Since the cabin deck rot was caused by water leaking by the bolts holding pad eyes for the mast blocks, I've decided to eliminate them from the equation by fabricating a mast collar with eyes for attaching the blocks. I traced the mast collar flange with hole locations onto some cardboard and then shaped a faceplate to accept the eyes.
Once I was satisfied with the template I cut out the two pieces from 1/4" s.s. plate. It was a bit tough to bend the face plate, but with some serious heat, some clamps and a 5 lb hammer I was able to beat it into submission.
I'll weld the eyes directly into pairs of holes drilled in the face plate once my blocks arrive to ensure I have the spacing right.
