RE: confused about vane clearance
That notch isn' t for the cock vane, it' s to hold the arrow in the right location. The WHOLE arm should be WELL out of the way of your fletchings.
It SOUNDS like the rest isn' t set up quite right...you should have ZERO contact with your vanes.
I would look at re-doing it...however, now that the season is here...I wouldn' t change anything until after the season.