All Fiberglass Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

[mnypitboat]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

When I started looking for my current boat, I kept telling dealers I did not want carpet. Most of them looked at me like I had 2 heads. What is the deal with carpet in a boat???

I have owned several boats, and until recently they have all been older boats, more than 15 years. Never any rot. Then I found an 01 in I beleive 03 or 04 for a great price. Had been neglected by the origional owner, and eventually reposessed. The deal was too good to pass up, but last year my seat pedestals started breaking loose, and to my surprise there was nothing to reattatch them to. The decking had rotted. The whole time I owned it we either kept it in the garage or covered, but the rot had already set in.

So as has been said over and over, it comes down to maintanance. That boat had rot when it was fairly new. My current boat is an 08 and has no carpet, and had no rot. It is kept covered at all times. If wet, or rained on before its covered, I pull all the cushions out and let it dry out before I put the covers on. When it sits, I have a couple damp rid buckets in it to keep the moisture out. I plan to keep this boat a long time.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

if its man-made, it will fail. that being stated, as chriscraft254 stated, boats are made for profit, just like cars. 5-10 year life expectancy on average. I also agree that the best we can do when looking for a boat, is find one that is well maintained and cared for. if we find rot, we either fix it, sell it (with proper disclosure), or scrap it.

If boats were intended to last forever, we all would still be using birch-bark canoes or hollowed out logs.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: So my thought is that a 15 year old boat that's been stored in water will have damage/stringer rot, but one that has been trailered (or rack stored?) with the plug out should dry out quickly and be fine. Do the experts here agree or disagree?

Sort of. the trailer/rack stored plug out shouldn't be as succeptible to rot. However, since water inevitably gets in the bilge during use, if there is a crack or hole in the fiberglas over the wood parts, water can still get in there and start rot. Likewise, as moored boat with same crack or hole can have the problems. But if the boat is moored correctly, there's only that pint or so back in the stern, which shouldn't cause any problems. The number of old boats doing just fine shows this.

So I'd agree that the rack-stored boat is less likely to have rot but disagree that the moored boat is likely to have it. A trailered (i.e. stored outdoors) boat is just as likely to have issues as a moored boat, b/c each has the probability of rain water entering.

Someone mentioned air flow--that's as important as a drain. trapped moisture is the problem.

There's the dynamic that cold weather boats have expansion/contraction from small amounts of water in cracks that open it up to problems, but warm weather boats have more fungus growth.

Isn't the answer that no, ALL boats > 15 years old do not have rotten stringers, but many can and do. Why those that have rot, have it, is subject to many variables.

 

[gonefishy]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Thanks for all the replies! It is easy to tell the boats that are left out in the yard uncovered with the cracked interiors or the faded paint on the covered ones. The problem is the good looking boats that maybe spend a couple of weeks in the water on vacation then are trailered home to the garage or shed without pulling the drain plug and the bilge water eventually is absorbed or evaporates. The owner won't admit to that and if questioned will probably say he just put it in. Seems as though you almost need to buy a moisture meter to go shopping for a used boat but I'll bet they are expensive. Hiring someone to check them would probably be too expensive to check out a few $6000 boats till you find a good one. The resale values should not be so high on 15-20 year old boats but these are all likely bought by first time boat owners who don't know any better.

 

[riptorn]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Not all boats stored indoors dry out unless heated. I stored my boat in my attached garage for the winter with no cover and in the spring I took the ski hatch cover off (stupid me) and there was about a quart of water sitting in there.

 

[roscoe]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

If boats were intended to last forever, we all would still be using birch-bark canoes or hollowed out logs.

No, we'd all have '70's era aluminum Starcrafts, with no wood below the sole/deck/floor.

Or a 1958 Meyers. Or a pre Brunswick Fisher Marine. Hey, stop looking in my garage.

 

[gtochris]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

I had never heard of all this rot until I joined this forum, .

Agreed! IMO, if the boat requires an interior, flooring and has spent lots of time un-covered, likely has underlying issues, for my own 15YO boat I'm really not concerned as it has had a rather pampered life and I put it away dry.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Just from my own experience relating to the current issues that I am having with my boat, I can see that rot was probably taking hold at about 15 years of age.

I found quite a few small voids in the fiberglass encapsulation in both the firewall bulkhead and in the engine mount stringers. Some of these voids were so small and obscure, the only way I noticed them was when I poured anti-freeze into a fully glass stringer cavity. . . the antifreeze leaked out at the bottom of the stringer form in several places . . . corners, pass-thru drainage ducts, etc.

Likely these voids allowed water from overnight condensation (i.e. morning dew) to migrate into the wood structure. The bulkhead had more obvious voids than the engine mount stringers,

 

[wagnerz]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

People really leave the drain plugs in their boats? I have never seen anyone leave it in at the dock, almost everyone opens it up. Why would you not take the drain plug out?

 

[jasoutside]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Huh, just seems like so many have this problem I assumed they build em rotted out right there at the factory




Metal boats rule



I'm otta here

 

[dingbat]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

People really leave the drain plugs in their boats? I have never seen anyone leave it in at the dock, almost everyone opens it up. Why would you not take the drain plug out?

