That would be a good question for Carl. I added a second post a few
inches forward of the original one to make it a bit easier to stow
the motor and tighten the motor clamp without having to reach way
back under the companionway. So, my boat has two two-by-four cockpit
floor supports. But before I did that there was never any sign of the
two-by-four deforming the hull. And I have looked at the 30
dry-sailed boats at Richmond Yacht Club and never noticed the
problem, although I wasn't looking for it. Maybe someone from San
Francisco will comment. You're the first person I have heard mention
the problem. I have noticed a few cracks in cockpit floors around the
top of the support and elsewhere. And I know of a boat that got water
and rot in the core of the floor where its mainsheet barney post was
through-bolted to the cockpit floor under the traveller. In my
opinion, in front of the companionway is a good spot for the cooler.
I added a piece of plywood to the top of my new cooler to protect it
from the weight of people standing on it.
Nobody from Detroit is going to Key West or Ft. Lauderdale so far as
I know.