Stringer replacement question....can't find answer in search

[Steelramhemi]

Got a question about replacing my stringers. Originally I was going to go the seacast route, so I cut the tops off the fiberglass shells and removed all the mulch. But after reading the rot doctor site, they say that if the fiberglass shell is 1/4" thick woven glass (like mine are) that I can just laminate plywood to size and drop into the shell, using pb to secure it to the hull. Then pour a thin epoxy over the wood to fill the voids and spaces and to bond the wood to the glass shell....does this sound doable? If it is it'll save me a bunch of cash over seacast. I really do not want to remove the original fiberglass stringer shells...tht stuff is so thick and solid that I could barely cut it with my die grinders and metal cut off wheels. Plus the foam in this boat is perfect and I do not want to replace it. I left the boat uncovered during a two day rain here with no floor in the boat and the foam is still bone dry...it just does no absorb water, so I got lucky there.in case it matters' my stringers are 1" x 6" from transom to bulkhead, then 1" x 10" from bulkhead to bow.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Stringer replacement question....can't find answer in search

Check the foam again, dig down to the hull and see if it is dry, being dry on the surface means nothing.

Yes you could do it that way with epoxy, you need to glass over the tops of the stringers after the wood is epoxied in place( you probably knew that though).

I would not recommend the product you listed though, thinned epoxies tend to be junk, plus you're paying very high epoxy prices for cheap thinner.

I wouldn't expect a die grinder to make much headway in anything, they don't have much power and are fairly small.

 

[Steelramhemi]

Re: Stringer replacement question....can't find answer in search

Not sure why I put die grinder...it was meant to say air grinder...might be another iPad autocorrect thing...sorry. It's actually a cut off tool, but I call it a grinder.

I took core samples after I removed the floor a few weeks ago and it was dry, down to the hull, right next to the stringer...and I took two more quick ones last night and they were still dry with no standing water on the hull. Plus I would expect some weight if it were holding water, this boat is so light that I have to keep the trailer tongue tied down or the whole boat flips up due to the weight of the little 4 cyl motor. I have to cut out the two flotation boxes this weekend, I'll do more digging then.

Thanks for the help!!