We must be getting close to the finish on this float, since we closed up the stern. To do this, I started by trimming the stern opening to lines I drew while the hull halves were still in the form frame. Then I pre-glassed a rough cut piece of foam. Once the stern plate was fully cured, I applied a heavy bead of putty both around the opening and on the plate. I squished the plate on to the opening until it made contact on the high points (unfortunately my attempts at trimming didn't result in a perfectly flat surface, but that's what putty is for!) In the photo you will notice I used three screws to hold the plate in place. I was careful to not over tighten the screws so the plate remained flat.
While the putty in the seam set up, I moved inside and applied a small fillet of putty around the seam. This may sound trivial, but the fillet was done partially blind through a small access port (see below). Later in the day, after the fillet started to set, I taped the seam for strength. Again, this was not a trivial undertaking due to the difficulty of access. Nonetheless, with some patience and use of various sticks to reach into the pointy end, I was very happy with the result.
Here is the best view I had of the inside work in the stern. In the mirror you can see my view of the stern plate from the inside. Of course, I usually had most of my arm inside, which tended to further reduce visibility. We are getting pretty good at this type of work, but I look forward to working in the main hull where I fit inside.
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