Stringer Repair/Replace

[richardh]

I have a little 1989 16' Bluewater Blazer. IN/OUT 3.0 ltr

The deck has had a softspot back in the corner close to where people climb in and out. I figured it was just from wet skiers. Well it appears I was wrong. I pulled up the floor and that corner of the deck was just mush, the rest of the deck was pretty solid, some other areas had some rot, but nothing else was wet. Once I removed the rest of the deck the stringers seem to be a bit soft. The one stringer by the ski locker had became delaminated, so I cut it out, the wood on the bottom of the stringer was pretty rotten. But still dry.

I called a local fiberglass guy in town, and he told me that he wouldn't recommend removing any of the stringers, that he would recommend just covering them with a couple layers of fiberglass. Does this really seem like a reasonable solution??

Seems like I should probably cut one stringer out and replace it at a time.

What do you guys think?

This is an old boat, so I'm not paying someone 4k to do it.

I know most everyone likes epoxy better than polyester, But its seems like poly would be way cheaper, and its has lasted 25 years so far in this boat. If I use poly, what would I used to bond the stringers to the hull, before fiberglassing it in.

Thanks,

Richard

 

[friderday]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Hello, & welcome Richard. You have to know that this boat probably has a lot more rotted wood than what you are seeing in this one spot...afterall, it is over 20 yrs old. I would be concerned with the transom as well as the stringers, because when one gets compromised, the other(s) are not far behind. It is likely that a full transom, stringer, deck restore is in your future, & even if you do it yourself, yes it can be quite costly & time-consuming. I'm not sure I(or anyone else here) would agree with just glassing over stringers whose integrity are in question to begin with, but I'm a bit of an over-achiever & tend to over-build. As far as the epoxy vs. poly...I'm a poly girl, myself. Done 2 boats that way, & if your boat has gelcoat, it was built from the factory with poly & would need to be rebuilt with poly as epoxy & gelcoat don't play nicely together. Whatever you decide, you must understand that there are many, seasoned old sailors here that know a thing or four about this & happily give their expert advice away...for free. But the commitment from you, both financially & sweat hours will be 3 times what you anticipate. The reward on splash day is like nothing else...but be prepared for all-consuming hours & $$$$. Good luck in your decision & perhaps some of the real experts will come out of hiding & put in their 2 cents. (p.s.--they really dig pictures if you can post them)....cheers!

 

[Decker83]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Welcome Richard..:welcome:

friderday is leading you down the right path..

Try and get some pics posted.. You can use a free Photobucket account..

We all love to see pics..

 

[halfrican669]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Hello Richard I'm in the same predicament as you I am restoring a 1977 procraft floor is completely shot I want to give it a complete overhaul but really dont know where to start the transom is a little week but I think it could last a couple more years but I dont know what wood or glass to use and I think Iwant to add a little more glass to the haul it self to replace what im sanding out

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

I understand how some would desire to take on such a project. But is the boat going to be worth the investment in supplies and a couple of hundred man/hours. I just hate to see people invest so much in unstylish pieces of c___ boats. (Note: I don't know what your boat looks like as I'm unfamiliar with the brand.)

I might take on such a project if the boat was a 19' to 22' Sea Ray from the late 70's or certain models of Wellcrafts--high quality classically styled boats to begin with.

 

[halfrican669]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

My boat is a 18.5 foot bass boat I traded my four wheeler for it the four wheeler was my dads I bought it off of him and my kids enjoyed it for a bit but I think as they are groing they lost intrest im more or less using this as a lesson on finish what you start and you can do anything you want as long as you work hard and of course family bonding as they are looking forward to helping with this including my wife wants to help so when its finished we can look back at something big we accomplished as a family a team and I can in turn pass it on to my son but I would love all the info I could get so daddy dont look like a failure lol and I try not to cuss in front of them so the less trial and error the better

