. You get a reward for learning things - it feels good when you get it right. But for a lot of people, getting on the water is daunting enough without having to learn how to sail. Where do you learn to sail? Most places it costs money to get in some kind of classes. Once you take those classes it might take years before you are completely confident. In the mean time, is the boat going to offer the same enjoyment, or is it going to scare your family because nobody is confident? But for those who get bitten by the sailing bug, just the feel of the boat under sail is addictive - I can't imagine living without that. That feeling is generally more important than the destination, but not everybody appreciates that.
Anyway, those are my main reasons to explain the downturn in sailboat sales. Now for catamarans themselves: I think the main problem for cat sailing is the almost complete devotion to racing that is going on.
Take a look at the boats that are available new. Which of those boats fit the mode of a fun and durable daysailer that can also be raced? Hobie-16 is about it. The boats that we all gush over are race machines, and are expensive and scary to newbies. Yes there are roto-molded fun thingies, but if you want real boat... Remember the video of the Hobie-18 blasting through the surf? Lots of things in that video attest to just bombing around on a boat. Skiing on a daggerboard, driving up the beach. The boats used to be more about fun and then racing, instead of just about racing. And when a new boat costs $15k, is mostly for racing, scares the family, can't be used to get Nutty Buddies or go fishing, well, the results are predictable. Mostly only the hardcore racers will have them.
When I had my Hobie-18 before I started racing, my wife and I enjoyed blast-reaching back and forth accross the Bay trapping from the wings. When the wind died, just lazing around on the wings was fun. That 18 turned out to be a pretty good open class race boat as well. Dual purpose.
Looking back on the blathering I've offered up, I'll add that jetski sales are also falling for some of the sailboat reasons - they are not as universally useful as a regular powerboat.
