I am new to the H16 as well but have learned this leason already. A hobie book I borrowed from a friend say there should be 4-6 inches of play in the forstay when you tighten the jib halyard. There should already be a block on the port side of your mast as well as a pulley on the uphall if you take a bite of line under the pulley, then put it under the block on the mast base you gain a lot of pull plus the block has four rivets (unlike the cleat which has only two) so it is a lot stronger. My sailing friend (who I borrowed the book from) was not aware of this. After our first day of sailing together My boat was much faster then his. The reason was mostly the jib tension!!! I have looked at all hobie photos I see and have seen up to a foot of slack in the forestay. But you still need to be concerned about MAST RAKE, there is a whole thread on it here. Have fun



Billy