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If I am following your description correctly, it sounds like some foam from hull construction migrated into the forward part of the rigging tunnel. On a CC Montauk the factory would have caught and corrected this, but they wouldn't have noticed on your side console Alert. (Maybe there is a sprue hole just forward of the rigging tunnel that they don't have access to on the side console versions?)

In your shoes, I would probably complete the cut and then auger out the foam until I reached the clear part of the tunnel. But before doing that, suggest you wait to hear from some more experienced owners.