I figured while everyones showing what they've been up to in the garage over winter I might as well show off my modest efforts.
Last season the travellor bar through the centre of the cockpit in Jonathan Livingston started getting me down as it made moving forward too difficult for the skipper so I took it out over winter and reinforced the area as much as I could with copious applications of fibreglass. This is a shot of before I removed the bar. Was concerned about what it would mean from a structural strength perspective but after a very generously provided email from Bruce Farr himself figured it was worth a shot as long as I reinforced appropriately.
This is the result. The photo doesn't really show it too well. I've gone to a transom bridle so the cockpit is totally clear, there are carbon tube struts (old free windsurf mast) on the diagonal from the chainplates to the front of the mast support to help carry the rig loads and another strut from the top of the transom to the floor. On top of that the side decks have been covered in glass after the odd join started to open up. The other photo shows us underway (and gives a disturbing graphic illustration that working on a boat in the garage doesn't count as excercise and as a result you will grow multiple chins and get fat) and shows the mainsheet system which runs down to the floor direct from the transom and then foward to the ratchet block (thanks Antje for the photos that prompted that change). After being out a couple of times in light winds I'm really happy with how the mainsheet system works. There is almost no friction in the system, it opens up the cockpit heaps and means I can tack a lot futher foward in the boat in light winds.
So far nothing has broken so fingers crossed. We're expecting our first dependant this summer so I have been banned from having the boat in the garage next winter so I suppose if anything does break I'm out of luck.