Rick,

I guess we all have been missing the point and talking around it.

The "Clew Strap" is to hold the clew of the Main Sail down.

Most outhauls were designed to control the foot tension on the sail that
had a bolt rope sewed into the foot of the sail and held in place by a
groove in the boom or slugs connected to the bolt rope in the foot. The
Outhaul wasn't designed to provide leech tension.

With the "Free Footed Main" the outhaul is given a job it wasn't meant
to do. The Clew Strap takes the leech tension away from the outhaul.

With a Clew strap the Vang tension is transferred to the leech with a
Free Footed Sail; Using the whole boom, rather than just the "Slot" and
the outhaul car.

Ole Thom