Hi Göran,
I am the owner of “Achieng” which Graeme mentioned. Arne is probably be right that your boat will have a hard time tacking without help from the engine, as it seems to have an even smaller rudder compared to the hull than my Viksund 27. But I take it as a challenge to tack without starting the engine, and it often goes well at full sail, but when two or more panels are reefed, I struggle. It is harder for the sail to overwin the wind drag on the boat when the sail is reefed, so the forward velocity is then often lost before Achieng’s small rudder has managed to tack her.
At the first glance I thought that placing a big mast on the Finnclipper's foredeck might create some stress problems, like I have experienced. The Viksund has large front windows, and when introducing forces from the partners, I expected that I would have to reinforce the areas where the foredeck meets the corners of the cabin. And yes, cracks developed there within a year, but have not got much longer over ten years. I have twisted my brain over how to reinforce, and this year I finally got the parts built and installed. Picture below (maybe not the most beautiful solution, but strong).
When I google, I see that the Finnsailer has a rather small front window, so you will probably have more strength for a JR mast than the Viksund.
With the stress challenges solved, I like my present rig, and I feel that the rig now is about as good as this gets for my kind of motor sailer, and I believe I would outperform a Bermuda rigged boat of the same kind, but I don’t compare apples with apples here. Bermuda rigs from Seldén for Viksund 27 were either 17,5 or 25 sq. m depending on keel weight. Achieng has the lowest keel weight, and now it has 40 sq. m canvas!
Just contact me directly if you want to discuss.
Nils