Consequences of a shorter-than-ideal drogue bridle

[OrangeCrush]

Hello,

I tried to revive an old thread with this question but had no takers so I'm giving it another shot here...

I'm designing a Jordan Series Drogue for my Shannon 38 and I'm having chainplates made for the stern. My transom is 5 feet across where the attachment points will be, which according to the USCG/Sailrite plans would dictate a bridle length of 14 feet on each leg (or 12 feet from the transom to the middle of the bridle "triangle").

However, the sides of my hull near the transom angle inwards. If the chainplates extend straight back, overhang by a few inches, and the bridle legs continue in the same direction, then the lines will converge only 7 feet behind the transom. (see first pic)

If I make the bridle long enough as per the guidelines, then the drogue will not be pulling on the chainplates in a straight line, but rather they will want to pull them away from the hull. (See second pic) I fear the lateral forces could cause the plates to bend or crack behind the after-most bolts.

I could have the plates made with an 8 degree outward bend after the last bolt to reduce the leverage, but it would still mean the forces are not quite in line with the orientation of the chainplates. Or I could split the difference, and have the bridle just "a bit" too short (~10') and the lateral pull of only about 4 degrees out of line.

But what would the consequences be of having a shorter bridle relative to the transom width? Would it cause increased yawing, or maybe too much strain on the bridle-to-drogue connection? I imagine this issue must also come up with canoe-stern installations.

Any relevant knowledge or experience would be a great help!