I need to fit some tacking steps into my boat to stop me falling in the bilge all the time!  I am pondering if i should glue some wood steps in and then laminate over them using chop strand mat and resin or whether to just try and glue them in using some Epxoy glue system with holes in the wood to provide an extra 'key' for it to hold on to.... any advice on best approach?

I glued some hardwood ino the boat to take the jib-sheet tracks, no other fixings just epoxy and they have been fine, certainly looks nice. The golden rule with epoxy is that the surfaces have to be clean and dry and a reasonable fit. Epoxy will fill small gaps if you add some colodial silica.

Heaven Sent has a series of granny steps for both helm & crew from new, just epoxied in, no sign of other fittings.  None have come loose yet and the boat's now 19 years old.  Only other issue really is getting a bit of pressure on the joint while the epoxy goes off which may take a bit of ingenuity and a sensible dry run (from bitter experience trying to get a cramp to stop slipping with everything coated with wet epoxy...)

So, if I am gluing wood to glass with an Epxoy glue, can anyone recommend which product/brand/code I should use?

Alan, if it were me I would use SP106 mixed with microfibres mixed in. Simple 5:1 mix ratio. This will create a seriously strong bond! Just make sure the area you are fixing too is clean, dry, grease free and both surfaces are well keyed for max bonding.

link to one of many suppliers of 106. As for microfibres you can get this off ebay at half the price most stores charge.

here you go. Link to lots of microfibre sales on ebay. R

West 105 or SP 106 are both excellent. I'd actually recommend the West in this case because you can get it in small quantities where 106 comes only in 1kg or larger. You won't need anything near 1kg for this, and it does have a shelf life especially once opened as the amine hardener absorbs moisture.

I Wouldn't bother with the SP handipack, it's not the same as 106, it uses a 2:1 ratio and is very sensitive to mixture error. All epoxies are, but this seems worse than most.

Summing up, get a West handipack not an SP handipack.

Thanks for that advice Chris, it explains some of the problems I've had in the past with SP handipacks.  West has been much easier to use, simple 1:1 and goes off fairly quickly.