Bolts through cabin to mast

[QuickMick]

There are two bolts through the cabin of my sailboat that appear to be connected to the mast. One of them is snug while the other is about 1/4" out. I was just going to make it snug as well, but then wondered if there is any possiblity that it was out intentionally for some reason (maybe to square the mast w/the standing rigging?).

Should I just go ahead and tighten it down?
thanks for your help and sorry for the newbie question.

Quinn

[Faster]

More info (and pictures) would be very helpful here. Tough to picture just what you mean by what you've given us so far.

[JomsViking]

Early Ericsson 35's had two bolts through the mast and a flange, they have to be tight. But that design was flawed, and they changed it later IIRC

[rebelheart]

I recently removed my (desk step) mast, and removed the collar itself. There were six bolts holding it down; all six need to be quite firmly mounted, along with a bit of silicone under the bolt head to ensure a water tight fitting.

[sailingdog]

Don't use silicone to seal stuff on a boat... it really is a bad idea. THe only two uses it has on a boat are for bedding ports, which usually uses a special silicone sealant like Dow 795, or for covering the ends of cotter pins...

[rebelheart]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Don't use silicone to seal stuff on a boat... it really is a bad idea. THe only two uses it has on a boat are for bedding ports, which usually uses a special silicone sealant like Dow 795, or for covering the ends of cotter pins...

It's work for me in this capacity thus far. I didn't want to create a seal between the bolt and the plate (that the bolt holds down). I only wanted something a smidge more waterproof than metal on metal.

I put a light coat on the bottom of the bolt heads and let it dry, then cinched them down. No water penetrates.