Thanks for all the help guys. I agree that no one is hiding anything, they're just at the bar rather than holding tape measures up to shock chords. Fortunately my beam didn't have any gremlins, other than the end cap screws aren't very cooperative. Everything was working fine over the weekend but I think my downhaul line won't be long enough to loop through the crew's trapeze. I'll take a look when I escape from work in daylight.

Fortunately my boat was mostly sailed in freshwater so the top halyard hook is corrosion free. Since I flipped the knot on the hook so it's facing forward, my issues have gone away, fingers crossed.