Results on test shooting the PVC-bow. First with big hooks, then hooks shortened to smaller recurve (compare pics).
All shot with a custom-made reed arrow (163 grains; actually two broken arrows with the tip footed with chopsticks to the bottom part). Don't mind the plastic nock.
The amount of the hooks that was cut off was c. 5 cm, in total 14 grams (215 grains).
Force-draw curves were close to identical early in the draw. Late in the draw, the bow with the big hooks cleary gets the leverage, as the poundage levels off.
Average arrow speed (23 measurements) for the big hooks: 92.5 fps.
Average arrow speed (20 measurements) for the smaller recurves: 103.7 fps.
The difference was statistically highly significant, with the bow with smaller recurves shooting faster. As expected.
The draw pics show where each bow had lift-off, and how that affected string angle and the horizontal projection of the effective limb length (leverage).
Note that on the right one pic at 18" is positioned next to the one at 16", so shift that one mentally down one square...
String tension at brace didn't seem different (same tone!). The bow with the big hooks was more difficult to draw, as it sometimes wanted to shed its string. For that reason I deflexed it in the handle compared to the previous picture.
So PatM, I hope that satisfies you
It completely follows the predictions I made with relation to excess mass and leverage.
Joachim