1980 16 official forestay length

I am wanting to replace my forestay on my 1980 H 16. The measured length of the current forestay is 17ft. However, any information that I find suggests that the offical length is 17ft 6in. This is general information and not from an official Hobie sight. I am the original owner, I do not recall when, if ever, that I changed it in the past. Can anyone point me in the proper direction to confirm the official factory spec?

Thanks, George

I believe this is the “official” wire guide from Hobie linked below. Note that the forestay length will also depend on whether you are using the original jib halyard system or the Aussie system.

The forestay length on a H16 is not terribly critical - it is only there to hold the mast up temporarily before the jib is raised. The forestay should go slack when the jib halyard is tensioned correctly.

You can always add another adjuster to the bridle wires if you need some extra length.

https://media.hobie.com/2010_archive/support/pdfs/WireGuide.pdf

sm