No problem with 3 masts, if the boat is big enough. Not sure how big is big enough, would depend on the size/weight of the sails and athleticism of the crew. The mizzen depowers automatically. The load on the aft sheet is small compared to the fore one. Presumably this applies double to a 3 master. Lower coe is good in a breeze, bad in the light.
Hi,
In the vein of smaller rig parts, is there any argument for a 3 masted schooner on a Harryproa? I'm thinking about wishbone booms on unstayed carbon spars. Why 3? Lower height of CE, less fore/aft shift of CE, more total sail. You'd take a little hit upwind, but then again, depowering the mizzen helps with sail balance. I bet a single-hander (or real-life husband/wife team) could sail her, from slip to trans-oceanic, in sizes to 75' OA.
I think if I had a Harry, I'd want a wishbone schooner, 2 masts if smallish, 3 if largish. Tom Wylie's big 65' cat ketches, (cat-headed monohulls, not catamarans--unstayed carbon spars) with wishbones on both sails, are pretty darn simple/controllable, given the size of the sails. His main is something like 1500 sf, uses a two part sheet. When he reefs, he has a "basket" built of lazy jack-like bits of line under the boom, just drops the sails into these, then if he wants a reef, sorts it out in the "basket." http://www.wyliecat.com/wishbone_rig/
Dave Culp