design flaw or transom rebuild?

i'm new to this site so i hope i'm posting in the right area. i bought a 1975 v20 steplift a few months ago. i love the boat. its the the best riding boat i've ever owned. after i bought it i noticed that the steering rod from the engine starts to hit the transom when the rod is almost fully extended. the previous owner dug out a slight channel to accomidate the rod. the transom seems to be pretty solid but it has a bow to it. the top cap looks like it was molded this way also. so my question is should the transom have a bow to it or should it be flat?