Ended up being quite an off-season. I posted months ago about the cockpit support trying to protrude through the hull and, a few "minor" mods later, I'll offer this post-mortem. I posted several pictures of my solution under "Deck Layout and Rigging." Not sure if I did this right though. They seem to view awfully zoomed-in.

In the end, I think we caused the damage by having too many people on the boat when it was on the hard (scrambling to prep for H. Isabelle last year). I drilled a few small holes to see if the core was wet. No. I did discover, however, that the portion of the core directly under the 2x4 support is balsa, not PVC. After I pulled the outer skin off, it was obvious that the area of deformation was exactly the area of balsa core (about 12"x18"). I can semi-understand why Alsberg did this, balsa being stiffer than PVC; however that differential in stiffness basically caused the balsa to shear away from the surrounding PVC. I would think a better solution would be to use all PVC core, then place a piece of plywood on the inside (between the support and the inner skin). That way the load is better transfered to the entire laminate, not just the core and outer skin. Or...you could remove the support entirely and relocate it. Being the more complicated solution, it was my first choice.

I won't go into all the details, but on the outside I removed the balsa core, replaced with vinylester foam, vaccum-bagged with vinylester resin (NOT EPOXY!!), fill and fair, fill and fair. On the inside, I cut out the old support and replaced it as shown in the photos with a stainless steel support that doubles as a new companionway step. That also allowed the installation of the motor slide. A key ingredient was the motor slide - I flat out hate stowing the motor. Now, we flp up the step, put the lower unit in the tray and it's done. Still needs a tie-down, though. The step bears on the floor board struts. Everything is thru-bolted, including the cockpit sole to the stainless support.

Pros: 1.) Getting rid of the balsa core. 2.) 100% easier motor stowage. 3.) Got rid of the big cooler. We now use small, fabric coolers that we can place anywhere in the boat for more efficient ballast. I always thought the cooler was a safety hazard too, since it was always coming loose and falling over. 4.) The step is nice for the person(s) in the pit. They can stand on the cabin sole wo/fear of getting whacked by the boom.

Cons: 1.) $$. My wife picked up the teak and holly and guarded it like it was her only child after she saw how much it cost. SS isn't exactly cheap, either. 2.) Weight. Something of a trade-off with the old support and cooler gone, but it's definitely a net increase of 5-10 lbs. However, at least it's down low. 3.) Holes in the cockpit sole (I glassed-in the screws, however). 4.) Removing the floor boards will be a royal pain now. 5.) Firmly out of compliance with one design rules...any takers for modifying that clause???

-Jason