While your doing It go ahead and run the wood all the way down and curve it with the hull all the way to the bottom. More surface area to mount any toys or fire extinguishers. When I replace my wood in the off season I'm gonna do the entire rear and put a nice urethane finish to top it off
I would go ahead and put some roll on Bedliner behind where the wood goes and it will help dampen noise and give a nice tough coat.
Have you thought about building your own transom cap and support braces? I plan on building my support braces at a 45 degree angle which will greatly improve the strength and also give me a nice slot for a spare gas can or a small cooler and quite possibly spots for spare rod holders for transport
Post some more photos of the boat buddy I'm always looking for new pictures to check out for any ideas on my build