Northeaster Dory Transom

Builder's Forum
1

The directions for the transom say that "sanding or planing an angle into the bottom of the transom to match the rake of the transom improves its fit in the stern".  I did this, but now it appears that the transom is about 1/4" short of making contact with the floorboard.  I can't just raise the floorboard because it will come up above the bottom of the aft end of the #1 planks.  I can't lower the transom because the tops of the side planks won't align with the carve-outs in the transom.  

 

So - I am left with a 1/4" gap that needs to be filled.  Has anyone run into this issue?  Recommend anything to fill the gap with?  One other option would be to shave off the bottom of the side-planks so that when I raise the end of the floorboard to meet the transom, it would be consistent with the rest of the boat.   I wish i had just not shaved off the corner of the transom, my guess is it would have fit perfectly.  Thanks in advance for any advice that any of you may have.

 

 

 

 

2

   Navy,  I also sanded my transom slightly when building my NE dory.  I did not end up with a large gap, but I did have a small space below the end of the transom.  This was filled in with the fillet material.  Keep in mind that you will have a substantial fillet on the inside of the transom edge, along with the inside and outside layers of fiberglass cloth.  I would make sure you get a good amount of fillet materail to fill the gap through to the outside of the transom.

3

Thanks Tom, I'll give that a shot.  I was a little worried that it would weaken the integrity of the boat, but I guess a 1" x 1/4" section of epoxy would probably be tougher than if it were actually filled with wood.