The advantages are:
1. much lighter overall (blocks & 3mm vectran line)
2. Excellent easing (cascades are generally lower friction)
3. Lower cost can be achieved since blocks are small & cheap compared to 57 mm Harken Quads etc. (though I've seen several version of this running custom made blocks with carbon side plates...$$$)
Some disadvantages are:
1. can be a headache to work out
2. Can jam up inside boom if not setup right
3. Maintainance more difficult
Lots of top T guys run this setup, but it is not required to get to the top of fleet...Charlie Ogletree & Johonny Lovell run standard harken quads <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Assuming that the black and the red lines that just end at the boom are simply attached to the boom - yup. 8:1...the question is though....WHY all the complication?
