Greetings, all!  I am slogging my way through a Jimmy Skiff build, my first boat-building project.  Beast is starting to look like a boat, though I doubt that it will win any awards for looks.  Fun is being had so far.

 I've got a question about locating the sailing assemblies in the hull.  I have confirmed with CLC that the aft edge of the daggerboard trunk touches the forward edge of the aft thwart.  What about the mast step and partner?  Photos of completed boats seem to show that the mast step comes right up against the forward bulkhead (29 in. from the point of the bow), and aft end of the mast partner reinforcement is right at the back of the foredeck (34 in. back).  Is this correct?  The Jimmy Skiff mast is intended to rake aft by a few degrees, but this much misalignment looks like it will generate more rake than is healthy.  Of course, placing the sailing components on the centerline will affect behavior under sail, and needs to be gotten right.  So I ask the collective wisdom of the forum, and thank you in advance for your thoughts.