I agree that mat should not be the only material used for the transom but wouldn't you agree it is still ok to lay woven roven into a couple layers of mat, the old school way . Many of the stitched up multi directional products available today were not even invented when these boats were made. Mat can be your friend, hardware cloth on the other hand is more for surfacing IMO.
Marine grade plywood is nothing more than fir with exterior grade glue and cores with less voids. It can be pressure treated and dried after treatment or it can be purchased untreated. It can be laminated with vinylester resin but the surface is too smooth for much penetration so you have to rough it up with 60 grit to get a good bond. I know of several boat manufacturers that thin the first coat of resin when using the marine plywood for better penetration. They refer to it as a hot coat.
I prefer composite cores but they are high $$$$
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