Hobie 16 sail too short?

Hello!
Im new to sailing and got myself an older second hand hobie 16. Everything so far seems to be in fair condition but im having issues with attaching the boom to the main sail.
The sail seems to be sitting about 20cm (7 1/2 ") higher than the slot that the goose neck goes in.

https://imgur.com/a/DuPAX
This means I am required to raise the sail with the boom attached to the main and when down hauling the main, the boom goose neck falls out of the mast. This is the point where I feel the mast is at a good tension (i see a curve in the mast) so i'm reluctant to continue to down haul past the slot.
Is this how older style hobies are supposed to be setup? The previous owner says to tighten just below the slot, but after seeing the newer Hobies, the boom lined up with the slot exactly and the down haul was only applied 6" or so past "slack".
Thanks!

You probably have a sail for a Hobie 14'. It should fit without problem on a 16.

Thanks for the reply,
The sail number is 102810.... Is there any way I can tell if its a hobie 14 or 16 sail?'

I have double checked the sail, it defiantly have hobie "16" written on the top and also has 8 battens, indicating to me it is the correct sail.
Maybe the sail has shrunk a little (being old). I might look at getting some newer second hand sails :/

Have you attached the boom and used the downhaul yet? Luff ropes bunch up and shorten the luff until you use downhaul.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Lay your mainsail out flat and measure it from the top grommet to the bottom one and compare it with another sail. Someone may have done repair work on the sail and shortened it.

Sail luff rope bunch / shrink varies, unless you tension the luff... you can't exactly compare.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)