Stringers Not In Contact With Deck?

On my fiberglass 20 footer the stringers on the sides are 1x8s that the deck actually rests on. In the middle there are two 2x4s that run back until the fuel tank and stop in the middle of the boat.At that point there are little 1" tall boards that are glassed in under the fuel tank. After the 2x4s stop at the front of the tank there is only one stringer on the keel which is a 2x4 glassed in but laying flat not standing up. The 2x4s ahead of the tank are standing up and run up to the tip of the bow and curve in to meet each other. I dont know how they bent the 2x4s up in the shape of the hull but I will probably go back with plywood instead.

My question is should all stringers contact the bottom of the deck?

Re: Stringers Not In Contact With Deck?

Thats a good question im also waiting to hear more on this. Also is it good to use that kind of timber for stringers? In mind someone used 2 X 6's and i dont like it. It was done by someone not too long ago i can tell but they didnt allow the water to drain to the bilge so foam got waterlogged. Im going back to the grinder today in about an hour or so. So far i've logged about 32 hours of using the angle grinder. Man im really tired of grinding. Thats what ya got to do though i guess.

Re: Stringers Not In Contact With Deck?

I had previously posted a problem in the trailer section about my 20 footer maybe overloading my single axle trailer. Both tires wearing only about an inch on the insides. After tearing out the deck, stringers, foam, and transom I think I took 400-600 pounds in waterlogged materials. I was always puzzled because my holeshot performance was very poor. I could not pull a 200 pound skier out of the water. My motor is only a 90 hrs Johnson but I still think it should do better.

As far as the grinding I have been using an electric chainsaw and having good luck. I guess I still have to sand down some old fiberglass. Down here in southwest Florida it has been around 85 degrees so I have been sweating my but off wearing all these clothes. I cant wait to start installing some new material so I wont have to worry about fiber-itch so much.