Although I love my M15, I've always disliked having the mainsheet cleat on the companionway shelf. Other options, like John Gonzales's setup on "Bella" look tempting. But I'm clumsy, and I'm pretty sure I'd be bashing on my shins repeatedly on a track right across the cockpit. So I'm thinking of a similar setup, but instead with a short low-beam track mounted right on the companionway shelf, and a small 2:1 traveler kit connected straight up to the boom, and no traveler at all on the transom. This will allow the mainsheet cleat to be pushed a little out of the way while anchored or docked, and will (in theory) give me slightly better upwind performance. This will also allow room for a decent-sized bimini, which I couldn't do with the traveler mid-cockpit. So can anyone tell me the downsides of this arrangement (Jerry, Bob)? Does the traveler on the transom perform some backstay function on the M15? Is there some other reason that the boom should be connected to the transom? Will this make it harder to control sail twist? Am I going to regret doing this? If so, can one of you wise men (and women!) clue me in? Thanks. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= David W. Wood -=- dwood@dwoodworks.com 1981 M15 -=- Hull #163