With all the solar panels, li-ion batteries, lasers, motors and other high tech fixes, I suspect this would be less sustainable in the "impoverished coastal and island regions" than they imagine, unless it is externally funded, built, rigged and maintained.

The lower part of the mast looks to be heavily built and double as the part of a crane to handle cargo and would be key part of the design. It hard to picture how a junk sail would allow that. The gaff sail then would have to attach on some kind of track, I think.  I wonder how the battens were to be attached there. He may have had had a simple low tech solution for which he was well known. When I converted my O'day 23 in 1994 he designed the mast, a basic tabernacled four sided mast from dimensional lumber.  In the letter that accompanied the plan he said that he didn't know much about the junk rig "but some very well respected people swear by it."

[Webteam comment: Phil is discussing the Bolger reference in Karlis's post two back.]