Starcraft stringer?

[gwhaling]

Well I have looked around Iboats on boat restoring and started to work on removing the wood on my Starcraft transom. It's a 68 14 foot v haul. I removed some of the floor today to look at the stringers. The wood inside the stringers is pretty well gone. However my boat has at least 6 stringers made of very solid glass with horizontal stringers every couple of feet. The haul feels very solid. It would be a lot of work to pull all of this glass out. The floor is only 1/2 inch plywood and still feels very solid due to this fiberglass grid. Is the wood even necessary in the stringer layout on a little Starcraft boat?

 

[iwombat]

Re: Starcraft stringer?

The wood is necessary for fastening the floor. Without it, your floor will pull up in the center.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Starcraft stringer?

How did you determine that it felt "solid"? Did you jump up and down on the floor with no supports under the hull? That's what you need to do, as that is what will happen out on the water. I've rebuilt several old Starcrafts and each one of them had rotted stringers. My 18-footer had the fiberglass outer skin of the stringer split lengthwise due to the flexing caused by the inside core being mush. Yes, it'll be a lot of work, but when you're done it'll be a brand new boat...
- Scott

 

[gwhaling]

Re: Starcraft stringer?

Floor feels solid jumping up and down with boat on the trailer. Have not had it on the water yet. My stringer skins have not split. Best I can tell the floor is glued to the glass stringers. The wood is not even visible except where the horizontal braces meet the stringers. The section of the floor I cut out at the rear of the boat is solid. I will do the transom this winter and run it next summer. Will see about replacing all the stringers the following winter. Thanks for the replys.