Since I've owned the boat (a 1999 H260) the port side strut has been bowed. the dealer tried to straighten it, but it was bowed again once the mast went up. I also notice that the mast tends to miss the crutch, tending to go to the starboard side of it. I wanted to make an adjustment to the strut, thinking it needed to be shortened a bit. With the mast up, there was so much pressure on the through bolts connecting the struts to the mast, it was impossible to remove it. With the mast down, I removed the struts and, then raised the mast using temporary stays to keep it from falling off to the side. I tuned the rig and verified that the mast is straight. I then placed the struts in position and noted that the port side strut mounting hole was about 5/8 inch above the through hole in the mast. The starboard side struts hole was also above, but only about 3/8 of an inch. I had to remove the lock nuts on the strut ends (mast connection end) in order to get the holes to align on the mast to get the through bolt to go through. There is now no compression on the struts. So here are my questions: 1. Are the struts supposed to be under compression when the mast is raised? 2. What is the proper way to adjust the struts? 3. Can the current adjustment cause any harm while sailing? And what about when the mast comes back down? 4. Are the strut end lock nuts important? (Are they providing mechanical support by sandwiching the strut tube end?) Thank you, Tom