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Actually that boat was abandon by the inexperienced single handed crew with rig intact, though the sail track and sail were damaged. He wrote a book about it (which I have). The sail track on the Nonsuch 30 was specified as though it were a 30' boat, but of course it has a 50' sized main...

That's why I asked for pictures. Boats disappear without a trace periodically, there could be any number of causes. 

When it fails, a keel stepped mast is structurally better: Something is very likely to be left standing for use as a jury rig. On a deck stepped, it depends a lot on what failed, but usually the whole thing falls down. Wrong again. It can happen in theory, in practice I do not know of a single...

You're gonna have to come up with the data to support that. Although I suppose 0/0 could be said to be a thousand times. Properly engineered, a composite rudder post is unlikely to sink the boat. The calculated breaking load on mine is 4x the boat displacement at the tip, it is inside a large...

I think the last of your worries when the mast falls is whether it started keel or deck stepped.  One possible downside of a free standing is if it broke below the partners (or the step broke) you would open the deck like a can opener. I haven't heard of that happening to anyone but it could...

I think you can count on a Marconi rig being lost in a capsize, they are a brittle structure and experience seems to confirm this. Much less experience with free standing rigs, but at least some examples of them not being lost, and the structure is not as brittle. A free standing rig is the...

I did the calcs on my boat if the mast were made airtight. It adds significantly to the AVS, but of course only helps once a lot of the mast is immersed which is like > 140 deg. So the result is likely not preventing an inversion, but limiting the time spent there. 

Was given rides and loaned cars/trucks several times by complete strangers in Newfoundland. In PEI, I had multiple offers of free loaner cars from strangers, and had my pick. Even in Georgetown, VI, the guy who owned the espresso shop lent me his truck to drive 30 miles to the Fedex office when...

^^ I did a like but that one deserves a Special Mention.

It is probably a well known saying, I knew a glider instructor who said you start with two cups, one is Luck and it is full, the other is Experience and it is empty. Your job is to fill up the Experience cup before the Luck one goes dry.   Nevertheless, I believe that luck heavily favors the...

In New England I presume, not West Texas. A coat or two in the winter works where the sun doesn't shine, not so well in SoCal or Florida or the Carib. A coat every 3 months is more like it there. 

I'd try Irens. He thinks out of the box, has experience both in freestanding masts and bald headed rigs, has designed and seen a number of them built. Maybe Bieker because he can also think out of the box. Wylie has some experience with the rigs, but you would need to like his lawn dart style...

Except, Paul apparently has a better eye for aesthetics than Buehler..... :o

I can understand that. I think the main on that boat is about 1500 sq ft. Mine is 960 and as each year goes by I regret a little more it being that big. Easy to handle if everything is working properly, but not if things go sideways, also just getting it on and off the boat is 1/2 day hard...

The masts pumping indicates they were no where near stiff enough, or perhaps too heavy, or both. In certain conditions a Nonsuch aluminum mast will pump with no sail on, you are told to tighten the sheet and topping lift which flexes it back. The carbon ones do not do that. The masts on Anomaly...

Never talked to him post ownership. I've sailed on the sistership (just a daysail) and it seemed OK in a Wylie sort of way. It has a very big main. What specifics did he mention? That boat is sitting on the hard in the Napa Marina, about 5 miles from me, been there for a number of years. Still...

I talked to Pete about that, he said many problems with the boat, but the rig worked very well. Their carbon work was suspect, the hull broke off and the masts were quite heavy. The Freedoms built with a Goetz mast are also suspect. I had them quote on my masts and it was quite clear they did...

Lady Pepperell was a modified Hunter, she did pitchpole and was abandon because the keel began to come off. The rig was still standing when abandon after the pitchpole. I did not think Project Amazon snapped a mast, rather was stored on the hard for 10 years looking for a buyer before being cut...

Could be? Also the wing alone offers little directional control for prestart or crash recovery maneuvering. And, you do not know how conditions will change during the race, there is no opportunity at all to put one up should it become advantageous. The wing can be feathered if too much pressure...

Unfortunately not nearly that simple. Euler column buckling is dependent primarily on stiffness, carbon is only a bit stiffer than aluminum (though specific stiffness is higher). Cantilever mast is dependent on flexural modulus, many times what aluminum is. There are so many differences that...