I am a converted mono sailor enjoying my new to me hobie 20. The last time I went sailing I was rigging the boat and noticed the step ball was loosey so I screwed it all the way down. BIG MISTAKE!!! As I was lowering at end of the day, with the mast about 6 inches offthe rear beam, the mast base jumped off the ball and the mast tip hits the ground!! Fortunately there was no damage to comp tip but the mast base showed groove marks where it was eaten by the mast step. Did screwing the ball down tight put the mast base in a bind at that tight angle and if so what heght do you want it? When raising and lowering at that tight angle the mast real wants to swing out wide, would raising step ball help with this?

So anyway I ordered a new mast base assembly from the hobie dealer. When I asked about sealing, his recommendation was to not seal the mast base in case there was a leak in top it could drain out. It looks as if the old unit is sealed. What do you think? Draining sounds good but if I turtle this baby, seems like I would be screwed. I have yet to flip the boat and am already nervous about righting as an issue.
BTW what is the process for sealing pop rivets?