Platform stiffness though I believe has a significant impact on boatspeed, particularly on acceleration and through choppy water. Going back to basics, the platform is the structure which transmits the power of the rig to the lateral resistance provided by the hull and the foils in the water. Any bending or twisting in the platform absorbs energy which would have been applied to forward motion by a stiffer platform.
Cheers
There are so many arguments against the platform being overstiff outside of sailing, for instance why do rally cars have suspension, mtb bikes, its all about using the power from the rig, engine, human wisely and efficiently. Having an over stiff platform will simply transmit that efficient power into unefficient areas.
I do suspect however that the platforms of the past have been so poor in terms of stiffness that we are now playing catchup and learning that stiff platforms are good. Where do we go then, in design terms it would have to be the end of the two beam setup as just in engineering terms they will never be able to cope with the torsional loadings without being over engineered.
