Bones - My Standing Rigging....I replace them every couple of years just for safety reasons and peace of mind, but I have NEVER raked my mast back. Hobie stopped making the longer shrouds and shorter forestay years ago, so I special order my shrouds and forestay from MURRAYS MARINE (
http://www.murrays.com).
My newer mast cup and ball (Mast Step & Mast Base) work perfect with my older style standing rigging with the mast NOT tipped back for more mast rake.
It works great and we sail often.
Ron Lane from Fast Lane Sailing installed them. He's our Hobie Dealer and he's very knowledgable about all Hobie products. His number is: (619)222-0766. If no one else on this forum can answer your question, you might want to give him a call. It's possible that he installed the mast step more toward the front since I don't rake my mast back.
Good luck!
Richard