groove shape for hi mod thimble

[Vincent DePillis]

I am working out a way to attach two shrouds and a forestay, all made from 9mm Dux (heat treated UHMWPE) to the nose shackle on a corsair F31 trimaran.

The Sailmaker thimbles of the recommended diameter (8/1) chafe the mast. However, the line is so much stronger than the 9/32 wire that it is replacing, I feel comfortable in going to a smaller thimble. I will be having some custom stainless ferrules made up (like the Antal rings, but in stainless).

Given that it will be custom work, I can specify the shape of the groove. My thinking is that in order to minimize the strength loss, I should made the groove wider and flatter, so that the braid can kind of squish out a bit. theory being that this will compress the inner fibers less and allow a greater percentage of the outer fibers to take the max load.

Thoughts?