fiberglassing mahogany transom

[Brumenschenkel]

I am building a 16' melonseed skiff, strip planked, glassed inside and out with a mahogany transom. I am wondering how others have worked the detail of covering the end grain on the strip planking. Do folks wrap the strip plank ends in glass neatly trimming around the transom shape, or glass right up the transom? I am assuming the glass cloth will disappear if wetted out correctly. Any suggestions?

[JimD]

Fussy work but glass is good if you can manage it. The cloth will almost not show, meaning if you look really, really closely you can see the feint crisscross pattern of the weave. Many bright finished boats are glassed this way and they look fab.

[mcdenny]

You can put an outer layer on the outside of the transom using 1/8 to 1/4" thick solid wood planks or a single piece of thin mahogany plywood epoxied on. This covers the end grain of the strips. The fiberglass on the hull covers the endgrain of this overlay.

6oz fiberglass would work well too and be virtually invisible with careful finishing. You will see the ends of the strips, though, if that matters.