Strengthen stringers and steering wheel removal...HELP!

[mike_519]

So about a year ago i bought this tri-hull sun ray boat, its a 1975 sun ray(not to sure of the year but everything is pointing to that year) the motor is a 1975 85 Hp Johnson outboard. I picked the boat up fairly cheap from an old boss it was just laying around and taking up space and hasn't seen water for at least 5 years.... So i thought ok im up for a challenge but now its all starting to build up but thankfully i found this site! Its been great so far and reading alot of the posts on here has helped me out alot! But ive hit a bit of a snag i knew the boat had a few problems to start and probably theres still a few hiding, needless to say ive gotten half of the floor ripped up to expose the stringers at the stern...few concerns with it. When i first picked up the boat there was about an inch of water sitting on the deck so i knew there might be some damage underneath at first glance it didnt look to bad but once tearing out the floor the stringers seem pretty solid halfway to the bow but at the back its clear the water has done some damage to them...so i thought instead of ripping it all up and starting right at the beginning, i was curious if maybe i could strap a 2x4 to the stringer and screw the deck down to that instead. Also since i hit that fork i started looking around at what else needs to be replaced and well the steering cable pretty much blew apart right before the engine so that clearly has to come off but i go to take the steering wheel off and well no idea there is the nut under the covering of the steering wheel which comes off but on the inside under the dash it looks like there is a pin through the shaft on the other side but im not to sure if it actually comes out or not. I`ll post pictures of the steering wheel later today but here is what i have so far with the stringers and how she looked when i first got her. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is the first time owning a boat and doing any work to one.....and i guess ill get a new one of the stringers as they for some reason dont want to upload. Thanks again!

 

[electric603]

Re: Strengthen stringers and steering wheel removal...HELP!

Welcome to the dry dock, Mike. The fix you suggest with the 2x4's is just a Band-Aid. you already have the deck out so you should tear out the stringers, grind out all the bad fiberglass and fiberglass new stringers in and any wet foam needs to come out and get replaced. If the whole stringer is not rotted you could replace the rotten part only and sister the new wood to the good part of the old stringer but there are varying opinions of that on this forum. You also need to check the transom for rot. Drill some small holes into the wood but not all the way through to see if you get dark wet shavings or light dry shavings. Do this near the bottom in a couple of spots . Make sure if you start taking stringers or any more of the deck out that you support the hull well to avoid any twisting or warping.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Strengthen stringers and steering wheel removal...HELP!

welcome aboard.

I would start by going thru the stickies at the top of the forum.

here is a link http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...r/how-tos-other-great-information-288451.html

there are no safe shortcuts with the stringers, only removing the rotten and wet wood, grinding the fiberglass, tabbing in new stringers, then tabbing in the new deck. you wouldnt try to walk or carry anything with a broken spine, so do not boat with rotten stringers

 

[89 resorter]

Re: Strengthen stringers and steering wheel removal...HELP!

I'm a newbe with boat restoration but I have learned that the only proper fix for bad stringers is to replace them. In regards to the steering wheel....most are on a tapered shaft and in order to get the wheel assembly off you will need to buy or make a steering wheel puller. I was lucky enough to have a buddy who is a boat mechanic that had one but all it did was mount to the collar where the steering wheel mounts then has a center bolt that presses against the shaft. Similar to an inboard prop puller.

Good luck