Stringer replacement - Weep Holes

[Andrewt57]

In 2015 I had a supposed professional replace the stringers and floor in a 1969 run-about. the original picture is what they removed from the boat. Image repair1 and repair2 were taken as they did the work. Jump forward to a few weeks ago, and it seems the cover was collecting water on the starboard rear corner for the past 2 years. The boat was raised in the front and based on how the floor and stringers have softened, the water was enough to fill the outer stringer, then overflow to the second stringer.
the outer stringer is all but paper, the back 6' of the second stringer is lost..

I've read a lot of the posts on the forum, but haven't seen my question of placing weep holes at strategic locations on the stringers.

Judging from these pictures, the company did not put any horizontal support between the stringers. (The foam is quite stiff.)

the plywood stringers are not wrapped 100% in fiberglass.

I will be replacing the entire outer starboard stringer and about 7' of the adjacent stringer.
I plan to use cedar, I plan to put 1/2 moon weep holes at the rear and middle of the stringers.
I plan to wrap the stringer in fiberglass.
I plan to add weep holes into the engine box.
I also plan to glue a sheet of aluminum onto the rear starboard area of the floor that curls up the walls, and transom, and lips over into the engine box area, then glue down the replacement carpet.

All comments are greatly appreciated.

andrewt57

 

[frazoo]

Limber holes strategically placed are a good idea to stop pooling that will create rot.

 

[chevymaher]

Looks like raw wood and they only used enough foam to hold them up. I completely sealed my stringers before they went in then put several layers of tabbing,. It is just my opinion but weep holes are a short cut. It should be made so no water gets in. The weep hole thing says in a nutshell. We know we did a bad job and water is getting in there the second it is dewey out. If it rains in there watch out. Water cant get out but at least it is able to get to all of it soaking all the raw wood to rot.

 

[cptbill]

Limber holes is a yes Is that red stuff the stuff they sell at the local bige box as a coating to water prof bath rooms? I think the stringers should be incased in fiberglass or west or something like that

 

[Andrewt57]

Limber holes strategically placed are a good idea to stop pooling that will create rot.

Limber hole is a new word for my aging vocabulary. This seemed to be such a logical thing for them to have done. (GEEZE)

 

[Andrewt57]

Looks like raw wood and they only used enough foam to hold them up. I completely sealed my stringers before they went in then put several layers of tabbing,. It is just my opinion but weep holes are a short cut. It should be made so no water gets in. The weep hole thing says in a nutshell. We know we did a bad job and water is getting in there the second it is dewey out. If it rains in there watch out. Water cant get out but at least it is able to get to all of it soaking all the raw wood to rot.

I would think a totally seal floor will create its own moisture via condensation from the boat being in cold water and the sun heating up the floor.

There is fiberglass along the bottom 3 to 5 inches of each stringer, so at least the foam wasn't used to stand the boards up.

Here are additional photos of the floor that rotted. At least the rot stopped where the floor had plywood joints.

The stringers appear solid as I reach up under the floor and strike them with a hammer. My buddy is going to let me borrow a surface moisture meter, and I'll be able to confirm if they are dry.

I've ripped up this much floor, and I suppose I could rip up the rest of it.

For what it's worth, the boat is a 1969 "Tom Sawyer" that my uncle bought new. It's a Merc 225, 327/4bbl through the hull exhaust. And making it perhaps the only one of its kind, it has a Kiekhaefer Mercruiser type II 1:1.78 outdrive. (holds 9 quarts of 150 gear lube, and external water pickup and belt drive pump.)

Just trying to do my uncle proud.

 

[todhunter]

Hammer tapping on fiberglass won't tell you anything useful. I'd pull up the rest of the floor and drill core samples to test for rot.

 

[chevymaher]

From what i am seeing weep holes were actually used to insert the rod that injected the 2 part foam. It wasn't to breath.

Look at it this way if it is sealed it is like a jar with a lid on it. Only moisture in there is what was in there when it was sealed. Temp changes do not create water that was not already there. A hole will let it in as temps change. Dew is dew and it is absorbing into the wood.

The stringers should be completely covered. I put them on a bench and covered every bit of any wood I used with csm. Then whatever I used doing the installation. so the minimum mine had was 3 layers of csm between the deck and top of stringer. One on the stringer one on the bottom of the deck and one to attach it. And top few inches of stringers top had only 1 layer of csm and one layer of 1708. Bottom had 2 csm the first coating on the bench. One of tabbing and 2 layers of 1708. Bulkheads same treatment. Any holes drilled had glass put in them. Woodenglass instructions in the stickies.

Zero bare wood is the correct answer. No water should be getting in to need let out.

 

[Reserector_]

That "Repair" looks like a quick, cheap, shoddy job to be honest. Cheap rough plywood is the least of the sins. Barely any tabbing to the hull. Bare wood coated with some red stuff that clearly did not seal the wood. Cavities not filled with foam as they should be.
If they did not replace the bulkheads between the stringers, they SHOULD have because those create separate air-tight compartments.
Many boat companies did not completely glass the stringers; tabbing only. They also did not glass the bottom of the floor (sole). Many of those boats are rotted and junked, or ripped out and done right.
Fully glass the stringers. At least two layers of 1708 tabbing covering thickened resin fillets. Pre-glass the bottom of the sole and glue it down with thickened resin, resin and csm, or a waterproof adhesive so that there are few or no screw holes to allow leaks.
Ideally, the goal is to make the cavities AIR tight and then fill with foam. The foam is to prevent loss of flotation if a cavity is breached.
Installing foam through holes in the sole pushes most of the air out, so there is virtually no air to condensate. And any humidity that might remain won't get through the fiberglass that you wrapped your wood with.

Therefore, no weep holes. The only exception would be through a bulkhead or bulkheads that are at the back of a ski locker that have to drain to the bilge. Those, however, are not foamed areas.

It's a cool boat. It's worth the effort.

 

[Andrewt57]

That "Repair" looks like a quick, cheap, shoddy job to be honest. Cheap rough plywood is the least of the sins. Barely any tabbing to the hull. Bare wood coated with some red stuff that clearly did not seal the wood. Cavities not filled with foam as they should be.
If they did not replace the bulkheads between the stringers, they SHOULD have because those create separate air-tight compartments.
Many boat companies did not completely glass the stringers; tabbing only. They also did not glass the bottom of the floor (sole). Many of those boats are rotted and junked, or ripped out and done right.
Fully glass the stringers. At least two layers of 1708 tabbing covering thickened resin fillets. Pre-glass the bottom of the sole and glue it down with thickened resin, resin and csm, or a waterproof adhesive so that there are few or no screw holes to allow leaks.
Ideally, the goal is to make the cavities AIR tight and then fill with foam. The foam is to prevent loss of flotation if a cavity is breached.
Installing foam through holes in the sole pushes most of the air out, so there is virtually no air to condensate. And any humidity that might remain won't get through the fiberglass that you wrapped your wood with.

Therefore, no weep holes. The only exception would be through a bulkhead or bulkheads that are at the back of a ski locker that have to drain to the bilge. Those, however, are not foamed areas.

It's a cool boat. It's worth the effort.

Both you and Chevymaher have made excellent points.

 

[Reserector_]

Other positives about a proper foam fill is that it sound-deadens the hull and stiffens it.