Red Cedar for stringers?

[Sean Riddle]

Anyone ever tried Red Cedar as stringers? Seams like this would be real rot resistant , should soak up epoxy well too. Any thoughts on this idea?????? Thanks again, RR

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

It is supposed to be rot resistant, nice to work with too, I helped to build a strip planked canoe a few years ago using Red Cedar and it was very pleasant, great smell, keeps the moths away apparently!

 

[crab bait]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

way to soft..<br /><br />best stringer wood ,,mohogany,white oak ,BUT NOT NOT NOT RED OAK, cypress, doug fir, even spruce..

 

[GatorMike]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

I doubt cedar would possess any of the structural qualities you would want as stringers.

 

[Sean Riddle]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

I live in Alabama so the only water my '62 Fabuglas is gonna see will be fresh but my concern is we have hot very humid summers here and moderate to very cold winters. I intend to fully cover my new stringers with glass and epoxy. What type wood would you guys recommend for these type conditions???? I would like this repair to last for quit a while so I am tryin to git-r-dun right the first time . Also , I removed the bulkhead and the battery/gastank deck on the back of the boat to the transom , luckily the transom wood is sound. The only weak spot I have found is at the very top edge of the transom on the starboard side, It is about the size of a coffee cup. The screw holes(2) for the old cable/pulley steering where here at one point in time.It is only weak when pushing on it from inside of boat, outer(gelcoat) side is strong like bull. Would I be ok in drilling a few small holes around the outside and center of the weak area and filling it with epoxy , would this be a sound repair? The rest of Transom is strong everywhere , and I have checked and rechecked it many times.Transom does not flex or bow when motor is moved and wood looks like new where I tore the deck and bulkhead away from it. Thanks for any help guys , RR

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Originally posted by Riddlers Ride:<br /> What type wood would you guys recommend for these type conditions???? I would like this repair to last for quit a while so I am tryin to git-r-dun right the first time .

CPES soaked dry Douglas Fir!

 

[self taut]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

i wouldnt recomend the red cedar.just hearsay buti've been told that although cedar has a good rot resistance it is rather brittle.especially when dried.

 

[thejeepster02]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Cedar is too soft, wont hold nails or screws very well. use treated pine

 

[Bert1]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

The other issue with cedar is that the waterproof/rot resistance qualities are usually found in old growth wood. The way they are cutting new growth these years, it does not have the same resistance as wood you would have found 20 to 30 years ago. It is also very soft wood.

 

[ArtSmart]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

I noticed nobody suggested mrine plywood. In my opinion it is the best material for stringers. I replaced stringers recently on my boat, which I guess were made out of Douglas fir. The reason I guess is because there were not much left of them, but rot (and it is a 1980 hull). I replaced them with 3/4" marine ply. Since a 8' was not long enough, I cut the stringer out of two pieces and then butt joined them and epoxied. After you glass over it, it is not going to matter anyway.

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Only thing with ply, marine or otherwise, is that 50% of the grain is running the wrong way! With stringers you need the grain running lengthwise, if you used ply it would need to have a bigger cross-section to achieve the same strength as solid timber.

 

[self taut]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Petrol<br /> would be interested in knowing more on that subject.can you direct me to a site containing that info?

 

[cc lancer]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Southern yellow pine with no knots or layers of marine plywood with all ends overlapping.<br />ArtSmart<br />Layers of plywood have a structural strength approaching steel. There is a 20 foot span in my basement, 3 inches thick 16 inches high, load bearing. The engineers used this rather than steel.

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Self taut, I don't know where you'd find a website with that info, but logic will tell you that if 50% of the grain runs crosswise the wood won't be as strong lengthwise.<br />You can try it if you like, get a strip of ply and a strip of solid timber of the same cross section (similar species) and bend them, the ply will break first (assuming no major flaws in the solid!).

 

[BillP]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

5-6 yrs ago I visited the Pursuit boat factory in Florida to watch a friends hull being laminated. Pursuit was using 1/2" ply for stringers and bulkheads in their 24'CC boats. Pursuit is a tier above most production boats in durability. Also, a neighbor across the street had a late 60s Mako 20'. He busted the transom while running offshore and found 1/2" ply for stringers when redoing it. <br />If I remember right both boats had 4 stringers. The Pursuit's deck sat on the stringers and the Mako's floor suspended over them but didn't touch.

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

The use of ply was probably dictated by cost and ease of use. Ply can be cut to shape quicker and with less waste than solid timber, if I were making production boats I'd probably use it for stringers too, but solid timber is stronger for a given cross-section.

 

[BillP]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

I asked Pursuit why they used ply and the answer was it is easy to work with and cost effective. I thought the cost effective answer was cheezy due to the extra $20k it costs to buy Pursuit over a similar production Wellcraft, Mako, etc.<br /> <br />The downside of using 1/2" ply stringers is they have a small footprint and concentrate loads on the hull. Pursuit layed a foam spacer under the stringers so the load was absorbed totally by the glass holding the stringers down. The wood didn't touch the bottom skin.<br /><br />Regardless of what is used...I don't think replicating the plank stringer tensile strength is the issue...Plank lumber isn't stiff enough without making it thick. I posted that info to show 3/4" ply is plenty strong for stringers in a 62 Fabuglas.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Since you're in Alabama, look for some cypress. May be pricey, but...

 

[Barlow]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Be careful on the information given here guys.<br /><br />By no means is dimensional lumber better suited for this.<br /><br />Plywood has been engineered to perform better for around 50yrs.

 

[petrolhead]

Re: Red Cedar for stringers?

Trees aren't made out of plywood, and nature has been at it rather longer than 50 years. Just an observation.