H26 Mast not sitting flush

[dinosound]

I noticed my mast was nit sitting flush on my new to me H26. After the Season was over, I took a very close look at the tabernacle and mast foot. I noticed 1 screw in the tabernacle was slightly raised. It's maybe a millimeter or 2. I checked the mast foot and it sure looks like witness marks are there from the screw. I tried tightening the screw but it's very tight, so it backing out on its own doesn't seem to be the problem.

My question is would it be safe to grind off the area around the witness marks or even a bit of the screw to get the mast to sit flush or would that be risky? Or maybe another solution?

Many thanks guys!

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Is it the mast base or the deck which has deformed?

 

[JoeWhite]

Can you loosen and take it out? There may be debris under the head. Or you may shave off a little at the tip and re install. It may be bottoming out by hitting something below.
I would not grind the screw head as it will make it hard to remove later. Grinding the base is a less of a risk as a last resort.

 

[BobSail]

It almost looks as if the mast step on the deck is sitting atop another plate or previous step mount? my 260 may be slightly different than the 26, but that configuration looks different. My Z-Spar mast step is fastened directly to the deck. Crazy Dave Condon may have an answer. He is on this site and involved with the development of these models.