Well I'm going to be competing on a new 4.3 metre cat within the next 3 months. It's all carbon fibre ie hulls, mast, beams, boom, rudders, C/boards, rudder stocks, and the mast will be 25' long (without the fittings). I will be sailing it as a formula 14, one up on trapeze cat rigged with spinnaker or two up on trapeze cat rigged with spinnaker. I personally would not like to see a restriction on the mast length (no matter how you measure it) any less than 26'or even 27'. Forget about the dimensions of ALL the existing "14' cats" when setting up a completely NEW formula 14. None of the new generation cats that will form this formula have as yet seen the water, so lets not try to restrict them to all the perimeters of "last centuries" designs, Be satisfied with formulating a working formula for all the existing 14' cats to be able to sail together for an "across the line first wins" competition, but don't stiffle what has the potentual for being the best thing to happen to 14' cat sailing since the introduction of fibreglass, by making restrictions based on past manufactureres or association "class" boats.
Darryl J Barrett