Thanks for jumping into the discussion Renoir and good points.
So, for Bill's situation, with the pieces in place he will have a quasi inverted dipole. A local live-aboard HAM uses an inverted dipole on his sloop. I have learned that if you take a challenge into a meeting of HAMs you can come away with almost as many opinions as there are members attending.
What effect will a furling gear have on the forestay leg? Should the forward lead be "earth"?
He can be transmitting very easily & cheaply with the current set-up. I believe he should try your suggestion first.
Cheers, Russ