wait, hold on... single beam attached to the mast with fore and aft lines...
do i infer correctly then that it can be raked fore and aft to position the weight appropriately for upwind and downwind work, respectively?
that would be way way cool. where do i send my deposit?
if it can't be raked, then why not make it strong enough to be free standing (like the mast) and skip all of the support lines? that would be much more in keeping with the simple-is-reliable design philosophy.
either way, i really like the single beam idea. am i correct in thinking that both it and the lw hull would be much lighter, and hence cheaper to boot?
ben
> Beam is strong and wide enough, but the edges are bigger diameter than I
> thought they would be so slipping off will be pretty easy. 800mm off the
> water. I don't like it as it is attached to the mast but still needs caught
> aback support and fore and aft lines, all of which make it more complex than
> I would like, with more to go wrong. Original plan was to have staunchions
> and life lines on it which would double as part of the structure, but this
> got messy where they attach to the mast. I will try it, but do not hold out
> much hope.