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Bob,
"Equally clear is the reason for its popularity: it's simple and uncomplicated."
That strikes me as a very strange statement. There is nothing simplier about a masthead rig than a fractional rig. Arguably with a masthead rig's need for forward lower shrouds a fractional rig is actually simplier to build, maintain and tune.
I also disagree that the masthead rig is the most popular rig being produced today. If you look at the majority of new sloop rigged being produced at this time, fractional rigs are far and away more common. The one thing that has prevented a bigger switch to fractional rigs is the popularity of inmast furling which is a bit harder to do on a fractional rig, although Hunter, Beneteau, Hanse, Tartan and Bavaria have found a way to make it work.
Jeff
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