I ran into the same issue when wiring up my wd12h.  I'm not aware of any other way than putting in a few more wires on each side of the transom.  I just went out to the shop and checked and I have 5 holes running down either side of the transom....can't remember what the kit originally started with...but I do remember having the same problem and it was easier to get a better fit with more wires.  If it helps at all, the holes left over from the wires aren't that noticeable after glassing...at least in my eyes anyways.

I believe that is a common challenge spot on the WD. I know I put in extra holes & wire. I know I used hot water & wet cloth on the wood to help it bend. But I also used 1 or more small blocks of wood I put inside an as I recall & screwed thru the hull to them. I don't remember those details.

I had the same problem and used lots of wire.  It ended up looking pretty good. 

I wondered at the time if I could devise a good clamping setup to bring it all together using pressure on the outside of the hull panels, but didn't have the patience to work on that clamp.  I'd be curious if anyone tried that or has a better solution.

Best,

Steve

I just had the same issue yesterday...added 2 more "stitches" down the sides and it pulled right in...

I had the same issue with my WD 12, and now it's deja vue all over again with the Duckling I'm putting together for my grandson. In both cases, I ended up using the transom piece that came with the kit as a pattern for a real transom made out of some scraps of mahogany I had lying around from a previous building project. Getting the correct bevel is a little tricky and involved some trial and error on the band saw (if memory serves, it wound up being about 22.5 degrees), but the result was well worth it. I wet the hull strakes with hot water, then used sheetrock screws as temporary fasteners to bed the strakes firmly to the transom. I used 1" x 1" squares of quarter-inch plywood, wrapped in package sealing tape to prevent bonding, as washers to prevent the screws from going through the thin hull panels. The transom on the WD 12 wound up being about 1.5 inches thick, and on the Duckling about a half-inch thick.

Thanks for all the responses - I think my solution (at least the first one) will be to make counter-curve blocks, steam my strakes, and press with large clamps as I tie the 3 points of the copper wire. 

I am reluctant of putting more holes in the transom because I replaced the CLC provided one with red heart wood that is just elegant wood.

Solution two will be more holes - thanks again for the quick reponses.  I'll let you know if it was transom #1 or transom #2. 

The jury is in, many holes was the solution.  Thanks to all who responded.  smp

The transom was the hardest part, I think, to get in and lined up.  Finally I did it, but ended up with about 2x the amount of holes/wires, and even then it was not plumb (skewed to the starboard side if I remember). Thank goodness for epoxy, filler and paint for me!

 If I was to do it again with a nice piece of wood I would think about putting the plywood transom in with the wires, clipping them and then fitting the rosewood piece on top of it with epoxy as the sandwitch to layer them together. No holes, and would finish nicely with beveled edges to taper back into the plywood.  Just an idea, given the amount of unsightly holes you'll eventually need to add to get it all to line up.

p.