We are rarely in marinas, and have never been actually measured - they just write down what I tell them.

As for honesty, well I found out a few things in the course of building those sterns. The official Manta story is that they started with a Manta 38 with a LOA of 37'8". This is true - I accurately measured one of these boats while on the hard using plumb bobs and a 100' tape.

For the Manta 40, they supposedly added one foot to the bow and one foot to the stern, for an official LOA of 39'8". Imagine my surprise when I measured it in the course of designing the sterns and found that they only added 6" to the bow and 8" to the stern for an actual LOA of 38'10". The 27" extensions we added now give us an actual LOA of 41'1".

Since we spent our first 15yrs as a "40", while actually being a "39" (or less), I think it is only fair that we spend the next 15yrs as a "40" while actually being a "41"! We will most likely end up in those same few marinas again, so everyone will turn out even in the end.

At least that is how we are justifying it! Maybe I should just add "ish" to the end of the "Manta 40" graphic?

Mark