p16 jib halyard

Can someone enlighten me as to the upper forestay pigtail length for the early style wire-luff jib?

Also - what are the advantages/disadvantages of the wire-luff vs. zipper-luff jib sails?

-MF
Sorry for the multiple posts - it kept saying "ajax timeout," did not appear to be posting. Maybe the mods can delete the duplicates.
I should be on the beach with my friend's P16 tomorrow. Let me know if there is any other rigging info you need.

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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I would appreciate that. I think that's the only thing that is still giving me pause.

thanks!

-MF
I ask because I know I can buy the forestay pigtails with the ring for the zippered-luff jib and rope halyard, but I don't see another arrangement for sale.

Is the wire halyard run over the sheave of a large block, with the wire shackled to the jib on one end, and with rope portion of the halyard run through the smaller block on the other end of the wire halyard, tensioned at the base of the mast, or is there some other arrangement? The Hobies that are similar have a small tang mounted about 18" below the mast tang to guide the halyard line close to the mast - something my mast doesn't have.

The old gear on my boat looks like a short pigtail on one side of a block, and the forestay on the other end of the same block, and the wire halyard run across the sheave of that block. I am not sure where the halyard would have been tensioned with this arrangement either.