Bill,
I have to respectfully disagree on a couple of points. Static mast weight is not the issue. The carbon stick reduces the radius of gyration by a factor of almost 4 which reduces pitching moment of the hulls. Also, a carbon stick can be designed to exactly comply with the elastic characteristics of the aluminum mast. This is due to the orthotropic stiffness properties of the fibers. I have designed and built three carbon Tornado masts and use stock sails with no differences with the aluminum mast.

Kevin