Brian; Cam cleats are easy to set AND easy to release. Foul the tail on something that pulls the line up 6mm and you have a release. How much adjusting are you doing with your topping lift? I might adjust 2 times on a sailing day. You should be able to unwrap and wrap a horned cleat in 5 seconds.
Because I don't have a traveler, I vang sheet all the time. Also, because our winds tend toward lighter, especially now in the summer, I use the topping lift to induce twist in the main. So, I do fiddle with the TL more than folks who only use it to hold the boom up when hoisting and dousing. The setup I'm using works for a small boat, but certainly wouldn't work well on a bigger boat. I do have a horn cleat for the outhaul, and I futz with it somewhat often (can you tell I'm a string puller?
) and sometimes I get annoyed with the horn cleat. The outhaul is on port side of boom, and it especially annoys me when I'm heeling on starboard tack and I decide I want to flatten the main. Ha! Even if it wan't a horn cleat, that would still annoy me!
