I have an endpole system so I will only comment on the placement of the cleat. We have ours one the starboard side of the mast about 3 1/2 feet up. Eileen can either stand which she prefers or kneel if it is rough. We did this after talking to Jay Glaser. He said that all the Tornado teams that he was coaching were doing it this way. That was a couple of years ago and now they are starting to use the front crossbar for some reason. I did not get all the details of that because we like it right where it is.

Later,
Dan