Tim

Thats ok, it was worth trying... and if nothing else all this talk and pics is showing Peter and anyone else how 'not' to assemble a mast, lol.

I realise that the masts rotate with pressure but didn't know how much free rotation a mast should have when not under load (on the beach, no sail)... Even with the little binding I have now I think I will be fine for this season at least. Then its mast replacement time.

I really like the feel of the boat now with no rake.. and I am 92Kgs at the moment so I need all the power I can get, hehehe so I certainly don't want to rake the mast... and as I found out really has little affect on the binding anyway.. thats why in the first pic I put the side stays in the top hounds hole to see if that would help.

Thanks for the help..