This is a view inside the chassis
what are those sailboat rope clamp things called?
Ingenius idea
Those are called cleats, we have a boat builder as a mentor who supplied those. And yes, they are quite ingenious by him. They work wonderfully, no movement to engage like a ratchet.
Does that servo somehow release them? and if so how?
Yes, the servo is merely holding them open while extended. When we lift we retract the arm on the servo to close the cleats, which do not allow the spectra to pass through and the telescoping lift to extend again.