Re: Do most old boats needs new floors?
.... Eventually the epoxy will crack allowing moisture in, but it can never get out. After that it will rot at an accelerated pace.....
I think there's a lot of truth to this, I've seen some really well covered wood transoms in aluminum boats rot out in far less time than the original uncoated, untreated wood did. If the encased wood can't breath or dry out if there's a breach in the coating, it will no doubt rot. The same thing for a deck which is completely coated on both sides. Two of my Starcraft aluminum boats are getting due for a deck, one will need a transom as well. The transom on my 18' is rock solid yet after 40 years, and it's been stored outdoors under a lean too and in a boat house prior to my buying it.
I like the idea of a boat being wood free, the kind of boat that can sit bow high and never worry about rot, but so far those are far and few between and certainly not in my budget or price range.
I have seriously considered several wood substitutes but none have the total strength of wood pound for pound.
The idea of cardboard for stringer forms isn't new, Starcraft used cardboard tubes to form their stringers in 1962 on several models. Even once the cardboard is long gone and turned to slimy wet goo, the stringers are still just as strong as when new.
A buddy of mine built a small duck boat by making fiberglass tubes, using PVC tubing, then ripping the tubes in half length wise and using the half round fiberglass sections for his stringers all across the bottom of the hull. This resulted in a completely fiberglass lower hull. He used rigid foam for the main hull form, which remained encapsulated as flotation when all done.
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