My drain plug has come out twice since I bought the boat 6 years ago. Self bailing cockpit. Everything goes overboard. Even the cupholders have drains on them.

 

[gonefishy]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

People really leave the drain plugs in their boats? I have never seen anyone leave it in at the dock, almost everyone opens it up. Why would you not take the drain plug out?

Newbies don't know any better. My first year I didn't. Fortunately my1976 Jamaica Cherokee is an aluminum hull and the transom sits high enough above the bilge that the little bit of water didn't do any harm the transom is solid.

 

[oops!]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

lol....i dont want this to turn into a doom and gloom thread.

as a guy that works on boats all the time, and owns a repair shop for exactly this problem. let me throw in my 2 pennies.

there is no such thing as a waterproof boat. aluminium or glass.......rotten stringers are the evidence of this. and in the case of an aluminium boat......even a welded alum hull can waterlog the foam. there are several threads in the dry dock right now about it.

even the totally sealed Boston whalers, with no wood, completely foam filled, can waterlog.

this can happen for several reasons. condensation, leaching, can even start this process.
water is every where on this planet.....even in the air. water, or moisture, is the breeding ground for the fungus that we know is rot.

the best cure, is to keep the boat covered....a garage works well.....even a tent. boat covered, bow up high, and leave any access to below decks open.

i have seen 60 year old boats with no rot...no bad foam.

generally speaking, a boat with basic care, will can outlast a car.

this is a pic of the first jetboat brought into canada....it has never been restored.

 

[98Shabah]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Wow, love that boat Oops!

An example of care.. A neighbor about 5 houses up from me bought a brand new Tahoe 18' a year and a half ago at the same time he bought a gorgeous new Chevy 2500. The boat has sat in the driveway uncovered the ENTIRE time, bow down, outdrive in the trailer position... I've seen it covered in ice, snow, and sitting out in the blistering sun. Of course from the outside it still looks like a brand new boat, but the vinyl interior is already yellowing and I can't imagine how much it weighs now with all that wet foam and rotting wood. I've never seen the thing move from the driveway.. Maybe he bought it as a decoration?

 

[JimS123]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

People really leave the drain plugs in their boats? I have never seen anyone leave it in at the dock, almost everyone opens it up. Why would you not take the drain plug out?

Uhhh, because there is no water in the bilge! My plug was taken out the day I brought it home when it was new - hasn't been out now in 28 years.

My boat had water in the bilge exactly twice - the day I bought it (the dealer left it uncovered when they were prepping it - before the cover was made), and once last Summer when we got hit by a fluke t-storm. When we swim we throw a towel on the floor when we come in and out. Any remaining drops that collect in the bilge evaporate from the heat of the engine on the way back to the dock.

After 28 years I see no soft spots anywhere - the deck appears to be as good as new.

I ran into my previous boat last year. The second owner garage kept it all these years as well. Now there's a 41 year old fiberglass boat and its deck is perfect as well.

One is a Stingray, the other a Silverline. Both made with wood stringers. The bottom line is if you keep the hull dry and out of the elements it'll probably outlast you!

My other ALL wood boat is now 60 this year and it has no rot anywhere either. But that's a different story!

 

[gonefishy]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

My boat had water in the bilge exactly twice - the day I bought it (the dealer left it uncovered when they were prepping it - before the cover was made), and once last Summer when we got hit by a fluke t-storm. When we swim we throw a towel on the floor when we come in and out. Any remaining drops that collect in the bilge evaporate from the heat of the engine on the way back to the dock.

After 28 years I see no soft spots anywhere - the deck appears to be as good as new.

OK sounds like a safe bet how much for the Stingray?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

People really leave the drain plugs in their boats? I have never seen anyone leave it in at the dock, almost everyone opens it up. Why would you not take the drain plug out?

Yea, the last time I pulled the drain plug after using my boat, it sunk right there at the mooring

 

[Davem3]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Yea, the last time I pulled the drain plug after using my boat, it sunk right there at the mooring

don't you just hate it when that happens ?????

tin rules

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

My drain plug has come out twice since I bought the boat 6 years ago. Self bailing cockpit. Everything goes overboard. Even the cupholders have drains on them.

Yeah but all you have to do is look at older gradys that have been tore down and rebuilt to tell that they still get water under the cap. Self bailing helps but not all water intrusions make it to the bilge areas. I had a seafarer 22 that was a great fishing boat but the trim and finish and latches etc all fell apart within 5 years of it being new. Is every screw hole on your boat sealed?

Not knocking your boat, I like it, just saying, water intrusion can come in many fashions and the water that makes it to the bilge areas isn't the issue because most of that water will be pumped out or drained. Its the water you don't see thats the problem.

The most recent grady i had bought was a 1990 center consol 20. The decks were soft and after ripping into her to see what the issues were, I traded the boat for the motor now in my Chris Craft. I don't think the guy has done anything with it. It was also self bailing like all Grady's

 

[JimS123]

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

Re: All Fiberglas Boats Have Rotten Stringers After 15 Years?

OK sounds like a safe bet how much for the Stingray?

The Stingray is a 1984 and since that time I've contemplated a new one every year at every local boat show. Ordinarily I would quote a selling price of about $25,000 (so I could make an even trade), but since I haven't found one I like better I'm just going to have to pass on your offer.