I used shorter stays also. The standard measuring method we ( and most N-20 guys) used was trap with a line held to the bridle tangs instead of the spin tangs, marked and then pulled back down the transom. We usually carried the rake around the top of the tang that holds the rudder down, but would vary a hole either way depending on conditions.
"I said, now, I said ,pay attention boy!"
The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea
Isak Dinesen
If a man is to be obsessed by something.... I suppose a boat is as good as anything... perhaps a bit better than most.
E. B. White
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