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Any investment in Family is a worthwhile endeavor in my book!
Welcome, Richard...you are in the best place on the interweb to get all of the knowledge you'll need to restore this boat to better than new condition and one your whole family will enjoy and be proud to own for many, many seasons...
So far everyone who has posted has given you very good advice...
The first thing we ask is for pictures, so we can see what you see and be better able to advise you on how to proceed, plus we really like 'em...
This is definitely a fairly long term, hard work and money requiring project, so you have to be willing to make the commitment to go head long into and even through the roughest of times, want to stick to it, no matter what...
Like I said before, if you do see this through to the end, as "friderday" said, the rewards are extraordinary!
To keep costs down polyester resin is what it was originally built with and you should stick to it...
Keep an eye out for "Woodonglass" to drop by and provide you with some excellent start up information as to what kind of Personal Protection Equipment [PPE] you'll need and what your reconstruction techniques will look like for your transom, stringers and deck.
We will be here along the way to guide and cheer you on...
Best of Luck and Have Fun!
Gus

 

[richardh]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Is there any way to tell if the transom has issues with out cutting into it. It sounds very solid when you knock on it. A freind of my just had to fix his transom, but he could tell he had issues do to cracking fiberglass. I only have a couple pictures with me. I'm at work.

I have most of the flotation foam removed, which it was dry. Except in the far back corner.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Take core samples on the inside of the transom in a few locations w/ a 1/4"-3/8" drill bit:
Dry & light shavings = good
Wet & dark shavings = NOT good

Some around existing thru holes & the keyhole. Measure 1-1.25" up from the end of the drill bit & mark it w/ tape:

You do NOT want to drill THRU the hull.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

In addition to the area around the keyhole, if you have any through-hull penetrations (bolts, screws, etc.) on the transom below or near the water line, you might check around them, too.

 

[richardh]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

I had a question about the stringers. I know that I am suposed to cut one out and replace it, then move on to the next one. My question is, can I just glue the new one down with PL then move on to the next one after the PL has dried, or do I need fiberglass it in before moving on. My boat basically has 6 short stringer. They come back from the bow to a bulk head in front of the gas tank, then two more attach to the other side of the bulk head. Then they run into the engine stringers. I would love to just cut them all out and do them all at once, but that sounds like it could tweak my hull.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Not sure where you got the 1 at a time stringer info.

If you haven't fully supported your hull in an off trailer cradle & taken LOTS of measurements of the hull prior to dismantling it, you may already have some hull distortion. ESP if the stringers & deck were in really bad shape before you tore in to it.

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Welcome to Dry Dock Richard! :welcome:

What JB is saying is dead on ^^^^. If you are doing your stringer work on the trailer, you may want to add some additional support to hande the weight of the engine and sterndrive. My old in-line six weighs 450lbs dry and the sterndrive and all the mounts another couple hundred.

Once the stringers come out it may distort the hull a little...that's what the measurements are for. Any movement of the hull up (caused by the bunks pressing up and the weight of the engine bearing down) and your hull will be distorted in that area. You will have to support the hull better and get the weight off of that area.

You do have the advantage of having a bunk trailer over a roller trailer. That will help.

As JAS and Wood have said, check the transom at and below the waterline. A quick way is to do is tap (lightly) around on the inside and the outside on the transom and hull. It should sound clear and solid, like it does high up on the hull and transom. Any deeper, hollow sound means additional problems and you can further diagnose from there.

Kinda like my dad showed me on how to see if a melon is ripe...flick your index finger off your thumb against your forehead. Sounds solid and boney...no brains (that was what dad told me, sorry) green melon...good transom; now flick against the bottom of your shoe...hollow empty sound (deeper sound)...ripe melon...bad transom.

Keep pluggin' and posting those pics. Do the photobucket thing like Decker mentioned over the attachments for us old guys!

We all like pictures.

 

[richardh]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

So do you think if I put a little support under the hull where the engine is that would help. Like a couple Jackstands with 2x4 between them?? The other thing about the hull distortion is that I don't really see much of anything that would normally stop this except the deck. and maybe the fuel tank. The boat only had one bulk head, and that was completly rotted.

Do you think it would be ok to take some mesurements, put the support under the engine and out drive, and just cut all of the stringers out ?

