: I am instaling the coaming following the directions on the one oceans site
: (don't have the patience for all those vertical strips). The plywood I am
: using has been heated with hot water and bent into place. I have some
: small gaps 1/8 - 1/4" where the wood doesn't quite meet the deck in a
: few places. Is this a problem? I plan to use a fillet and plenty of glass
: on this area which will certainly fill the gaps but I am worried that it
: may not be as strong as I would like. Any thoughts?

Use the vertical strips or get the plywood to conform to the cockpit opening. It defines the inside shape of the cockpit with the fiberglass over it. The only way minor gaps will be OK is if they're perfectly symetrical, one side to the other, otherwise you'll have an irregular inside coaming shape.

Jim