Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

[jaymasta]

hey guys I took up a panel in my floor today becuase I have always been curious what is under it and it looks like some kind of storage area, although it was screwed into the floor really well so I don't think it is, anyways it appears that the stringers are made from fiberglass and thats it, its like a V shape spreading out towards the bottom of the boat and the floor sits on the pointer end, there is a big circular hole in the middle and I can see down to the bottom of the boat and there is no wood in it at all, and it feels extremely strong, anyways just wondering if it could be JUST fiberglass or if this is not possable the boat is a 75 sportsman, built in seatle somewhere....I'll take a picture of it tomorow so you can see what I mean

 

[kfraser]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

It's possible...

I redoing a 21' Larson and had all fiberglass stringers made for the boat. I'm really not sure if any production boats were made this way. I had mine done by Fraser Performance (My brother who makes custom Lobster Yachts in Maine). If yours are strong and you don't have problems, your in good shape.

 

[crunch]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

My 1976 Larson 15' tri-hull has no stringers, just a triangel made of glass from bilge to hull useing the floor as the cross leg.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

These boats were made with fiberglass stringers.

 

[kfraser]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

Mark42 is right. Some of the much smaller runabouts were made with fiberglass stringers. Mostly the 16'foot or under. Small craft that were designed for lake use or very close in the bay.

 

[jaymasta]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

My 1976 Larson 15' tri-hull has no stringers, just a triangel made of glass from bilge to hull useing the floor as the cross leg.

yes that is what it appears to be in my boat also, I'll try to take some pics soon, I keep forgetting, anyways is it a good thing that they are fiberglass, or is it a bad thing?

 

[Buttanic]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

70's era Aquasports had fiberglass stringers.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

"anyways is it a good thing that they are fiberglass, or is it a bad thing?"

That's a Good Thing,.........

Fiberglass doesn't Rot like Wood,.......

About the Only Way to ruin them is to have the Bilge Freeze with Water In it...........

 

[Old Salt Oz]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?


Many older boats had timber stringers glassed, this was later replaced with foam and more glass added in the layup to ensure high strength and less weight.

Today, many stringers are hollow, more and more we see a trend of stringers being reduced thru better design and incorporating things like tanks that provide extra strength in themselves and so reduce the number of stringers.

The old timber stringers that were glassed in had major problems because standard wax resins do not stick well to timber in the long term, and some only had glass on the sides with a resin coat and pigment (Flow-coat) on top. This is not waterproof and the timbers rotted out.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

How would someone go about making there own stringers out of fiberglass?

I am interested in removing my floor of my 1960's old 14 foot fiberglass boat and was thinking of making some fiberglass stringers but don't know how to go about doing it? I read thta someone had pyramid shaped ones in there boat. Can I make some ones like that and then glass them into the bottom of the boat? I would also like to have a fully fiberglass floor, no wood at all, just fiberglass...can that be done? How about a fiberglass transom, can that be done as well? I sure wish it vould, that would be awesome....

 

[kalla man]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

make some molds....a layer of glass over a wood frame..let the glass set up.. sand and finish the surface (fill and smooth if desired)..come back and rub down with releasing wax (a couple times)..then lay a couple layers cloth a layer woven roving and more cloth..let set up and then try to pop it off.... IF you get a nice finish on your mold surface its alot easier to pop, and you get as good a finish on the piece. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE PROJECT.......
s99.photobucket.com/albums/l309/kallaman/

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

What that ad doesn't say is that MFG boats were built using chopper gun methods. Fiberglass was fed into the gun and chopped into short strands, then strands and resin were sprayed together from the gun into the mold. Takes less time and manpower. I don't think any major current boat builder uses this method because hand lay up is considered to be stronger and higher quality. With the chopper gun you are at the mercy of the talent of the operator and if inexperienced, he will lay down a non-uniform layer with thick and thin areas. I am not dissing MFG, just stating the facts.
Way back when, I think it was Wellcraft or Winner boats that used to advertise all plastic egg crate stringer construction and to prove their hull's strength, they used to lift them by helicopter to about 100 feet then drop them into the ocean.

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

Most boat builders down here, don't use wood at all anymore, most use fiberglass or aluminium stringers .........

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

Most boats are still made using a chopper gun and 24 oz roving, nitted fabrics are becoming more common all the time though, the chopper gun will still be around for a while longer.
As in the other thread, pre-making stingers for a one off job is wasting time and money ($$ and time for the molds) when you're on a budget. You will still need to glass them into the hull later, so just use whatever material you want to make the shape you need in the hull and glass over it.

You still need some kind of core for the floor to make it stiff enough, just using glass and/or plastic would be far too heavy. There are cores that won't rot and are light, but they are also high priced, that's why wood is so popular.

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

I was also curiopus to know if it is possible to make a flooring out of fiberglass, so you never have to worry about rot EVER again.....LOL! I have heard of products you can buy to use for flooring engineered floors, but can you make one yourself? How would one go about doing it? I imagine like some sort of very thin foam and then coat both sides of it with thickened fiberglass? Anyone have any great ideas to make a flooring out of fiberglass...I would love to hear it!

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

You can buy sheet foam and glass it on both sides, some companies even make sheats with glass on each side already, it's just the cost of those products that keep most boat builders and DIYrs from doing it.

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

Are you saying that those products are reasonable? I have no idea of what the price is, but am curious...I was thinking like over $200 for a 4 X 8 sheet...

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

Some of the specialty products without glass on each side are in that price range.

 

[Kevin70]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

[colour=red]This[/colour] stuff can be used in place of plywood on the floor and stringers, but it's a little too flexable to use on a transom. Also, you would need more support under the floor such as a few additional bulkheads or some two-part foam. It is made completely out of PVC and will never rot. It comes in dimensional "lumber" sizes and in sheets in all thicknesses.

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: Can stringers be solid fiberglass?

I asked for a request for this stuff, but I don't know how I feel about using something not intended for this purpose...does fiberglass resin stick to pvc? Just curious...I was going to make some sheets of foam with fiberglass on both sides for support....This stuff makes me a little weary...