Building stringers

[wallybme]

What do you use to glue plywood together when making your stringers? How many pieces of ply do you use?

 

[tschmidty]

Re: Building stringers

Epoxy. Totally encapsulated. Use whatever ply it takes to rebuild to the originals. Or more if you want to beef it up.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Building stringers

Gorilla glue or PL or epoxy but I do think using epoxy is the highest cost.

You want to clamp or screw the pieces together until dry and then install and cover completely with fiberglass, poly resin or epoxy resin

 

[osborn159]

Re: Building stringers

i chose pl premium for ease of use, used it to glue stringers and transom together and to glue them into the hull so far, will also use it on top of the stringers b4 the deck panels go down to minimize screws.
great stuff easy to work with, sticks like stink, if you decide to go this route i suggest buying the 28oz tubes and the caulk gun to fit, the 10oz tubes are $5and the 28oz is $7 the bigger caulk gun for econo model was $9 so far ive used 5 tubes. probly will wind up around 7-8 tubes for the whole project.

 

[osborn159]

Re: Building stringers

if you go w/ pl as adhesive let it cure completly b4 glassing the chemicals react and the glue disolves into what looks like milk, dont ask how i know this.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Building stringers

if you go w/ pl as adhesive let it cure completly b4 glassing the chemicals react and the glue disolves into what looks like milk, dont ask how i know this.

LOL - yes, I know. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

Another thing about PL. As you continue with your project and use it more, you'll soon learn that curing time can mean you need to wait a day or two before you can get back to work. As it cures, it "skins over" on the top and the middle make take longer to cure - a real mess if you hit it with the sander. Just be careful if you're using it for bedding or fairing. Don't use any more than necessary and smooth and shape as you go.

 

[Robert4Winns]

Re: Building stringers

if you go w/ pl as adhesive let it cure completly b4 glassing the chemicals react and the glue disolves into what looks like milk, dont ask how i know this.

How long does it take to completely cure, and is there a good way to confirm that it is?
Also, when using PL to laminate two pieces of plywood do you just squeeze a big blob out of the tube and spread it with a v-notched trowell, or is there a better way?

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Building stringers

I'd recommend gorilla glue over PL, and epoxy over either.

Both PL and gorilla glue need moisture (water) to cure fully.. if they're blocked off from it they tend to not cure quickly (or at all). PL is worse for this because in thicker applications it can form a skin that protects the center of the blob from water, and days later it can still be moist.

So if you use PL, use it thin. Keep in mind that only the moisture trapped in the wood will be there for curing away from the edges of the stringers, so if it's dry it may take a while.

Gorilla glue recommends you spray water on porous surfaces before gluing them, and I'd expect that would be enough to cure it. Very strong stuff, not quite as good as epoxy. I'd say it's roughly equal in strength to poly resin and mat, but better at sticking to more things.

Epoxy thickened with a filler would be my choice. More expensive than PL or GG, but not that much more, and it's stronger than either one. It's also better at sticking to things than both, although GG is close.

Erik

 

[wallybme]

Re: Building stringers

Is this a stringer or a deck support?

The top is about 1 and 3/4" wide; the total height about 11." I cut thinking that it was the same thickness but was surprised that after 2" deep cutting, only a glassed 1/2" marine plywood supported the deck. the deck is very strong.
The foam is completely dry. Should I replace them. They are in pieces, not poured.

Should I replace it? This is the results of a test I carried out on the weakest part of the existing deck.
This is a 1978 Glastron Adventura 210

 

[jonesg]

Re: Building stringers

Heres a simple way to find out.
If its glassed to the hull its a stringer.
If it reaches the deck its both.

If stringers aren't not compromised, wet or dry rotted I'd leave em.
If the foam is dry leave it.