Obviously foiling will decrease dramatically wetted surface, which is the biggest aspect in terms of friction forces on boats. So theoretically a foiling cat should be faster than a non foiling cat (duh:)).
This would be true if there was not any drag induced by the lifting component of the foils. But how much drag is that lifting component and what effect does that have on the whole race around the bouys? In the end, that is the real question. If it were easy, then Phill Brander's Blade F16 would have lifting foils, wouldn't it? Or maybe it will be on Blade II. F16 and C-Class and 18 Square Meter are all classes that race around-the-bouys, but none of the winners in these classes are using lifting foils from what I have seen. I think Cogito uses asymetric boards that are angled for lift, but I never saw a picture of it with both hulls lifted out of the water.
foils sure made the Moths faster...
This bodes well for the development of a foiling cat!
