Roger Long wrote:
On Oct 2, 8:42 pm, Frogwatch wrote:

In regard to sudden gusts, why not use a breakaway strap like some
rock climbers use whose stitches break at some load allowing the sail
to be let out all the way.

That was a huge issue and we did a lot of analysis on it back during
the sailing school vessel research in the early 80's. The sail and
rig forces caused by wave motion and rolling often exceed the forces
that would cause knockdown although only for brief periods. If you
put "fuses" in the rig, you would have stuff breaking constantly.

Most of the Nonsuch's (unstayed catboats) were built with aluminum masts
that tapered near the top. The marketing folks made a big point of how
the tip would flex to leeward and spill wind in gusts. Indeed, it
worked well and was helpful since it was easy to overpower the large
mainsail in gusty weather. (I learned to reef before going out, since
it was a lot easier to shake out than take in a reef!)

At the end of the production run they shifted to fiberglass masts that
were stiffer. The marketing folks stressed how this gave better
pointing ability in strong wind.