Hey Dave,

...great piece of gear, but highly misunderstood - it's scary how many people appear to think they are a substitute for a preventer, for example...

One problem is, lots of modern boats tend not to lend themselves to an easy installation, you might have to install some deck mounting hardware if you have a teak toerail, a perforated toerail is nice to have in this case...

Another thing that's happening, I think, is that cruisers are beginning to suffer from "Lines Led Aft Fatigue" (grin) With virtually every halyard and control line running back to the cockpit these days, and the addition of new applications like Asymetrical tack lines coming back to the cockpit, people are running out of rope clutches and cleats and places for yet ANOTHER control line spilling into the cockpit... How many more holes do you want to have to cut in your full cockpit enclosure, after all? (grin)

One of the times I love my boom brake most, is at anchor - makes it a snap to swing the boom outboard, disconnect the mainsheet from the end of the boom, really frees up my cockpit...

Great seeing you, as always, Dave - glad the show went well for you...

Sorry, but I'm still not a big fan of the Hanse 400, however... Standing at either of those wheels, that split backstay would wear a deep groove in my shoulder pretty quickly, to name just one issue I have with that boat... (grin)

best regards,

Jon