I’ve got all of the transom mahogany panels rough fitted. The panels will attach to 1″ x 1″ mahogany cleats I installed on the deck, and the horizontal edges of the panel will be bonded to the angled cleats and framing members I’ve already installed. The only edges that don’t currently have a place to attach to are the ones at the transom door step-through. That’s what I’m working on today.
The arrow points to the gap
My plan is to fill the gap with solid mahogany that will butt up against the backside of the panel. Later, after the panels are varnished and installed, I’ll make some pretty mahogany moldings to cover the plywood and painted aluminum edges.
This raggedy mahogany board should do the trick
In addition to having several major cracks in this section of board, when I had it resawn the mill blade didn’t stay parallel to the machine base. It took a funny curve through this part of the board, leaving a big sunken spot in the middle.
You can see the saw marks through the sunken area
Many passes through my Dewalt thickness planer, and the sunken area is almost gone
That’s really pretty mahogany.
The last little bit of the sunken area.
Lop off a curved piece to match the transom panel
Nice friction fit!
Next, I made the angled horizontal pieces.
This wood is so pretty, it’s a shame it’ll be hidden away
Test fitting is done
Ready for the final panel test fit
Port panel looks good after trimming to match the new gap-filler pieces
I knocked a bit off the top of the center and starboard panels so they butt perfectly up against the painted aluminum transom
I’ll make a molding later to cover that joint.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Varnishing the Last of the Aft Deck Mahogany
1969chriscraftroamer46 