After capsizing and throwing the extendable righting pole, located on the tramp, over the hull, its tip hit the side of the hull near the bow and punched a hole into it. Grrr! Clumsy me.
This made a complete removal of the deck plate necessary:
However, remove the forestay, the deck plate is structure, not just a cover as I thought. See the distortion caused by the pulling forces of the forestay:
Inside view; hole in bow section:
Dan