Oh... wait ... NOT fixing the 29er ... must mean you are working on the 30 ... disregard above note.
here's a photo of the port forward leg of stern pulpit repair on a J24 we are working on. now backed up by piece of plywood ... with scooped out soft balsa about 2 in. further from the edge ... filed with glass and epoxy.
the j24s are same, same ... if not worse when it comes to the deck. I think over the years they would pop in fittings and take them off by whim and never really sealing the holes well.
There is nothing as helpful when working on a J30 deck as a nice coat of interdeck where you can pretty easily match the color.
next on the agenda will be to install whiteboard toe rails.