A few low powered skiffs use a wing mast to good effect.. i.e. Mg14 & NS14 (100 sq ft sail area) which have the same hull dimentions as the Javelin (150 sq ft ) & I14 respectively 200+ sq ft.. Also Alex Vallings used a wing mas in his R class title win. The R is a 12 foot skiff with a far reduced sail area ( I believe it a number 3 or 4 rig).. In all cases that a modern skiff class uses wing masts they are seeking power in the low to medium range.. A 12 number one rig may be 400 sq ft with a 1000 sq foot kite.. At 5 knots the 12s are fully powered up and dumping power downhill..



As for prebending of the wing.. Most skiff rules do not allow for prebending masts any apparent "prebend" is induced by the rig tension..



Saying this there appeares to be little real advantage between a wing and a flexitip rig on skiffs.. Outside the underpowered condition.. From an outsiders view the MG14 now seems to have both wing and tip rigs in the top few boats.. Alex didnt clear out when he won the R title.. But admittedly his wing was twice the weight of his standard rigs..



Julian is of the opinion that the flexitip is far accurate and reliable than the cats squartop. (A composite tip will fatigue a lot slower than any cloth/batten combination).. His shop was beside Cairns sail loft when Cairns was devloping the square top mains.. So the two rig designs were developed literaly side by side as it were.. As pointed out cats are far more stable and thus dont need the gust response of a skiff..

However as pointed out to me by Julian the more powered the cat the flexier the rig.. So put an 18 sq meter rig on an HP and you will need a rig close to the skiff rig..