Transom Wood Install

I added some filler and smoothed out the rear skin to make it as flat as possible.

I created a template out of brown bags. I will use this to cut out the wood. 

I first laid a layer of chopped strand mat fiberglass. 

Coated the first piece of wood with Epoxy. This wood looks amazing. I am using Hydrotek Marine Plywood. You can read about all its great qualities here. Click Hydrotek

Installed and clamped the first piece of wood. I used bracing to retain the curve of the transom. Don't worry, all screw holes will be filled with thickened epoxy.

Let it dry overnight, removed bracing, filled and sanded screw holes, and filled in the space on the side and bottom with epoxy and fillers. That space eliminates stress points. If you butt the wood against the hull, it can create a stress point. 

I added layers 2 and 3 in one shot to reduce time. This did however make a little tougher to bend the wood. It also created a few air pockets that I needed to repair. 

Changed the template to reduce the space on the bottom and sides for the next layer.

The 4th out of 5 layers. I cut the wood this way for two reasons; one to maximize the wood we did buy, the other was to rotate the grain 90 degrees. This adds strength.

I didn't take a picture of this until now. This is the thickened epoxy that is sandwiched between each layer.

This is the fourth layer. I used a little more screws this time. The screw holes however do not go through the rear skin. I will inject epoxy into each one before moving on. 

I need to add one last full sheet of plywood then it will be ready for fiberglass. Yeah!!