On a multihull the issue is primarily structural strength, a monohull just heels more with added weight, which means that every extra pound in the mast has to compensated with 10's of pounds of ballast. Which means a bigger boat, larger masts, more weight aloft, more ballast, you get the idea^^
Twenty pounds aloft gets multiplied by the arm it is attached to. If the extra weight is 40 feet high that twenty pounds just became 800 lbs of torque at the base of the mast if the mast is horizontal.
Here is the problem, a cat is sailing along and buries a bow with an extra twenty pounds on top of the mast or is just hobby horsing (imagine that). If the boat stops quickly (or quickly rocks) that 20 pounds is accelerated a lot faster than gravity normally accelerates it, probably 4 to 5 times faster so now we have an extra couple thousand lbs of force acting at the base of the mast (which is why most masts have shrouds to transfer the load).
Once again the engineer enters the design spiral, making the mast a little stronger and heavier, beefing up structural supports, making the boat a little longer and wider.
It is why most boats out there are pigs.
Talador
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Posted by: taladorwood@yahoo.com.au
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