I spent may years racing in the midwest (Minnetonka YC) I never
considered the M20 to be a fast boat. It seems to have everything for
high performance but when the wind starts cranking they are the first
to dump or nose dive. Around 1986 or so Melges was testing a super
scow based on the M20, I saw one a Geneva YC, it had an asym spin,
bigger rudders, bow spirt and maybe some other stuff behind the
scenes. At least I though it was a M20, I notice there is a M16 based
version http://www.boatshow.com/MelgesSuperScow16.html so maybe I was
wrong.
No doubt about it, the Ascow is a beast, it is nice to see they have
been more progressive with design changes in the past 10 or so years,
too bad they haven't gone back to trapezes. In the 70's? some carried
four on the wire, I would guess with the sideboards this is a bit
dangerous.
As for windsurfers, the reason I didn't include them is that even old
gear such as a Lechner, which is full displacement hull, will smoke
most anything on most points of sail, especially upwind.