Help ASAP 1974 Glastron stringer rot

[cweber]

1974 Glastron with stringer rot and I'm new to this kind of repair.

The center stringer is rotted and side stringers a bit too and needs to be replaced but I don't want to take cap off to get hull part of stringer (it seems solid and ok anyway) can I just scarf cut, (angle cut) and splice and epoxy pieces together? Boat is ground smooth ready to go.

Ready to fiberglass stringers then so my steps are?
1. Clean everything with acetone
2. Place stringers in position using peanut butter mixture of Epoxy, resin & fiber filler and curve joined edges removing excess. let dry
3. Apply Biaxial tape until clear with epoxy & resin to strengthen joint removing excess and no air bubbles.
4. While still wet, apply largest piece of fiberglass cloth over top of stringer and down sides and out. Smooth and remove excess.
5. While still wet, apply shorter piece of fiberglass cloth over top & down sides smoothing & removing.

Questions?
How to piece new stringers to old ones, even the very small thinner ones on the edge of the boat.
What weight do I need to use for biaxial tape.
What weight do I need to use for mat and what type of mat
How many layers of mat
Can I use mat for all layers instead of biaxial tape first?
What are some good foam types for flotation. Don't want to mess with pour in foam.

I have heard mention of Cabosil, what is it and what would I use it for?
Would like to add fishing butt seat to deck, do I need to reinforce deck if I do this?

 

[alldodge]

Howdy

Need some pics of what your working on

 

[cweber]

Attached pictures. box sitting on stringers is not part of boat.

 

[cweber]

Not good at this at all. Here are the pics

 

[alldodge]

Think were going to need Woodonglass to comment

Pics for review

The stringers do need to be removed if rotted. Any rot left in the wood will continue to rot after being sealed back up. Stringers can be but connected or angle cut, but needs to have side support. So if you can get enough layers it should work. Using epoxy resin will make it stronger then poly. Making sure the layers are put on one after another wet is not an issue., will probably have trouble doing it.

What epoxy resin are you using?

 

[MILKWEED]

Welcome, what model 43 year old boat is it? looks like an open bow, but I cant tell from the pics if it is a Tri hull or V. I thought about doing the same thing you are asking about, but if the transom is wet or rotting you wont be able to attach the stringers to it. Unless the transom has been replaced recently, best plan is to just pull the cap, (its not hard at all) and replace everything. That being said, you can splice the stringers in if you can get an exact cut to the pieces you are splicing together, but it might be tricky to do with the cap on depending where your cut is going to be. At the top of the forum are How to links that will tell you everything you need to know about stringers, resin, cloth, mat and how to apply, its well worth reading. Keep us posted and keep asking questions, lots of friendly folks here with a ton of knowledge and experience.

 

[Woodonglass]

Have you core sampled the Transom. Boats of this vintage with rotten stringers typically have bad transoms as well. Check the 2nd link in my signature line below and it will take you to some very helpful info on what you're about to undertake. I'd recommend using Polyester resin and NOT epoxy. Less expensive and faster. All the answers to your questions are in the link. I'd recommend removing as much/many of the old stringers as you can. Scabbing them in is usually not that much of a time/cost savings.

 

[cweber]

Transom is fine. Just looking for answers to my questions.

1974 Glastron with stringer rot and I'm new to this kind of repair.

The center stringer is rotted and side stringers a bit too and needs to be replaced but I don't want to take cap off to get hull part of stringer (it seems solid and ok anyway) can I just scarf cut, (angle cut) and splice and epoxy pieces together? Boat is ground smooth ready to go.

Ready to fiberglass stringers then so my steps are?
1. Clean everything with acetone
2. Place stringers in position using peanut butter mixture of Epoxy, resin & fiber filler and curve joined edges removing excess. let dry
3. Apply Biaxial tape until clear with epoxy & resin to strengthen joint removing excess and no air bubbles.
4. While still wet, apply largest piece of fiberglass cloth over top of stringer and down sides and out. Smooth and remove excess.
5. While still wet, apply shorter piece of fiberglass cloth over top & down sides smoothing & removing.

Questions?
How to piece new stringers to old ones, even the very small thinner ones on the edge of the boat.
What weight do I need to use for biaxial tape.
What weight do I need to use for mat and what type of mat
How many layers of mat
Can I use mat for all layers instead of biaxial tape first?
What are some good foam types for flotation. Don't want to mess with pour in foam.

I have heard mention of Cabosil, what is it and what would I use it for?
Would like to add fishing butt seat to deck, do I need to reinforce deck if I do this?

 

[alldodge]

Cabosil, what is it and what would I use it for?

Its flaky like stuff and is mixed in resin to thicken it, which in turns makes the PB you mentioned using in first post.

 

[Dennischaves]

"The fastest way to fix something is the right way"
You need 1708 and csm
But you really should take the cap off and replace the complete stringer(s) and while your at it do the transom.. you got the cap off anyway.

 

[Woodonglass]

Not yanking your chain but...a 1974 boat with rotten stringers and a sound transom is VERY unusual. What have you done to convince yourself that it is in good condition? The ONLY way to know for sure is to drill core samples and check the drill bit shavings.:joyous: