Simon,

from my point of view gantries (or the possibility of them) frees me as a designer up to experiment to fully optimise the location of the rig and foils with respect to the hulls.

However, tube style gantries can be heavy and prone to breakage. A gantry as shown above would minimise the weight penalty and be much more reliable. To those who have commented that it will add buoyancy. The gantry would be designed to be clear of both the static and sailing water lines, would be stepped inside the line of the hull so would have no effect on the waterline from a performance point of view and it should also be remembered that reserve buoyancy in the stern is considered by many to be a negative as it acts to reduce the effect of moving the crew/skipper all the way back down wind.

There will be a letter to the GC but I thought it worth testing the feelings of the sailors first to both help the council make a decision in line with the consensus of the class and also minimise the chance of a back lash at the other if they are approved and prove successful.

With all that in mind, as the person who started the thread can I please request that we take the politics elsewhere and discuss the question at hand.