Going Cruising wrote:
I've seen several Hunters abot 35' or so that have what looks like a
pair of s/s reaching struts - is this what they are?

I'm interested in the materials used are mast fastenings.

Probably not "reaching struts." A reaching strut is a specialized piece of
gear that is used with conventional spinnakers in certain situations. In
particular, when reaching with a conventional (i.e., symmetrical) spinnaker,
the spinnaker pole is eased forward until it is almost on the headstay,
This places a tremendous load on the guy, and a reaching strut is used
to force the guy outboard at right angles to the fore and aft line. This
reduces the load on the guy and on the rig itself. If my description sounds
too complicated, take a look at "Sail Power" or some other reference for the
details.

What you probably observed were a pair of "downwind poles." These are often
used to run downwind under twin headsails. Again, this is a slightly
specialized rig that was once very popular with boats cruising the trades.
Usually the poles are set on twin tracks on the mast, and depending on the
level of complexity they may have tackles to adjust the height of the
inboard end, the fore and aft angle, etc. There are specialized mast
fittings purpose built for twin poles that are quite different from a
standard spinnaker pole setup.

--
Good luck and good sailing.
s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat
http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/