My real question is,do you think lifting foils would make the boat quicker around the bouys?

Looking at that 18 Ft. Skiff video, I keep thinking that an identical boat without the lifting foils would be quicker around the bouys. They were on a close reach, probably looking to get maximum speed, but the drag of the foils made me think that even at that sailing angle, they might have been faster without the foils. In my opinion, in windward/leeward competitions, the foiler would be slower.

What Stealth do with the rudder foil looks much more promising to me and I would want to do it if "legal" within the class.