Ya know, I hear this all the time from guys and most of the time, you'll get a way with it. BUT, my hubby, you know, the genius mechanic, ALWAYS gaps his plugs. And I can't tell you how many times I've seen him trouble shoot someone's ski that just isn't running like it should or sometimes not running at all (especially in salt) and he asks them if they've gapped their plugs. They say, "No, should I?" He checks, their gap (on brand new plugs) is around .035, he corrects it to .024 or so (I believe) and guess what, running fine now, problem solved.
Take it for what it's worth, but I've seen it DOZENS of times. I'm not the expert, but my hubby is, and I'm a believer.