Will,
I used a grinder to remove some of the wood in that area. Do a dry fit before glassing in everything. You can also grind the splash well a bit thinner. You'll want to make up a putty mix and trowel it on the core and then clamp it into place. It's two steps, glue the core in place and then come back later and laminate the the core.
I used chopped mat on both the skin and the core, but you will need the putty also. I'm using Ployester and currently waiting for cooler temps.
