I was only vaguely aware of that eyestrap; my mast doesn't have it but I also don't know that my mast is original to my 2000 boat. I guess it was to tuck the halyard in tighter to the mast so the battens don't hang up on it? Some older comments indicate that this was a Murray's thing and not original from Hobie Cat.
Next time I hoist the jib I'll have a look and see if I can benefit from having that. I do use the Aussie halyard and yes, the main part of that stands forward of the mast quite a bit due to where it exits the block. The most common suggestion is to have it just above the uppermost batten.
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'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages