Dented sail slot in mast, shim in pylon/ casting assembly

I recently inspected a Hobie 16 and ran into a couple of questions during the inspection. The mast appears to have been dropped resulting in bolt rope slot being dented. Current owner says the dent has no impact on raising the sail. To my eye, the dent is pretty significant. It is located about 8' from the mast head. Can the dent be worked out with wooden wedges without introducing more stress to the area? Also, I noticed what appeared to be shim material made from soda can in the pylon/ corner casting interface. Is this of concern? Is there a better way to address movement here? The deck forward of the pylon has had delam repair which looks pretty good. There is still cracking noise when pushed firmly. Does this need to be redone in order to get rid of the cracking noise? Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Is it only the mast track that is dented, or is the main section of the mast also dented? If its only the track, then it shouldn’t be any structural concern. With some thought, you could probaby come up with a simple way to spread the track open - a wooden wedge like you suggested may work. Again, if it’s only the track, I wouldn’t be too concerned. You could also ask the seller to rig the boat to verify that the sail goes up ok.

For the pylon shims, it was very common to shim the pylons using strips of aluminum (beer cans) to eliminate looseness. The alternative would be to epoxy the boat together, but that is more or less a permenant option.

Crunching or cracking sounds in the hull are not a good sign. Also check the amount of flex. The hull should feel very firm when pushing on it. If the hull feels soft or is making cracking sounds, you might want to keep looking around for other options.

sm

For the mast trailing edge repair, I used a series of wedges and the job turned out fine. I polished the slot after the work. I am having so much fun working on this boat! She looks fast simply sitting on the trailer. Currently overhauling the rudders. Trailer repairs come next. Can't wait to take her out for a sail. Thanks for all of the great advice.
Don