[Rockfish9]

I haven't updated for a while, so, here's where I am at, it's slow going because of the temps, I use a propane salamander to heat the space and the work surface, one each step is finished, I made a "hot box" from foam insulation and heat the lower and outside edges with heat lamps , and the internal space with a oil filled eclectic heater, an Infared temp reader ( made famous during the covid siege) tells me the work space is 70, and the work surfaces are between 58 -70 , this epoxy considers 50 acceptable, and thus far, everything has set perfectly in 4 hours, and appears to be cured in 24..

after copious amounts of grinding with 36 grit, using a 6" flat disc and flapper disc in combination, the surfaces were them vacuumed, chemically cleaned with acetone then the transom was raised to 30", a Plexi backer board ( with plastic left on the imprinted the lettering ink the fiberglass, but peeled off), once cured, it was sanded, and again washed with acetone, while the transom glass insert was setting, I filled all the existing holes with a mixture of 2 part epoxy, fiberglass strands and cabosil, 2 layers of 1.5 oz mat and 2 layers of 1708 were applied to the inner side of the outer skin, to stiffen it and prepare it for the new core once the repairs were cured, sanded and cleaned
The new core was made/cut out from sheets of 1/2" Okoume , Okoume is much lighter than Douglas fir or Meranti, 3 layers/sheets give me 27 plys .. I made a cardboard template of the transom core from the inside of the boat, then it was transferred to 1/4" hardboard for making all my laminate pieces and glass cuts
the cut-out pieces were chemically cleaned, then coated with a neat coat of epoxy to act as a binder and prevent the wood from "drinking my bonding mixture, the bonding mixture consisted of 2 part epoxy thickened with a mixture of cab-o-sil and wood flour to a consistency of peanut butter, the mixture was then spread with a 1/4" notched trowel , all rows heading upward to aid in relieving any trapped air, the newly laminated core was then clamped together and any excess epoxy removed, the end grain was sealed with this excess.

after the lamination was complete, the entire core was sanded and fitted to the inner transom, where it was bedded in thickened epoxy and clamped to the outer skin, next weekend, I'll grind/sand and tab in the core to the inner hull and Sunday apply 4 layers of glass to form the inner skin.. im in good shape now so it can get as cold as it wants to get, i can finish in the spring if need be.