Bill, I finally got around to inspecting the bolt based on that thread. Mine must be bent more than yours. I guess it took 15 or 20 minutes to extact it. There is no way it will go back again. steve Steve R. M-15 #119 Lexington, KY --- "William B. Riker" <wriker@mindspring.com> wrote... There was a thread on the M15 bent mast bolt in Feb 2003. My argument was in favor of the bent bolt....