Hood23 soft deck. I think...

So my son just bought our first yacht. A Hood23.

Shes pretty tidy but I noticed while we were working out the rigging that the deck over the cabin was a bit spongy to walk on.

I have checked out similar issues on the web and it seems to be the easiest repair to drill some holes in the top of the deck, spin an allen key on a drill to smash the old potentially rotten ply and then inject some epoxy and allow that to set to a solid deck.

That would be a lot of epoxy for the entire roof/deck. Or do I just do that around the rigging points?

Also has been suggested to attach a large plate to the underside of the cabin roof to allow a larger purchase for the mast bolts and other securing points instead of the piddly washers that are all that is stopping the bolts pulling through at the moment.

Any advice for a couple of novice yachties??

Greg

Greg,
Hoods are great boats, tough as old boots, ugly as sin, fantastic learn to sail on, however they are notorious for soft spongy decks. I've known 2 owners of Hoods and both have had to reinforce/repair their decks. Its not a hard job but as Gary says put your time, effort and money into all those little (expensive) fixeruppera jobs.
I think the sailing club they tend to be associated with is Royal Prince Edward near Double Bay in Sydney, perhaps a quick call to them might put you in touch with someone who knows more about them. I'm pretty sure they run/ran (pre Covid) the annual Hood Intergalactic Yacht Race. Very fiercely contested, really!
Ive had a lot of fun on Hoods and am surprised at how much they can take.
Mike