Hi David, The factory 110 working jib on our 1988 M17 is also 16" shy of the masthead when fully raised. I did some experimenting with this, raising it off the deck a little, then a lot. In the end I went back to attaching the jib directly to the deck. The reason being when I looked at the M17 with both sails raised, I could see having the jib attached at the deck gave the best airflow from jib to main; the geometry of the sails looked corrected and well matched. Randy Graves M17 #410 ________________________________________ From: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of David C. Patterson [davidcpatterson@msn.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 10:02 AM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: M_Boats: Rigging questions Dan, regarding your rigging question: "2. My 100% jib is at least 16" shy of the masthead when fully raised. I think my 150% may also fall short. I thought maybe this was because the mast was raked back too far--could that be? Did it shrink over the years? (It's old.) Is it the wrong size (though it appears to have been made especially for the boat)?" There are people on the list far more knowledgeable than I, but perhaps you have the "tall rig" on your early M17 Orli. The mast was taller by nearly two feet for that original rig, I think. Some on the list have deliberately converted to the tall rig for more sail area. Your sails could be raised higher by using a strop at the stem fitting, and you would even be able to see under them better as a result. Again, others have much better information than I do.Jerry, Bob, GO are possibilities. Even if you don't, you can try the strop (there is an exact nautical term for it, of course). David M17 #393 _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats Remember, there is no privacy on the Internet!