The one stringer at a time thing that I heard, doesn't sound like it will really make a difference?

I'm going run down today and get a respirator, and a grinder, so hopefully I can get a bit done this weekend.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Ideally the hull should be supported something like this...

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

I'm just concerned about the weight of all of that against an unsupported hull and the trailer rails. Should make much difference unless it pushes up under a stringer, then you would have too much PL or PB under the rest of the stringer (either side of the hump) if you get what I'm saying.

If the distortion is between the stringers then you may have problems when you foam. If you could use ply or some old 2 x 10s or 2 x 12s it would help spread the load and not have it concentrated under a 2 x 4 or a carpeted bunk rail.

The strongest points on a Vee Hull with everything torn down is the keel line. Everything else would be subject to change, but I'm not a V kinda guy. There are some others out there that have way more experience than I. Be on the look-out for Woodonglass. He has some real good links to what you need in the way off PPE, decks, and stringers, and coatings.

G1Meg, JB, Decker, Bob_VT, and some of the rest (just to name a few) will be more help than I when it comes to your style of boat.

Trailer restorations (boat on Trailer) can be done, just wanted you to be aware of what might happen.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Here is a good way to add support to your hull while it is still on the trailer...
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...-stringer-restoration-639368.html#post4536760
He posted a You tube video also...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TqfHRcMEOIM...

 

[richardh]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

Well I added some support under the boat, still on the trailer, hopefully it works good enough. I've already cut most of the stringer system out now. I still have one of the front ones in because I want to make a template from cardboard before removing it, since its odd shaped. What foam density should I order. There is nothing that supports the deck other than the center stringers. Should i get 4lb foam since its stronger. Or do you think the deck will be fine fiberglassed to the side of the hull with no other support except the center stringers. Orginally the center deck was just removalable plywood to access the fuel tank and then it had a piece of plywood on each side from the edge of the hull to the center stringer. I should have took pictures of this to explain this better.

 

[Mud Puppy]

Re: Stringer Repair/Replace

I should have took pictures of this to explain this better.

Pictures always help. Where does (did) the ply lay on the sides? At the chine or was it further up the wale. I can't imagine if it was, that there wasn't some sort of stringer under the deck on the sides.

If it rested on the chine, tabbing should be fine. Allow some room (gap) between the deck and the side and PB a radius (fillet) to make a nice transition from the ply to the wale.

IMO the 2lb is fine, but there are a lot of restorers out there that have used rigid foam which is 4lb (use either the pink stuff or the blue stuff, not the white Styrofoam as it is made from animal fat and won't take a gas spill). When you calculate the neutral buoyancy, you get more "Float" from the 2lb. If you are close on calculations, you are stuck using the lighter anyway. On a 1500lb boat, the difference between 2lb and 4lb is a mere, 1cubic foot of foam loss. With a Vee bottom, unless your fuel tank and ski locker is massive, I don't think it will be a problem.

Below are a couple links to help you through the calculations with examples:

Flotation

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...ofpZqZ9mNk-M3UaefKRbodQ&bvm=bv.65397613,d.cWc

The second is a downloadable pdf (be careful with all .pdf downloads, but this one comes from the US Coastguard and I have downloaded it with no problems), or just Google "Backyard Boat Builder" or "Flotation Foam". The calculation looks a lot harder than it really is.

I think most boats have been constructed using 2lb pourable from what I have researched, but I may be wrong.

Either one will work and both will support your deck just fine unless your are trying to span a long distance between stringers. Put the stringers back in at the same spacing they were from the factory unless you need to "Beef it up" and the put them closer together.

EDIT: What thickness deck are you going back with?

 

[richardh]

So I'm just about to the point where I can start puting things back togeather. What would you guys recommend for fiberglass for the stringers and deck. The deck will be carpeted over. I was thinking about doing two layers of 1708 for the stringers then capping it in csm. The deck. I'm not sure on, I would use 1708 to attached it to the hull. But I'm not sure if I should cover the entire thing in 1708 or something else. I will be using 1/2 ext. grade plywood for the deck.