>>>I got the measurements from hobie and the metal part is definately long. Im for sure going to triple check this before I do anything to it.<<<

Be sure you check the OVERALL MAST LENGTH. Was the measurement from Hobie an overall mast length or the length of just the aluminum section? Again, on the very first comptips, the aluminum section was longer than it is on the current sections. Does your mast have a screw on either side where the comptip connects to the aluminum section?

If the mast is actually too long, then I would guess that what happened is that the mast was converted with an orignal comptip. That comptip broke somewhere along the line and was replaced with a new comptip which was longer. (Or maybe the person doing the conversion had a major fear of trimming too short!) If that's the case, then in my opinion, simply cutting the top of the comptip would work and would also be class legal since you're putting the mast back to original spec (the shorter comptips are still class legal).

Trying to remove the comptip sounds like a lot of work at best and an oportunity to wreck the mast at worst.

Check the overall length. If it is actually too long, trim the comptip.

sm