Stringers stringers stringers

[AltaMira]

Hey Folks,
I have a 1966, 16' LoneStar fiberglass boat. It had foam under the deck sandwiched in for support. I have removed all the foam as it was quite water logged, I have also removed the deck. What I have now is a hull with no support, I need to glass some stringers in there to support it, then re-deck it. Does anyone have any experience in adding stringers from scratch? How do I attach them to the hull, or will glassing them be be enough. How many stringers should I add? I know, lots of questions, any help would be great.

 

[drewpster]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

There are several transom and stringer projects going on in the forum right now. You can refer to my tri-hull project below or continue to do some research. The search function is also an option. Do some looking around and I am sure you will find what you need.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

Just replace what you removed, save the old if possible for templates.

I find it easier to trial fit the stringer, then remove and glass both sides with mat, seal ther edges real good with 3 applications of resin and then glass the stringers to the hull.

Read up on grinding the old glass down to accept new resin, gotta get the old out and prep for the new.
Be sure to buy unwaxed resin, not home depot resin.

 

[redfury]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

Just replace what you removed, save the old if possible for templates.

I find it easier to trial fit the stringer, then remove and glass both sides with mat, seal ther edges real good with 3 applications of resin and then glass the stringers to the hull.

Read up on grinding the old glass down to accept new resin, gotta get the old out and prep for the new.
Be sure to buy unwaxed resin, not home depot resin.

Templates of the old stringer profile will go a long way towards getting new ones in...I sweated the process because I just ripped and gripped it without regard to what was there ( there wasn't much anyway ).

Most importantly though, is to make sure you grind down to good glass well beyond the original stringers...you'd be surprised at how much surface area you will actually glass beyond the stringers themselves...learn from my mistake. Don't think that just a light scuffing and a little acetone is enough to get good adhesion...you want the new glass up against raw old glass...gotta get rid of all the garbage on the surface. Just be careful to not get too aggressive though, I managed to zip a few places a little thin. If you manage to do that, no worries, just a little extra glassing to do.

 

[AltaMira]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

Thanks guys,

I would love to copy the existing stringers, but the boat doesn't have any, it is molded lapstrake and the foam was sandwiched between the deck and the hull for stability, never had stringers.

 

[redfury]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

Well, if there were no stringers, then you have to use the post and scribe method to get the hull curvature, and then you can use a stringline to find the height and cut line for the top of the stringers.

 

[AltaMira]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

How many stringers would you suggest Red?

 

[notsunkyet]

Re: Stringers stringers stringers

it should only need two three tops .. my bayliner only had 2 and that is what i went back with.