Sorry for the confusion Tim, although I know where the boom is supposed to be when the sail is raised, I don't want to lock it at that point. When my dad taught me to sail many many years ago, he taught me to raise the main, then push down the boom and cleat the downhaul to tighten the luff. When I raise the sail, if the boom doesn't rise with it, I check for the slide jamming. One thing different on my DS II is that I have a DS I mast. Although all the tangs for the stays are in the right places, I've read somewhere that my mast may be a little taller, don't really know as I haven't measured it.
Yes, my cleat is at the very bottom of the mast right next to the hinge plate. I sometimes wonder if the P.O. put some epoxy on the screws. I've tried several times to break it free. If I feel like it at some point, I'll just get an aluminum tube and put another cleat on. Cleat location just hasn't caused me any real problem.
Thanks for the tip on the Elmer's stuff.
I noticed recently that my boom gooseneck slide has some slight damage. Ordered a new one from D&R, haven't installed it yet.
John