Mast tang fitted badly on one side or is it pulling out?

I just noticed that the end of my mast tang is pretty flush against the comptip on one side, but sticks out about 1/8" on the other.

I don't know if it just happened or was always this way (purchased the boat new early summer). I tried to get some pics and they should be visible here: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=E ... t=album%2c

The gap seems to just be just at the last rivet. It doesn't seem that the rivet is loose though obviously I don't want to pry too much on it to check!

Is this bad and, if so, how bad?

(Boat is garage stored and only used a few times. No capsizes or anything untoward.)

I replaced the mast tang on my Wave and the new one was a poor fit (the original factory was a perfect fit). After some bending and cursing I got it to fit better, but I still have a gap like you do.
the good news is that there is a metal plate inside the comptip that the rivet attach to. So, if the rivet is tight I would not worry about it.
The plate can be seen deep inside the comptip:

Thanks. That's good to know. This is the 'factory original' because it is a new boat, so I am not thrilled with it fitting this way Maybe I'll contact a local dealer to see what they can suggest. I suppose at the least I can fill the gap with silicon.

It is possible the rivet did not fully seat, so could be re-riveted.

Not likely a problem other than cosmetics. The rivets are in shear... loads pull mostly down and not out away from the mast.

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