Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

[Restoration man]

Hi everyone I have a 1989 searay 230 cuddy cabin with a moulded in fiberglass cockpit floor I'm not talking about a wooden floor with gel cote on 'I mean a proper fiberglass floor with none slip moulded into it that drains under the engine ,
The two outer stingers run the full length of the boat right up into the cuddy ,
Now I've done quite a bit of drilling digging and visual inspection and I've fould that only the last 2 foot of these stringers are shot , I dont want to rip out the whole stringer out when less than 10 % is gone , if I did rip the lot out I would need to
Rip out the full cockpit floor including the moulded in steps down to the cuddy and rip out all the bunks in the cabin and I would never be able to make the steps look nice again , now I know I'm going to have to chop some of this moulded in floor up to fix the stringer , but this could be hidden when done with a teak deck of a flexiteak deck to cover the floor where I've hade to remove it and re fit it ,
but if I could join the stringer in a way that it would be compleatly safe then I could save myself one heck of a lot of work ,

So what would be the best way to join the stringer if this is possible ?
Your views please

 

[Georgesalmon]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

Often the wood stringer is more of a form for the fiberglass than the main strength. Except on small boats the wooden part of the stringers are pieced together anyway. If you replace part of the wood just make sure you have a large overlap of the reinforcement. Overlap the joint from old stringer to new stringer at least 8" on each side. Use a couple of extra layers at this joint and you will have more structure than original.

 

[yjanray]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

Well I am not sure if this is what you are talking about, but this is what I did on my old Searay SRV190.
I used a scab piece to attach the new stringer to the existing stringer using 8 5/16" stainless steel carriage bolts





I put resin on the wood, and used PL premium on the wood, then covered the whole thing with fiberglass mat.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

Sure you can. It's called "Sistering" Here's a drawing of how it's done. I'd recommend using epoxy since it's 100% waterproof, Strong as heck and you won't have to worry about it ever breaking loose. You can use 1/2" ext grade plywood and regular 1 1/4" deck screws to do the attachment. Just predrill and then coat the holes and the screws with the epoxy and they will never have a problem. Use a 12 - 18" overlap on the joint and she'll be stronger than the original. As previously stated wrap it all in Resin, CSM, and 1708 Glass and you'll be GOLDEN!!!

 

[F14CRAZY]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

No one believes in scarf joints? When I put new stringers in my Bayliner and had to join the two pieces (for both the left and right stringers) together I cut them with a 5 to 1 angle. Bonded the angled part with straight epoxy and peanut butter, epoxied and peanut buttered a sister piece on the outside (inside would interfere with the gas tank), then 3 layers of 18 oz glass all over the joint. I picked this up from the West System fiberglass repair book

 

[Restoration man]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

Hi everyone thanks for the replies another's quick question as I said earlier only the back 2 foot of the stringer is bad ,
I have had to dig some of the the foam out to get to the stringer, all of it is bone dry so my other question is can I re foam part of the boat, ie only the 2 square foot I've had to dig out to fix the stringer ?

 

[oops!]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

yes you can re foam it.... use proper 2 part pour in foam... not the carp in the spray can at a local hardware store.

click the link im my sig ...look in the first few pages for pics of the stringer joining.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Can you join a stringer (searay 230 cuddy cabin 1989)

Scarf Joints and lap joints are all good and acceptable but the butt joint and sistering method yields a stronger joint and requires 1/2 the time to fabricate. If you can't sister on both sides then the lap and sister one side is the next stongest with the Scarf and sister being the least strongest. But again, for stringer construction ALL will get the job done in an acceptable manner.What ever "Floats your Boat!!!!"