I have been working on this for several weeks after seeing an incorrect use of one an aluminum dog bone for a halyard on another rigging blog. There is a little trick that puts the pull force right above the head plate that one of my readers came up with. Here is how it looks on an old headboard.
I wanted the strength of aluminum but wanted it secure. I also wanted something I could make myself so that left out the doggie bone. The dog bone I saw (
SOAK) was a little nicer than the Harken one but wasn't even available yet and not priced so clearly not an option. What I did was encase an aluminum rod in some tubular webbing and sew the splice to the toggle.
I wrote it all up
HERE
Allen
L-36.com