Peacoq: dead end or the way ahead.

If you ask the foiling hysterics, it's easy. World foiling championships that normally get about 20 youth and juniors show that all the kids prefer foiling, whereas world "seahugger" championship with 400+ kids (like the Opti and Laser 4.7 worlds) shows that all the kids are bored with conventional boats. 

Old people have been telling us for years that kids all prefer skiffs, cats and foils and yet those darned kids never seem to get the message.

If kids do want to foil, of course, then one wonders why would they do it on a dinghy. If your foiling you don't need to drag a big heavy hull around and you're not normally sailing in less than 8 knots, so a board makes much more sense. Apparently guys like Tom Slingsby, Nathan Outteridge and Glenn Ashby are all windinging furiously these days and getting 18+ knots upwind at good angles.