Hardware development

Soft attach is only so useful when the hull isn't fitted out with sharp deck eyes. The picture in the advert possible doesn't show them in their best utilisation.  

But, pretty much anything within a system (like cascade) will all be soft attach on my boats. And if I can get a kind attachment point then soft attachment in my experience allows the block to align better with loads. It also gives you a bit more freedom to position the block the correct distance from a fitting where that is important (no need to stack shackles up).

Low friction rings I love. But again, have to choose when to use them. I have replaced all the little blocks in the control line take up with them. They have slightly more friction (under low loads) than bb block, but who cares in a take up, it's not me pulling it, it's elastic. Plus on the sea the maintenance of those tiny blocks was a hassle. Friction rings are less maintenance, cheap and lighter. 

Within a control system low friction blocks only really become helpful once you exceed the working limit of ball bearing blocks. Below that I think most people would still prefer a smooth ball bearing sheave.  So I don't actually use many LF rings on the 800 within systems because the loads aren't that high.  I also have allen's extreme high load block which is a hybrid ball bearing (for loader loads) and plain bearing ( which kicks in at higher loads) which protects the bearing from damage. 

I have replaced pretty much all bowline knots with soft shackles. It used to do my head in getting the spinnaker tack and halyard the exact distance from the mast / pole. But now I make a soft shackle the correct length and it's always spot on (and stronger, but strength of line isn't usually an issue on dinghies). 

The other place I like soft shackles is on the 2:1 halyard. It reduces friction slightly over a regular shackle, but also holds captive around the halyard so you can't lose the shackle, and as it has no pin, you can't lose that either... I think everyone has been there once or twice before, scrabbling around hands and knees looking for a shackle or pin that was just flicked out of your hand by a flog of a sail. 

The sheets and halyards fitted last Saturday are of course Dyneema... Still considering whether to go for Dyneema Shrouds..