I apologize in advance for this complex opening, but I am not sure how else to describe the problem. In 2003 the block at the top of my H23 mast pulled down when I was bending the mast a lot on a strong wind day. I think the pop rivet at the bottom of the block let go. The bottom of the block slid inside the mast. That means that the little lip on the block that would normally extend out over the opening in the mast was no longer supported by the mast. This put all the load of the block on the top pop rivet. The mast metal tore in the little area between the hole in the mast where the top rivet is, down to the opening for the block. The block went down into the mast, the jib halyard got pinched and jammed in place. I am not sure if the halyard kept the mast up or not. It made it impossible to get the jib down until we lowered the mast. I have roller furling and I don't know if that contributes to the problem or not. Last spring, it was a relatively easy fix to weld the torn area, re-drill the holes, and install the block. In my launch prep this year I noteced that the block is loose at the top end and the top pop rivet is loose. The bottom rivet is firm. However I drilled out both pop rivets and there is a small crack that runs between the top pop rivet hole and the top of the cut out in the mast for the block. The bottom area that was weld repaired last spring is fine. My plan was to just re-weld that top area again. Or should I put some reinforcement in that area of the mast? Can I just weld a formed aluminum piece on the outside of the mast in that area and then reinstall everything? If welding a reinforcment is a bad idea, what about pop rivets? Has anyone tried one of the liquid metal products or "Marinetex"? Has anyone else had this problem? Can I assume the mast is 6061 material? Any advise will be welcome. Thanks, Bill Leathen