Actually it's not as bad as it looks, the foil is an Ultra-Furl (
http://www.ultrafurl.com/furling/ultra.html) which is quite a nice piece of gear, what you see in the picture with the two allen head screws is just a stopper for the top of the foil, the other piece you see with an allen head screw is a collar for the foil sections, underneath that is a normal piece of rod rigging.
Interestingly the C&C 33 mast pictured behind has a different furler and a bent forestay.
It's a challenge indeed. modifying the attachment for better bending (360 deg) is an excellent idea.
TLF