Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
The problem is that if the main is released in heavy wind the flogging can cause the mast to invert.
There must be sufficient tension to prevent this ever happening or the backstay has to be tight enough at the time to ensure it induces a forward bend in the mast
I tried heaving too in high winds & because the jib was a self tacker it could not ballance the boat. That meant i could not tighten the mainsheet to keep a bit of wind one side of the mainsail
I could see the mast inverting rapidly as the sail shook.
Fortunately the gust only lasted a short while & i could get going again
Tightening the rig ensured a sufficient pre bend & the boat is faster