... how often are we at a point of sail where this is necessary ? Not that much, seems to me every time I want to go someplace that little arrow on top of my mast is pointing in the direction we want to go. And generally speaking, I don't like sailing DDW, I'd rather take an angle for more speed and a better ride if we can. I'm continuously trying to keep shit off my boat, keep things clean & simple, I like my decks clear. This system looks great, but one more thing to trip over taking a piss over the rail at night in the dark half asleep. Another line led aft to confuse you or others with. Two more blocks to clean, polish and replace every now & then. One more thing to go wrong.

Unlike most of the posters here and the boats on the market today, I don't like ALL my lines led aft ... as much as I am comfortable with, I have at the mast. So far, and I'm knocking on wood here, I haven't fallen overboard when reefing in tough conditions.

Like Gail & Ron, for the infrequent times I'm concerned about an accidental gybe, I have a block, line & cam cleat arrangement that I clip to the boom and to a stanchion base. Most the time this lives in the cockpit locker, out of the way and out of the sun while cruising ...

Like Jon, sometimes at anchor I will put this out to keep the boom to one side, but generally only when it is blowing hard and the back & forth squeaking noise of the rigid vang or mainsheet block bothers me. My boom lies over my Dodger and Connector to the Bimini, so it is not at all in the way of the cockpit, unless we are star gazing.

cheers, John