Have you seen the thickness of the carbon of a strikerless front beam "A" class?? it weighs about the same as an aluminum beam, but the loads that it will resist are enormous (you could use it to carry a Mac truck on)
Darryl

Hello Gareth,
The mainsheet load is a primary contributor to mast compression and main beam bending. The vertical component of mainsheet/leech tension comes right down the mast. Also the mainsheet load tensions the forestay so the vertical component of that load comes right down the mast. It is much like mainsheet load times two coming down the mast. Other vertical loads coming down the mast are the shroud tension and trap wire tension. These all add together to become the total axial compression load coming down the mast and passed on to the main beam.
Bill