Bedding Stringers Question

Ok so i looked everywhere for this information. and i know what my options to bed my stringers with and to leave about a 1/4" gap between the stringer and the hull. I saw a video made by Friscoboater he used 1/4" pieces of foam to sit the stringers on to make the gap and put PL. but my questions are as follows.

do u put down the PL (or PB i havent decided which one yet) and sit the stringers right on it while its wet or do u put the stringers down and then fill the gaps with the stringers already in place? and wouldn't gluing it (or using PB) to the hull create a hard spot?

second question some spots where my stringer sits on the hull is on an angle. do i option 1(white in picture) cut the bottom of the stringer on that angle to get the 1/4" gap everywhere or option 2 (Blue in pitcute) leave it and have either 1/2" gap on the outside and 1/4" on the inside, or option 3 (red in picture) 1/4"outside and almost no gap inside?(heres the Picture to better understand)



Third question if my gap is more then 1/4" do i just use PB to fill the gap still or i saw someone use expandable foam or even a peice of pink panther foam?

And last Question the side of the stringer touches part of the hull as shown in the picture, does that need a 1/4" gap too? see picture


Thanks in advance for the help and sorry if these have been answered before i've been racking my brain for hours reading different posts and articles and my brain was about to explode. also i haven't done any grinding yet i'm still kinda in the gathering information stage before i begin.

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

It'll work a lot better/easier if you put your stringers in position and hold them with a template/braces and then bed them in forcing the adhesive or PB under the stringer. Trying to "free-stand" your stringers while bedding them in will be aggravating and time consuming, and you will run the risk of getting them out of line latterally or vertically.

You can either bevel the bottom of your stringer to match the contour of your hull or put it in square. Bedding it in square will require much more material (adhesive). If you choose to bed your stringer bottoms square I suggest holding the side closest to the hull up 1/8" to allow for adhesive, the other side will be bigger and that's where the extra material will go.

The gap between your stringer bottom and the hull should be filled with adhesive/PB only, this will be the "foot" of your stringer and you want it to be strong.

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

Mix up some PB (PL is a mess to use and can take up to 72 hours to cure before you can start glassin) and only use about 1% MEKP so it will cure slowly. You don't have to cut the bevel on the stringer but you can if you want. PB is actually "Softer" than the wood so it will flex where the wood won't so it will not create a hard spot. Put a small Bead of PB on the bottom of the stringer and put it in place. If you make some Stringer holders you can place the stringers, bed em in and do the fillets all at the same time. The link below has some additional discussion on how to build a stringer jig for placing your stringers.



http://forums.iboats.com/boat-restoration-building-hull-repair/stringer-jig-623805.html#post4347544

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

Thanks for the great advice! I'm definitely going to fabricated some sort of jig to help me out. To put the PB under the stringer do I just jam it in the with like a spoon or Popsicle stick? I don't want to use PL cause or the mess and time but with a caulking gun it just seems easier to put in

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

You can put the PB in a quart ziplock bag, seal it up, and cut a corner off the bottom of the bag. Then 'pipe' the PB out under the stringer, and smooth it into a nice gentle curved fillet w/ metal spoon (dollar store $1) dipped in acetone.

You can fine tune the size of the hole you cut in the bag to so the amount of PB applied can be varied.

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

jbcurt00 said:

You can put the PB in a quart ziplock bag, seal it up, and cut a corner off the bottom of the bag. Then 'pipe' the PB out under the stringer, and smooth it into a nice gentle curved fillet w/ metal spoon (dollar store $1) dipped in acetone.

You can fine tune the size of the hole you cut in the bag to so the amount of PB applied can be varied.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the great idea!

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

Don't over think it or stress too much about it, the vast majority of boat builders don't bed wood stringers, the stringer grid it pre assembled and dropped in place and glassed over.

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

ondarvr said:

Don't over think it or stress too much about it, the vast majority of boat builders don't bed wood stringers, the stringer grid it pre assembled and dropped in place and glassed over.

Click to expand...

Thanks i actually needed to hear that lol, i over think everything and sometimes it ends up not being a good thing

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

Mbison7,

I just finished bedding four stringers with PB. My advice is to get the PB very thick to avoid it running through the bigger gaps as you try to fair it. We wound up with a lot of wastage that way. you can also use duct tape as a temporary dam on the downhill side on your bigger gaps. It's hard to get the PB thick enough to not run through a 1/2 inch gap.

Stalmon

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

Using Cabosil you should have no problem getting it to the point where it won't budge, other additives, while thickening it, will have little effect on sage resistance.

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

ondarvr said:

Using Cabosil you should have no problem getting it to the point where it won't budge, other additives, while thickening it, will have little effect on sage resistance.

Click to expand...

I used Cabosil, milled glass, and chopped strand. Maybe I should have upped the proportion of Cabosil and used less milled glass. Lesson learned, of course after all the stringers are in place, but lesson learned. Actually I going to glue the deck on with PB so lesson learned early enough to do some good.

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

That's why we call it Peanut Butter. You keep adding Cabosil until it's as thick as Peanut Butter. If it is it won't run on ya!

Re: Bedding Stringers Question

Thanks everyone once again such great advice!! I'm still doing some the rest of the grinding and once it gets warmer next week ill start the bedding! Unfortunately it was only 13-15 degrees celceus here the past week. Next week is supposed to be 21-23