Luc,

  I think I might be missing something.

  On a monohull, you'll likely have the mainsail over your cockpit and/or cabintop, and able to work with it if you're facing upwind.  If the main is down, then you'll have to use your motor to keep you pointed.

  Couldn't you use the motor on the proa to do the same thing?  More importantly, wouldn't the proa let you do the same thing at more wind angles?

  On the monohull, with its narrow hull, you might have good access to the mainsail from -20 degrees to +20 degrees. 

  With the wider proa, that could be -30 degrees to +30 degrees (or 0 degrees to +60 -- whatever), and in /two/ directions.  That way you don't have to try to turn through the wind and weather, with your sail stuck on the shrouds, in order to get a neutral sail over your deck. 

  If you're running with a monohull in big seas, and the sail is pinned, that turnaround could get really ugly.  With the double-ended proa, you just let the sail out, and may even be able to skip the motor by steering with the rudders under bare poles.

  Alternately, if you can't use your motor to turn into the wind, and the mainsail is down or damaged, then the proa is the only safe option.

        - Mike

 

The points are well taken, Rob, but the question centers around the "pull it inboard". In a monohull being in the wind positions the wishbone end well within reach to unblock lines. In the HP at one point the wishbone with some sail stuck has to swing around over the deck and that part of the sail may not be so docile in heavy winds while also getting the boat moving. I may be making a mountain out of a mouse, but I'd like not to find out in real life.

Another safety advantage of the HP I learned recently is the lack of open stern scooping water sliding down backwards on a steep wave and still have the open deck feeling but oriented to the safer inner side.between beams and lw hull.

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