Keith,
Thanks for the info. I had found that compression pad page and supposedly there is a page somewhere where he describes how to fix damage to the end beams.
I took the compression pad off and doesn't look bad per se. I do think they are too thick- previous owner replaced them somewhat recently. That may be 90% of the problem. I looked everywhere else for any indication of a collision and I don't see anything. Maybe the wire that runs from just behind the front beam on the hull to the aft outer beam was loose and that allowed it to move fore and aft more than normal... but I would suspect I would have seen something on the aft beam also then. I think I will send an email to the previous owner, but I am not sure I really want to.
I haven't even sailed the thing yet!
I still may grind off some of the gelcoat so I can just feel better (in the end, I doubt there is any serious damage to the underlying glass). This wouldn't be hard and since it is not a part of the boat that shows, I would not need to be too crazy about making it look awesome.
With the reported stresses on that area I think that significant damage in that area would probably show more than the cracks.
I did shoot the pics to Ian for the "consult" and I am awaiting his response. He is busy with the whole f-22 thing so who knows when I will hear back.