In light winds, I'm perfectly happy with how I am anchoring my pole to the boat now. Not much strength is needed then. When the wind is more like 15 to 20 mph or more, however, I would like something more solid in the center of the boat. I just haven't nailed down precisely where. But today I'm adding a reinforced padeye right in front of the hatch cover, centered on the boat. If that proves to be not so good for attaching the whisker pole, I can always use it to secure something else; lip gripper, rod leash, anything. The base of the mast is too far forward for me to reach without having to scoot forward over the hatch but that is still where it might end up. We'll see. I grow a little impatient with myself if I theorize too much about a project for too long. I'm better off just trying it and if it proves less than ideal, I try something else until I eventually get it how I want. The neanderthal 'trial and error' method.
I definitely like using the two small blocks I tied off to new padeyes at the front outside of the forward akas last weekend with a line running from the cockpit up to the sail to keep the pole from being lifted when the wind gusts. I'm keeping that. It's far better control than with the bungee I've been using.