He might be taking his measurement from the forestay/bridle connection... I guess...

That does sound quite a bit forward.

On a side note, I'm glad that some of this is being discussed because I've been trying to get some finite rig settings discussed for the boat for a while. Everyone I talk to seems to have different thoughts on the matter, and nothing is ever "concrete" and its more of a "move it around until you like it" type of thing... which for someone who doesn't know what he likes, makes it quite difficult <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />