At the sailing school I teach at a group of instructors were discussing traditional boats when this particular old American schooner design came up:
http://www.privateerlynx.org/
There were many and widely vaied opinions about why boats of this vintage has such extreme mast rake, but no consensus, and no answers that gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling of "rightness".
Can the traditionalists here help with the answer? They certainly look cool, but there must have been a more technical answer, mustn't there?
Thanks!
Bill