I have started this restoration and am trying to make a dicision on the stringer replacement. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
This is what I am considering. The Fiberglass on the sides of the stringers appears to be in good shape, strong, and well bonded to the hull. The wood inside is soft as a sponge. My current plan is to use my dremmel to remove the fiberglass from the top and scrape out the rotted wood. The original stringers appear to be 2x6 layed on their side and trimmed down towards the nose. Once they are removed, I should have a nice fiberglass shell left. My plan is to patch any bad spots in the fiberglass and form 2 or 3 cross braces between the shells of the old stringers using plywood. I am then planning to fill these cavities with a pourable transom material such as Seacast or Nida-core. I will then re-glass over top of the old shells, add some foam to level everything out and reglass the floor.
From the research that I have done, this material appears to be very stong and should make excellent stringers. It might increase the weight of the hull slightly, but that is the only drawback that I can think of.
Can anyone tell me anything that I am not considering or any reason that this would not make for an easy and durable stringer replacement??
Thanks,
John
This is what I am considering. The Fiberglass on the sides of the stringers appears to be in good shape, strong, and well bonded to the hull. The wood inside is soft as a sponge. My current plan is to use my dremmel to remove the fiberglass from the top and scrape out the rotted wood. The original stringers appear to be 2x6 layed on their side and trimmed down towards the nose. Once they are removed, I should have a nice fiberglass shell left. My plan is to patch any bad spots in the fiberglass and form 2 or 3 cross braces between the shells of the old stringers using plywood. I am then planning to fill these cavities with a pourable transom material such as Seacast or Nida-core. I will then re-glass over top of the old shells, add some foam to level everything out and reglass the floor.
From the research that I have done, this material appears to be very stong and should make excellent stringers. It might increase the weight of the hull slightly, but that is the only drawback that I can think of.
Can anyone tell me anything that I am not considering or any reason that this would not make for an easy and durable stringer replacement??
Thanks,
John
