Good point.

With today's sail materials (with little or no stretch), how much would changes to rig settings benefit the sail shape?

I was talking to Lin (North Sails) about the 3-Dl/3-Di moulded sailshape and what, if any, changes to pre-bend or even downhaul might have (other than to attain proper sail shape initially). I mean, if you crank a 16:1 downhaul, how does it flatten the sail if there's no flex/stretch in the material? Does it just bend the mast?