Beachcraft Stringers?

[83 Beachcraft]

Hey folks, Got a 1983 Bechcraft w/some wood rot. Been reading some posts here on replacing stringers. Have a question about SeaCast. Is this stuff as strong as the wood stringers? What have I gotten myself into here? Is this hundreds of dollars, or even thousands? Obviously never done anything like this before. I don't even know if this Boat is worth it or if the OMC is any good. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sphelps]

Have a question about SeaCast. Is this stuff as strong as the wood stringers?

Yes ... When done correctly ..
The OMC from what I hear is something that should be avoided .. idk

 

[PatinIdaho]

OMC is not bad.
The real problem is OMC went out of business 20ish years ago. Parts are still available and will be for some time with NOS stock and drives being parted out.

 

[83 Beachcraft]

Thanks for your quick response. I have a local marine shop that has been in around for 30 years. He's got plenty of used parts for the OMC. The stringers are the next major issue. Would you have any pictures/videos/or suggestions on how to work w/Seacast?

 

[sphelps]

I will warn you Seacast is very pricey but once installed you will never have to worry about rot again .. You need to determin the shape of the glass on your stringers . You may be able to cut the top off then remove ALL of the wood . If its really bad shape you will need to glass in new skins. I just did this on my Save the Manatee thread . You can check out Archbuilder's thread Fuggly . He also installed Seacast ..

 

[Gibsonman2005]

B.O.A.T.
Bust Out Another Thousand
Sad but true.

 

[83 Beachcraft]

WOW Sphlps, I got brave after that awesome Fuggly video, thanks. I cut a small piece of the bow and found 3" or 4" of standing water. So far that's the only water I've found. The motor mounts are nice and tight. There is 3/4" ply from the stern to approx; 6' or 7' towards the bow, the rest is 1/2". Does that seem right to you? Really appreciate the input here as I fell a bit out of my comfort zone.

 

[Gibsonman2005]

Not sure how long you've had the boat, but the diff in ply thickness could be from a previous owner doing repairs. When I got my boat I vacuumed up 3 gallons of water after removing the deck. When you add up the cost of fiberglass+ resin + seacast+ paint you'll prob be interested in just replacing the stringers and the deck (that's what I did). Just my opinion. If you've got time and money...do the whole 9 yards then.

 

[83 Beachcraft]

Thanks for the info. I found the stringers and the bulk heads sitting on top of the foam, not glassed into the hull. Could Beachcraft be using the foam as structural support? The videos I've watched all have the stringers and bulk heads glassed onto the hull, and then the foam poured after the new deck was secured. Not sure if this is right. I got this boat new, so it must have come from the factory that way. Maybe that's why the are out of business. Really appreciate input, as a newbie.

 

[Woodonglass]

WOW!!! That's one I've never seen before!!! Using foam to bed the stringers in to avoid hard spots!!! Hmmm, I guess that's really not a bad idea???:noidea: Since the hull was totally foam filled I guess they figured there was no need to glass em in cuz the foam would encapsulate em. But...the error to their ways was...when the foam becomes waterlogged then the wood does too with no resin/glass to protect it. I guess it all goes back to the Maintenance and Care philosophy. If you do that then the foam won't get wet and so on and so on...

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Would you please post pictures of these. This is the very first time I hear about a configuration like this. I am not even sure how to make sense of it. Stringers and bulkheads are structural elements. They should be attached to the body of the vessel to maintain its structural integrity and distribute the forces through the hull.

Can it be that the lower parts of these elements rotted out which makes them appear floating?

 

[83 Beachcraft]

The photo I posted shows the un glassed bulkhead on top of the foam. This pattern is repeated thru out this boat. Ive since removed the rotton wood and found this to be a bit odd. I see no evidence of glassing to the hull. You can see in the photo the bulkhead dosn't follow the contour of the hull. Again a bit odd.

 

[83 Beachcraft]

Hi Deep Blue, Hopefully these photos will show a bit better as to the glass not touching the hull. I too was shocked to find this weird configuration all over the Boat. Has anyone ever see this before? All the posts and video's I've seen shows structural support glassed to the hull. Hope these photos tell the story.

 

[Gibsonman2005]

I suppose the silver lining here is that you'll have a nice smooth(er) surface to tab your new stringers into with less effort than you would normally

 

[Woodonglass]

All I can think is the MFG was thinking that the Bulkies were to be used to attach the deck etc and the foam WAS in fact to be use to support the hull. As I stated previously, some hulls were designed to be this way but most had no stringers at all. It's possible that yours was some kind of a combination of the two. I've never seen this before so I can't say definitively what is going on. I do know that a totally foam fillled hull, if designed properly is a perfectly acceptable method.

 

[Redrig]

My deck on my 77 bell boy is very similar to this as well, the bottoms of the stringers are tabbed in , but not at the rear of the stringer.

here is a crude drawing of what my deck looks like , the deck is basically not tabbed completely to the hull , there is a gap where the foam is between the deck and hull. They really secured the deck to the hull but only on the top of the deck probably about a quarter inch of tabbing. but there is nothing level or below of the deck that connects it to the hull. hopefully this will help with what I am explaining . the blue is the only point that connect it to the hull , and the stringer are similar as well.

Its like they laid the deck on the stringers and screwed the deck down , then foamed it to the support below, then tabbed the top of the deck to the hull .

 

[DeepBlue2010]

I wouldn't duplicate this design if I were you. I would fiberglass these elements (bulkheads/stringers) to the hull directly.

 

[83 Beachcraft]

That's what I was thinking too. The fiber deck is approx: 1/4" thick, so maybe most of the structural integrity is the deck to the hull. Using the foam as support. I really thank you guys for your input here. This has been a bit of a head scratcher. Moving forward, I will glass the stringers and bulkies to the hull, then use foam as a filler like every other project I've seen. Again thanks guys!!

 

[BillP]

Stringers and bulkheads set on a foam spacer has been going on for a long time in the go fast boat industry. They do it to prevent a hard spot. They are glassed over like any other stringer and the glass takes the wider joint load. I haven't seen this advertised by any boat mfgs but saw it personally at the Pursuit factory in the early 1990s and talked with the plant mgr about it. Pursuit used 1/2" thick foam strips that looked the same material as a pool noodle. They also used ply for stringers and b'heads. So its not a bad idea but isn't necessary unless you are using thin stringer material and/or need a hull that can jump ocean waves at 60 mph all day long.

 

[83 Beachcraft]

Thanks Bill P. good to know as much info as possible.