Marc - Yeah, I thought it looked a lot better sanded down (the back side) so that the squares were barely held together by the extra resin. Was a challenge to be sure.
Great job on the tow loop. A little shorter but looks really good.
... and I won't tell anyone if you don't that if you flip the cable over end to end it will reverse the twist...
(EDIT: Never my my smartassedness... I was wrong!)