Sean, Cutting out the cabin sole is not that bad a job. I did it on Steve Witts C-25 when he lost a keel cable and the 1500# swing keel free fell to the trunk and beat the shit out of it. I cit the cabin sole out, made the repairs to the hull in this case - the trunk and keel box - then feathered the edges of the floor pieces (yes about 3 or 4 if I remember) 2 inches back from the edge, feathered the edges of the remaining cabin sole the same distance and taped them together with 4" biaxial tape. (used cleats attached to the edges to relocate the pieces at the correct height), fill the feathered area to flush with the biaxial tape,grind flush and gelcoat time - a little texture roller works great for the cabin sole.It sounds worse than it is and the first cit is the only scary one. Hey its only plastic and you know how to fix it as well or better! Chin Up big guy! And when you are done you will have additional room in the bilge. Call me if you want I may find some pictures of the job I referred to above. You are sure it is iron??? Gary O.