Heres a shot of the bottom of the original compression post on my 1983 h34 where the wires enter it. Hunter craftsmen notched a big sexction out to get the wires through.

Bottom of Post with Teak Cover removed

Heres what the bottom of the post looked like. Although it has water stains it was solid. Sure seems like a lot of force on a very small surface area of spruce. I had my mast removed to check the rigging, fix the wiring and install a Profurl. Seemed like a great time to address the weakness in this design. (not to mention I have plently of time since my employer of 29 years laid me off on my 49th birthday)

Bottom of Post after Removal

I installed a 2 heavy wall stainless pipe with big washers welded on the ends to increase the surface area. I also added wood blocks on the post to help me install the original teak cover on the new post

New Stainless Steel Post

photo take before I removed the original post and cover

bottom of post with teak cover installed