I vaguely recall seeing Little America's Cup boats (C-Class) with hard wings back in the 80s. I know for sure that Dennis Connor was testing wings on the Stars and Stripes cat in the late 80s, and the leaders in that game came from our very own Roton Point in CT.
I wouldn't think foiling started in cats, and I agree that the money from this past AC probably advanced that technology 10 years over what would have been done in the small boat market alone.
