As I stated earlier, I haven't looked at the support under Touche's forward bolt. However, I have rebuilt Touche's mast step support. The construction is similar. There were 3-4 pieces of plywood spanning the bilge.
Like Neil, I removed the wood. I used a chisel. It came out easily. Then I ground the shoulders of the bilge to expose fresh glass. (Joe's point about layers of oil, etc. is very germane.) I made cardboard forms for the forward and aft walls and floor of the step. I then layered in epoxy glass to the proper elevation and installed a new mast step box. I think the repair of the structure around the forward bolt could be done similarly if I'm visualizing the construction in that area correctly. Replace those wood pieces with glass. First, consider that any load will be borne by the shoulders of the bilge. If you remove the old wood, you needn't have to remove all of the lower portion, that is, the last 1/4 inch on top of the keel. You may have to cut those wood pieces vertically 2-3 inches aft of the bolt. Mark or measure the elevation of that bolt pad before you start removing stuff. I'd think about removing about 3 inches below the bolt pad and 3-4 inches aft of the bolt. Now you've got a clear area all around that forward bolt. Grind the bilge shoulders to expose fresh glass. Make a form for the forward wall and layer in glass up to the final elevation. Use chilled epoxy and roving. Saturate the roving on a piece of waxed paper before laying it in place. If using a single wide strip of glass, cut a hole for the bolt before you saturate it or just use a strip forward and a strip aft of the bolt. You should be able to lay in 3-5 layers per "lift" without worrying about the epoxy glass overheating. When you get close to final elevation, you could finish it with epoxy thickened with colloidal silica or another compressive strength filler. Apply some mold release compound or similar to the bottom of the stainless bolt pad. Apply a thick layer of thickened epoxy to the top of the last lift of glass then put the bolt pad on it and snug it down with the keel bolt nut. Now you'll have a decent flat, level surface for the pad. -- Dennis C. Touche' 35-1 #83 Mandeville, LA
