Just to point out the mast step system did not my older style step and base.
I found this out the hard way the hook snapped from the mast base
I also found dead stepping the mast tough to do.
I reverted to using a tied line but this can be precarious, I had the mast kick up when lowing it and I went arse over tit during the attempt to rescue it. The mast came down and hit the rear cross bar but no damage was done to either since the back of my hand took most the impact.
Then in an effort to resume some cool factor I proceeded to trip over a shroud, no coming back from that
Decided to convert to the later Hobie Wave Ball mast system since the original base is worn and the rake is not that great.
Here's a URL from a few years ago:
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=51162