What everyone else said plus...The loose foot also lets you tie off your reef points nice and neatly.
That would be accurate.However that does not negate the other advantages of the sail. The only one who loses on this is the sail cloth makers who don’t sell as much cloth.Several years ago I asked a fairly well know Detroit sailmaker why most new mains were loose footed and he said they were cheaper to make.
.. but NOT around the boom!!What everyone else said plus...The loose foot also lets you tie off your reef points nice and neatly.