[Rhodes22-list] Foredeck support bracket

[Andrew Collins]

The foredeck, concretely the area forward of the mast binnacle which in my
'86 (recycled 2006) depresses about .25" as soon as the mast is raised.
There is a hatch on both the port and starboard sides. The port hatch was
there in '06, the starboard one was added in '06. My feeling is the arch
formed by the top of the cabin trunk has been weakened a bit by the removal
of the material which allowed the installation of the hatches.
More info:  no cracking of the gelcoat or cabin liner is evident; to casual
observation my 200+ lbs weight on the spot between the hatches causes no
additional deflection; the depressed spot returns to the original shape a
few days after stepping the mast; on this boat the compression post is aft
and to port of the mast step.

My bright idea is to make a wooden bracket jig (later to be duplicated in
stainless steel) that would attach under the mast step  and on the
compression post. This diagonal member would be about 8-10" long and have
plates at both under the deck and at the compression post to allow for the
generous use of screws. This will interfere with the head curtain, which
could be lowered.

Has anyone had a similar problem? Since the flexing seems to be within the
limits of what the structure can take, i.e. it is not permanent and no
damage results, is the brighter idea to do nothing?

Andrew
sv Carmen