I've been lurking for several months because I currently own a 42' trawler and am thinking about a powercat sometime in the next couple of years. The discussion on the hydrofoils brought back memories of a project my company worked on several years ago. We were a subcontractor to a small boat builder from New Orleans that was proposing a hydrofoil catamaran for the Coast Guard's new Response Boat-Medium. They lost to a more conventional design for a variety of reasons; at least one reason cited was the environment in which the Coast Guard boats would operate and their fear of 'deadheads.' I saw their prototype at the boatyard being modified for resale to a Florida law enforcement organization (don't remember who it was). As I recall, the prototype performed very well in most areas during sea trials with the USCG, although some of what were perceived as performance issues are apparently typical handling cat characteristics. The original design was based on the concept developed from Hysucraft in South Africa, but tailored by a naval architect in the U.S. For more information, including some other U.S. designs, check out their web site at www.hysucraft.com. BTW, the Coast Guard prototype is listed under past projects. Mike Kleinbeck Shearwater 42' Californian LRC