Stinger Questions

[nightvision]

I'm in the process of restoring a 15 trihull fiber glass boat (55 hp). I would appreciate if you can help with a few questions:<br /><br />a. I remove the floor board due to rotting. The stringers look like it's in better shape than the floor board. There's only two stringers (in the middle of the boat) and about 70% is pretty solid wood (glassed in). the other 30% is dry rot. Can I remove just the dry rot and put in a filler material or do I need to remove the entire stringer? What materials would you recommend for a filler material? <br /><br />b. There's only three cross bars down the length of the stringer. The cross bars just connect these two stringers which is about 12 inches long.<br /><br />c. When laying down my floor board, how do i attach the floor boards to the stringers (nail, deck screws, brad nails)? On area where there are no stringers do I screw the floor boards right in to the fiber glass?<br /><br />Hey thanks for helping a newbie.

 

[bh357]

Re: Stinger Questions

I'd replace the entire stringer. That way you're not wondering if you got all the rot out, or if the remainder is starting to rot.<br />As to attaching the floor to the stringers, it gets screwed down. I used galvanized screws, but many people will suggest using stainless screws. The floor does not get screwed down to the hull. Once the floor is screwed to the stringers, it gets fiberglassed to the hull, and completely encapsulated in mat and resin. I used 2 layers of mat covering my floor.<br />Check the transom. If the floor and stringers were rotted, chances are the transom isn't too far behind.<br />Do a search. Many members here have done their own restorations. JasonJ stands out as an excellent example. He did very good write-ups on his restoration.<br /><br />Please post photos if you get a chance, and good luck with the restoration.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Stinger Questions

You could probably get away with marrying new stringer material into the good old material, but with only two stringers and a 15 foot boat, I will recommend replacing both stringers in their entirety. Like BH said, screw to the stringer tops wit stainless or at least galvenized screws, and glass the perimeter. You will definately want to check and repair the transom, mine felt good, but once I tore into it the transom was shot. Once you get that far into it, it is not a big deal to just replace everything. The peace of mind is well worth it. You don't have to mirror how the factory did things, they were into getting boats out the door cheaply and quickly. You can come up with a plan and set the boat up the way you want to, and build it as strong as you want to. One area they seem to skimp on is transom thickness. Invariably the transom is a certain thickness and then they put in a piece of filler ply between the splashwell and transom. The splashwell determines how thick you can go, I like to recommend going as thick as the space between splashwell shell and transom outer shell will allow, and build the entire transom that thickness. That way it is stronger, you can pull skiers and toys more confidently, ane there is much less flex that causes cracks in the gelcoat. Good luck and post pics if you can.

 

[nightvision]

Re: Stinger Questions

Thanks for all the info. I'll have more questions later.