When my wife got smacked in the face by the mainsheet tackle last year, I decided that moving the connection point forward was in order. After discussions with New England Yacht Rigging, we installed a small Harken Traveler just befor the companionway. The installation was very easy due to the geometry of the area just below the companionway step. Now my wife is not only safe from flying mainsheets but I can point to weather that much better. We now use the U-Bolt as the connection point for safety harness tethers.

My New Traveler

As you can see, we put the traveler control lines to either side

Another View

I am now considering how to manage the control lines so they dont get (too much) underfoot.

Yet another view