Thanks for the input guys!

More than a few interesting points raised, some of them are definitely down to personal preference.

in 2009 we replace the wire trap line on the capricorn with 3mm dyneema, sailed almost 5 seasons with that set before replacing them early this years because we were going to the Oz nationals and were not not keen on anything breaking. I copied the way Macca setup his tornado and used two small shackles on either side of the main shackle to move the rope away from the wear area. there was no cover for chafe and they still looked in pretty good shape. the boat sits out side 12 months of the year with the mast up on trailer. so they copped plenty of UV! Prior to that I was replacing wires every 2 seasons or less.

pic of macca's setup:



When i picked up the C2 this year it had a single loop and a cover over the rope, what I didnt know is that it was being held with a knot to keep the sides fixed. that knot formed a weak point and eventually would break. (about 20 meters from a finishing line) There is a lot to like about this system over the 2 shackles, there is no clunking when changing tacks, and getting the trap line straight when rigging up was so much easier. With less shackles also come reduced risk of things getting caught and wear on the spin halyard.

pic of the single loop system:



so with the view to keeping the loops, not having thimbles or shackles, making the system chafe resistant, and separating the two sides I have made two thick dyneema loops, to attach to the main shackle, then spliced the trap lines onto those loops. I figured if the loops are free then every time the mast goes up and down they will move to a new wear point.

pic of the new loops:




Been using the Ronstan RF5122R trap handles for a while now with shock blocks for the turning blocks, have to admit to being very impressed with them and recommend them highly.



Oh well we will have to wait and see how they hold up.