thoughts
I took a closer look, and oddly, the only exit already on the mast IS at the masthead. I'm not sure how much difference it makes, but I've got a very very early 23...swinging keel, short spreaders, inboard chainplates, big turnbuckles down below that pretension the deck. I just might try it! I was thinking about soemthing..the true purpose of a split backstay versus an inline backstay. Our backstay does not have a block, but rather a plate, meaning each leg has a fixed length. This means the backstay can almost be though of as a little like a running backstay - not only holding the mast backwards, but side to side deflection. after a few inches of displacement to the side, the windward leg of the backstay should be making an almost straight line to the masthead - pulling the mast from the corner, not straight back! The higher up the split, the greater this effect. I'm still not sure what I'm doing, but between the fact that my mast section is much stiffer and heavier than the later masts, and already has a halyard exit at the fron of the masthead, I have to wonder if hunter had this in mind to begin with? Crazy Dave - I bet you know the answer!
