Mast Step rebuild on a Morgan 34 and a question about intermediates on same boat!

[Brion Toss]

Hello at last,
And first, apologies for letting this question hang out there so long. We are in New Zealand, and it has taken us a couple of weeks to adjust. We are now mostly unpacked, and slightly less busy than we were in the frantic days before departure.
So, to get to the issue, by all means cut the mast at 90 and build a wedge under it. The loading will be slightly different, but for the better; it will be directed squarely down on the step.
Have you removed the corroded portions of the mast? If so, you can compensate by adding some height to the support. If not, why not?
What are you using to isolate the step and mast? The fasteners?
Do you have drain holes in the new step?
Raising the mast to add toggles won't cure the foul leads; it will only give them a longer arc to act on. Toggles are for articulation, not taking loads around corners.
As for the spreaders, I am assuming that by "intermediates" you mean lifter stays, which were indeed a feature of boats of this era. Please discard them, and angle the spreaders so that they bisect the angle that the shroud forms around them. This will put the spreader in pure compression, eliminating the tendency of the wires to push them down. Then seize strongly at the outboard ends, firmly enough that you can stand on the spreaders and they won't slip. You might need to modify the spreader brackets to allow all this. Worth it.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss