The Santa Cruz Harbor in California has an area on the upstream side of a low overpass. Last time I passed by it I noticed lots of large monohulls with masts much taller than the bridge. Obviously, they've figured out the nuts and bolts of how to deal with the issue. (At least for monohulls with backstays.) And they probably don't use Ed's equations, since they can't fly a hull.



The folks at Santa Cruz Harbor may know the definitive answer to this mariner's mystery...Tried to call them earlier--closed for the day. I'd suggest contacting them through their web site: www.santacruzharbor.org.



And by the way, it's also a great place to sail....if you can tack out the narrow harbor entrance through the breaking surf, since it is often in need of dredging.