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.