My boat (hull #46) did not come with a cockpit support at all. Consequently, the aft bulkhead was coming loose from the deck at the edges due to big people jumping around in the cockpit.

I had the bulkhead reglassed to the deck, and then built my own cockpit support. I made an H-frame out of 1" x 3" teak, and through-bolted it to the aft bulkhead. It basically supports the aft bulkhead to the hull, where loads are spread by 3" x 5" feet at the bottom of the supports. These are not currently glassed to the hull, but could be... The cockpit is infinitely stiffer, and the loads from people jumping about are distribed to the two 3" x 5" pads--a much larger area than the engine support.

I'm very happy with the arrangement, though it added a few pounds to the boat. It was easy to construct and inexpensive. I highly recommend that people consider a similar reinforcement--I think it makes the boat feel more solid and dramatically reduces stress on the aft bulkhead as well as the engine post (if you have one that connects to the cockpit). I will try to post pictures of this modification soon.

Relocating the engine and also sailing without the cooler are currently against the class rules. I do agree that the cooler can be a hazard if it is not held down securely. With my new h-frame I now can tie the cooler to it (with a sail tie) and to the floor (with cleats and line) so it's pretty secure.

A nicer design would be to have the engine further forward underneath a dedicated mast step (I think this is what you describe). However, it would have an arguable advantage in terms of weight reduction and redistributtion so I am not in favor of changing the class rules as it would be a significant rework for all of the boats.

--brendan