Plastic board stringers?

oops!

Supreme Mariner
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Oct 18, 2007
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12,932
Re: Plastic board stringers?

You need to decide on how long you want it last and how much you want to spend.

I have no information on the plastic ply board, but if it's polyethylene then nothing will stick to it and none of the PE, PVC or other composite boards have enough strength to be of much help in a rebuild. The only thing you get is a shape to glass around.

You'll need to grind the glass no matter what method you use to do the repairs, there are no options on this, so you need to plan on it.

If you want a low cost, simple way to do it, just take out all the old wood leaving the glass in place, then glass over the upright portion that's left.

Do not poor resin in anywhere to fill up voids, it has no strength and will create problems, leave the old glass of the stringer hollow. drill a few holes in the lower area's of the stringer so water can drain through.

In part of this thread you said you wanted it to last a long time, which was the reason for the plastic ply board, in another area you said you wanted it to at least last through the next season. Anything will get you through the next season before rotting, so it needs to be one or the other.

Most people that do these repairs want the boat to last forever after the repair, the problem is they rarely keep the boat very long. So the high cost of the repair is to the benifit of the next owner, but they seldom pay enough for the boat to even come close to recovering the cost of materials, let alone the labor.

read this one twice bud.....

a lot of really good info in there

cheers
oops
 

ondarvr

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Apr 6, 2005
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11,527
Re: Plastic board stringers?

I checked the link, but it had no info on what the stuff is made from.
 

uwfishmd

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Apr 13, 2008
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

This stuff almost looks like its made from tires but I am checking around to see if I can find more info. I do know that they are using this material for building bridges, seawalls and roofs.
 

uwfishmd

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Apr 13, 2008
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

Sorry, I guess there are more than 1type of plastic board so I think that mine is the fiber reinforced. I am going to look at the sticker at home and check out the company.
 

keithinil

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Oct 1, 2007
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

OK so after seeing that West epoxy link does that mean it would be ok to use this stuff for stringers and decking?
 

i386

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Aug 24, 2004
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3,548
Re: Plastic board stringers?

OK so after seeing that West epoxy link does that mean it would be ok to use this stuff for stringers and decking?

Well, the way I read it, the epoxy won't even stick to it unless you follow a strict prep technique using a torch. And that referred to a specific brand.

Also, this is just a test of epoxy sticking to the material. Not a test to determine if the material would make a good stringer.
 

uwfishmd

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Apr 13, 2008
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

I looked at the sticker on the plastic ply-board and it is 100% plastic. I did however look up this Trex decking and other materials and here is the link to their site. They actually mix it with wood and plastic.
This is getting interesting now.
http://www.trex.com/whytrex/WhatIsTrex.aspx
I do concede to not using the plastic ply-board and may be looking into this other stuff. Research research.
 

erikgreen

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Jan 8, 2007
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

I don't think any kind of epoxy or resin will stick well to the plastic board. Maybe you could try some kind of mechanical addition, like melting some glass into the side of the board?

It's not gonna be easy any way you try. If plastic board was as easy to use and as strong as high density foam then all the manufacturers would be using it.

Erik

Edit: A quick add-on to what ondarvr said. You could just take out the rotted material and glass over the top, but I think it's still a good idea to fill the hole with something. Most of the strength in the stringers is from the glass, but not all, and you should still put something in there to keep the stringers from oilcanning under stress (twisting and crushing).
 

uwfishmd

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Apr 13, 2008
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

i386 if you read the info at the west system site those trex will adhere with flame treatment but also with little or no prep work.
Different methods of surface preparation are the variables for this test. With the Trex Decking, any surface preparation (including none at all) results in substrate failure, an indication the adhesive and adhesion are adequate for the material. Even with no surface preparation,the surface seems to be rough enough to provide a good grip for the epoxy.
 

redfury

Commander
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Jul 16, 2006
Messages
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Re: Plastic board stringers?

my biggest problem with the solid plastic decking besides linear strength issues is weight. They are NOT light in any way. I think I'd rather go with plywood ( I will for my boat ) and go the conventional route. Beyond that, I'd go with a 12lb pour foam ( hard as anything you can put in there ) and recap the stringers if you want to go that route.
 

tramp666

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Messages
47
Re: Plastic board stringers?

I did my transom with SEA CAST and it worked great! Google the site and read about the product... it is amazing stuff. 3 times as strong as wood. mix and pore it in.
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: Plastic board stringers?

Epoxy will not bond to polyethelyne very well (if at all), what it's bonding to is most likely the wood mixed in with it. Trex has no structural strength, so even if it sticks to it, the benifit is nothing more than a shape to glass around.

The foam is about the same, even higher density pour foams aren't that durable, so they tend to break down over time when stressed. The strength that foam may add to a stringer can be can easily be surpassed by an extra layer of glass which will be permanent and of less weight than plastic boards.

I was was at a large Boat Builder in the NW yesterday, and this subject came up when we were discussing the Greenwood XL boat panels (PT plywood) they use. They use the XL panels because they have no issues with rot or failure with them.
 
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