Hi Tom, Sail stops are nice, and they work very well, but , ...... if they get loose and fall to the deck they have a built-in tendency to leap towards the water. They like to surprise you with the loudness of the splash they can make. A quick and easy - and non self drowning - solution is to just take a piece of bungee cord - 1/4" or 3/8" diameter; wrap it around the mast twice and tie the ends in a square knot. The advantages: - it involves no hardware that can fall into the water at the worst moment - it is secure - it is moveable. If you don't like the position, push it upwards or downwards. - it's cheap ....... and a topping lift is an absolute necessity. Connie ex M15 #400 LEPPO