I think you are right. Nevertheless, I decided to take my chances with the cowl weights, given that I have really taken care of the ply ring mount bond to the GFRP (good clean-up of the GF with ethanol, use of slow epoxy under heated curing conditions, "pinning-out" the wood for the epoxy to seep in well, using chopped micro fiber to reinforce the fillets). Time will tell..!
