High modulus/cost sailcloth is pretty inevitable with a performance oriented rig. The one I am working on for my boat has an individual control on each batten and a large chord (in proportion to the total) wing mast. If it works, cheap sailcloth can be used.
Masts can be made in most shapes with added stiffness in any direction. The build technique is nothing special, but does not need a dedicated mould if you can build flat panels. Plans are $500.
rob
running backstays, mainsail leech tension, yep, i'd thought of those too. would need a high-modulus sail cloth for the latter. and the mast would have to be designed to handle the higher compression loads.
what about a mast that is stiffer fore-to-aft than side-to-side? or are they already? impossible to tell from pictures but i assume they are circular in cross section. an ellipse might work well. rotating tear-drop would be better aerodynamically for the mainsail, but perhaps not provide quite as much forestay tension as a fixed ellipse.
relatedly rob, i recall you mentioning, perhaps in a very old post, that you'd worked out an easy way for home builders to make their own mast. no details were given as i recall. eric sponberg describes wrapping tow around a mandrel. i've read that others use a female mold. how do you do it?
ben
> ... running backstays would do a better
> job, although the need to tack them is a pain. Mainsail leech tension is
> the other thing to look at, but also needs to be released after a shunt if a
> roachy mainsail is used.