I guess I could figure out how to mount one up there, but not sure how difficult it would be to engage/disengage. The mast does rotate...

As to the advantage/disadvantage of the mast hook vs. halyard clutch, that may be better left to those engineering types..

I think there was lively discussion about this on other threads, but I'm still having trouble understanding the physics/forces. I would have thought that the total (down) force on the mast would be the same in either setup...

For instance, if you put 100 kg of downhaul force on the mainsail, the mast would be resisting that 100kg whether it's attached at the top, or runs back down to a halyard clutch.

Because the halyard runs through a pulley down to the clutch, perhaps the load on the clutch itself is higher though....?

Perhaps a good model would be a compound bow? Is the bending force (let's say the force needed to deflect the bow 3") on the bow itself the same whether it's a simple or compound draw?