Keven,

unless you are going to race in Hobie class races, you do not need to have a CompTip mast. I have read (more than once) that the all Al masts will be faster than the comptip, but at my level of sailing, a broom stick might work just as well.

As for the stainless bold/nut question, if you are talking about the mast step (blob of cast AL in center of front beam), you will need to use a stepping link between the mast base and the step base. The link acts like a hinge to allow the ball at the bottom of the mast to clear the side of the base.