drewpster
Commander
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2006
- Messages
- 2,059
After a thorough cleaning, I need to start removing the cores of the stringers in my old tug. They are 40 years old and look to consist of wooden cores covered in heavy roving. I intend to cap the stringers, remove the cores and re-core them. Hopefully I will do this by re-coring the fiberglass channels left after the old cores are removed. The question is, should I grind and sand all the bonding surfaces before removing the old cores? Seems to me it would be easier to grind all this roving while they are still somewhat stiff. After the old cores are gone the sides may be too flimsy to get a good cleaned surface. I intend to fillet the channels and re-cap them by wraping new roving over everything. I am still not certain how extensive the rot is, should I wait and determine how much damaged core is going to be needed? Or should I assume the complete 8 foot stringers need to be replaced?