With the explanations in mind, I took a more informed look at the mast step. First, I removed the plastic hole covers from the coach room. I poked around with a paper clip and it is definitely epoxied in there. The other forward one was cleaner and also only epoxy visible. The aft holes showed no signs of any water/leaks and also epoxy.
This seemed a little odd, so I went back to the deck. I confirmed that there are no noticable soft spots or delamination. It seems firmer, somehow, than other areas of the deck. Taking a step back, I noticed the outline of a repair (easily 4' x 3'). I knew portions of the hull had been repaired, but not the mast step. At any rate, I'm going to better seal the fittings, and start rebedding the deck hardware (not much). I do have a soft spot in the cockpit near the companionway. We're going to apply the repair advice to that area, which is also a lot less intimidating, and keep a very close eye on the mast step for now. What fun! Stephen
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