Hello Doug and others, Yes I agree that it would be a good idea to plug a mast or masts into the lee hull when folded then use a line from the masthead to unfold the boat and raise the mast at the same time.  However this will only work on the smaller size boats.  My mast is 12 meters long and 120 kg mass so too heavy for 2 people to carry and position into the hull.  A schooner with simple round masts of about 8 meters would be very manageable imo.  The farrier system on Jacknife is very stiff when locked into position, I believe it to be the stiffest because there are no joints at the lee hull where the forces are the greatest.  I have not flown a hull as yet but have been close and there was no sign of movement or sounds coming from the beams or radius arms.  When sailing in a sloppy sea with the lee bow burying and then lifting out it feels rock solid.  I was very pleased with the feel of the boat during its initial tests as it was a major concern that I had not built it strong/rigid enough.

Cheers  Ian Aitken