Wood rot HELP

[EddieF17]

@EddieF17 . . . keep in mind that the top of the stringers (engine bay or otherwise) will be relatively dry. The bottom portion of them, closest to the hull, is what matters.

You can test with a $40 moisture meter and a couple of test holes in the glassing of the stringers. Patch the holes as needed.

Yes! I made sure to do 2 front At top and bottom and then 2 top and bottom at the rear of both stringers! I think I really lucked out there because I’m not sure I could tackle a job like that!

For the bilge do you guys think I should add horizontal supports or just keep it as one big hole down the middle? @alldodge

 

[Grub54891]

Put it like it was, if not better. If you want to add more support, go for it,just don’t block access for later.

 

[alldodge]

Yes! I made sure to do 2 front At top and bottom and then 2 top and bottom at the rear of both stringers! I think I really lucked out there because I’m not sure I could tackle a job like that!

For the bilge do you guys think I should add horizontal supports or just keep it as one big hole down the middle? @alldodge

My opinion: others do vary

The boat manufacture made a good boat, they just may not have designed it so it would last. So I wouldn't add more supports unless you want to. Add more FB and make it better then before is all good

 

[EddieF17]

My opinion: others do vary

The boat manufacture made a good boat, they just may not have designed it so it would last. So I wouldn't add more supports unless you want to. Add more FB and make it better then before is all good

 

[EddieF17]

Thought I would update you guys with how it’s going…… it sucks! It’s incredible how much water this plywood can hold and the lack of attention to detail from the manufacture :/! Regardless though they make some sturdy prices and it was no joke taking all of this off. With that being said.

I do have a question: has anybody seen on the second picture with the yellowed out bilge that seems to be cracking? What is this called? Is it of concern?

Also there seems to be 2 2x2 holes that lead into my stringers for the motors? Is that normal? I don’t see how it would be on both sides and if there are holes in the front why wouldn’t their be holes in the back?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thought I would update you guys with how it’s going…… it sucks! It’s incredible how much water this plywood can hold and the lack of attention to detail from the manufacture :/!

Boats were designed with a 15 year life span. Maintenance allowed the service life to be a bit longer.

Your boat is 41 years old. That is almost 3x it's design life

 

[EddieF17]

Boats were designed with a 15 year life span. Maintenance allowed the service life to be a bit longer.

Your boat is 41 years old. That is almost 3x it's design life

It’s a 95 which still puts it at 27 years! But actually when you put it this way I retract my previous statement! You have a really solid point. Unlike my woodrotted bilge and floor

 

[alldodge]

Don't agree with the 15 year but understand the statement

 

[EddieF17]

Don't agree with the 15 year but understand the statement

@alldodge What do you think of those holes in the stringers? Do you think they are factory and have a purpose?

I find it strange that it’s on both sides in the same spot and about the same width and height

From the pic, it looks like the stringers have some rot but when I ran test holes and hit it, they sounded fine :/

 

[alldodge]

IMO
Assuming your talking about the sort or square holes
The holes were placed to drain water away, the problem is they were not sealed, so rot started. It needs to be removed now

 

[EddieF17]

IMO
Assuming your talking about the sort or square holes
The holes were placed to drain water away, the problem is they were not sealed, so rot started. It needs to be removed now

I thought the same thing but I couldn’t justify it since they never made any exit holes for the water, if it got in, to escape but I guess it can’t be helped….I’ll have to see just how much of the stringer was affected.

Any opinion on the first couple of pictures where it appears like the fiberglass is chunking off into yellowish squares?

 

[alldodge]

Not thebest to answer, most likely it was just resin which was thin and had no mesh to hold it together. Resin is not very strong and needs mesh to gain strength

 

[todhunter]

Any opinion on the first couple of pictures where it appears like the fiberglass is chunking off into yellowish squares?

To me it looks like the OEM did a very resin-rich layup and the resin pooled down in the keel before it cured. Resin with no glass is brittle and will crack apart over time. I think that's what you're seeing - likely not a big concern. If it bothers you, or if you need/want to glass over that area, grind out the pool of cracked resin until you get down to glass.

 

[tpenfield]

Sorry to say, but I think there is work to be done in the mid-ship area, based on some of the pictures.

The jury might still be out as to if this boat is worth saving.

 

[EddieF17]

Sorry to say, but I think there is work to be done in the mid-ship area, based on some of the pictures.

The jury might still be out as to if this boat is worth saving.

@tpenfield this part? I haven’t been able to completely remove all the wood from the fiberglass in the bilge, still going to need some time there and from the looks of it some stringer work as well. Is this what you meant?

 

[tpenfield]

@tpenfield this part? I haven’t been able to completely remove all the wood from the fiberglass in the bilge, still going to need some time there and from the looks of it some stringer work as well. Is this what you meant?

My concern is that boats tend to rot from the keel upward AND from the stern towards the bow. You found a fair amount of rot in the bow (cabin), and it seems like there is more to investigate.

Of course your pictures are mostly close-ups so it is hard to tell from an overall perspective.

 

[EddieF17]

My concern is that boats tend to rot from the keel upward AND from the stern towards the bow. You found a fair amount of rot in the bow (cabin), and it seems like there is more to investigate.

Of course your pictures are mostly close-ups so it is hard to tell from an overall perspective.

Do these help? I am just trying to understand better as to what you are saying, I am still very new to anything boating so I apologize

1. Is the bilge with access from the top before taking all the rot out
2. Picture of the inside part of the rear engine support stringer
3. Picture of the bilge from the engine compartment before tear down

In the last photo you can see the waterline where it sat in the water

 

[Baylinerchuck]

What he is saying is that boats rot from the bottom up, not the top down. You need to follow the rot and remove it all. It may require a complete gut job to do it right and get rid of all the rotten wood.