I could not agree more with you johnelliot24... I’ve had discussions with the man who developed the 600ff and he believes as I do that altitude foiling is fraught with danger for the crews-health. Low altitude/skimming is more stable and attainable…
The RS600 FF was a beast that should never have been turned into a foiler. An overpowered singled handed trapeze boat is not a good candidate for conversion.
Foilers like Moth and A Class can be setup to skim, however it's not a preferred mode as it doesn't take full advantage of the benefits of foiling. In light winds, you want to be fully foiling. If skimming in chop, the boat is slowed by every wave it encounters then accelerates as it lifts off again, producing a stop–start motion that can be just as uncomfortable as floating mode. In practice, it's likely no easier (and certainly no faster) than full foiling. The Quant 23 and 17 get their stability from widely offset foils that generate very large righting moment (very similar to what johnelliot24 has done with his mutant FD), not by dragging their transom through the water.
The issues of full foiling in small boats in sheltered waters are greatly overstated. The most highlighted issue is crashing while going downwind in choppy conditions. Nearly all the crashing Moth videos come from downwind sailing in conditions of 20 or 25 kn plus in fairly open water. Below 15 kn (or 20 kn on lakes), Moth crashing is not an issue. Anyone in a modern boat with a solid season of racing under their belt can sail in breeze up to 20 kn without crashing. The biggest issue is the 30cm wide hull that most find challenging to balance in floating mode. Once that is overcome, the rest is easy, which is why the GlideFree foils can be attached to a Laser, Aero, whatever and they are foiling in minutes with no modifications to the standard boat.
Here is Dave Lister doing foiling tacks and gybes way back in early 2009. Way too boring for those who think crashing at 25 kn is more spectacular though.