I'm looking for comments on the experience I had yesterday with my 1998 340 while I am waiting for my dealer to call me back. After executing what I thought was the perfect jibe in 13 knots of breeze we settled in for a nice run at about 120 degrees. After about five minutes my boom vang suddenly let loose with a bang and flailed around hanging from the boom. I quickly turned upwind and lowered sail getting things under control. While motoring back to the dock I was able to inspect things and found that the vang let loose from the cast aluminum mast step, taking a chunk of the step with it. I believe the vang was secured to a stainless bail that attached to two holes in the step. Anyway both holes are ripped through on the step. I also found that the turning block at the mast step for the mainsheet had also pulled off of the step. I know my boat is four years old, but I have not been "practicing" uncontrolled jibes. I didn't think that the mast step should give away like that. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Did you replace the step? Was Hunter helpful?