: After cutting out the hatches on the stripped deck of my Mill Creek 16.5 and
: building up a laminated ply spacer and lip for flush mount hatches, I had
: a real scare. The plywood lam had enough spring to flatten the contour of
: the rear deck. The rear hatch sat a full 1/8" to deep on each side
: when the front and rear were flush. After much thought as to what remedy
: to take, I remembered it mentioned here that heat will soften epoxy. So
: armed with a hot iron, wet rag and a ratchet strap, I looped the strap
: around the deck and applied lots of heat and steam to the front and rear
: of the lip. Then praying the deck wouldn't buckle, I started ratcheting.
: More heat, another notch and repeat. Soon the deck had slightly more
: camber than the hatch so I stopped and let it cool. Took of the strap and
: much to my relief, a perfect contour had returned. The moral? Next time a
: glass lay-up aka Vaclav.

The real moral:
You didn't let a minor setback become a major setback for you. You dealt with it, and found that a little ingenuity solved your problem with nary a side affect or permanent blemish.

Good for you!

Shawn