A soft mast hound. I like that. It should give rotations of over 90 degrees each way of centerline. I’m not sure if they are reliable enough for cruisers yet, and might be more costly than a classic metal one or a metal/composite one. Definitely something to think about.
Years ago a 3D modeled the ideal hound which was the three wires morphing into braids as they reach the mast, and spreading out onto the mast as epoxied laminate. It could not have worked, but was a wonderful conceptual take-off point. This is a way to make it work.
“Rigging
Most of the hardware is on the boat and we are now working on rigging. Here is a picture of our new hounds fitting which is the terminus of the cap shrouds and forestay that hold up the mast. Two titanium thimbles have been threaded into the front of the mast. The lines go inside and are pinned with 5/8″ titanium rods. This is a lot cleaner (and lighter) than our old hounds fitting which was a huge aluminum welded thing with metal shackles. Luke Burritt from Yachtfitters is the mastermind behind this great solution to terminating synthetic rigging to the mast.”
I always thought that bearings (end cap or internal) with tension adjusters would do a good job as hounds but KISS prevented me from trying.
The Facebook page is very interesting. I like the water ballast and the rudders.