Jeff,



I believe the main purpose of the bail is to keep the chute from interfering with mast rotation. With the halyard led between the bail and the mast, you're more or less only pulling down on the block that's fixed to the mast - instead of sideways, which would try to rotate the mast in the wrong direction. Also, as Wouter pointed out, by relocating the bail you can accomodate a chute w/ different luff length. That's my understanding.



KMN