Love crazy ideas. Look forward to hearing about it.
No idea of the actual amount. Usually pull it up until the mast is slightly bent forward, then when the main is sheeted on the stretch in the halyard and jib luff keep the hounds near enough directly above the deck. Then the mast bends, the distance to the hounds reduces and the mast bends aft at which stage the loads on the jib halyard are dictated by the breeze and the mainsheet tension.
Because of the mast bending and straightening, it does not 'whip'. As the loads increas, the mast bends more, as they decrease it straightens. Both maintain tension on the halyard.
The mast is designed to flex between 8 and 10% of it's length at hull flying load. Less than this for a race boat
Hope this helps, but suspect it won't. Any other questions, let me know.
rob
a couple of random questions, to help me with a crazy idea i just had:
how much tension does the jib halyard have in it on a visionarry balestron rig? with the mast not being dynamically bent over by wind, and the jib shape in ideal form. a number in kilograms would be perfect.
relatedly, when the mast starts whipping, how much does the halyard go slack? that is, how many centimeters would one need to winch in during the slack period to return it to its original tension? if it's easier, the height of the mast above the boom, and how far the mast tip deflects sideways would work instead; i can do the trig from there.
thanks,
ben
(still dreaming, and thinking...)