whats considered rotted stringers?

[purpony]

The more i look at my stringers, the more i think they DO NOT need to be replaced. My stringers seem damp, but when poked with a screwdriver, they seem solid. They are dark in color but dont seem soft. When i removed the floor, there was ice crystals between the foam and deck, but now that the deck has been removed the foam seems fine. Should i continue on my path of replacing the stringers, or can i just leave them and the foam in and put a new deck on?

 

[MTribe08]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

The more i look at my stringers, the more i think they DO NOT need to be replaced. My stringers seem damp, but when poked with a screwdriver, they seem solid. They are dark in color but dont seem soft. When i removed the floor, there was ice crystals between the foam and deck, but now that the deck has been removed the foam seems fine. Should i continue on my path of replacing the stringers, or can i just leave them and the foam in and put a new deck on?

Are you sure your stringers aren't water logged and now frozen??

What you need to do is drill some exploratory holes in the stringers...You'll know if they are rotted or not..does the bit pull out nice dry sawdust, or wet mulch? Worse yet, does the bit just fall through like the wood is hollow?

If the wood turns out to be solid and dry, use some 3m 5200 to seal the hole and be done..if not, probably time to rip them out and get new wood and glass in there.

 

[apd855]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

The first stage of boat restorationism, denial.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

Yep denial. Been there.

 

[lowkee]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

Mine just needed a new transom gasket.

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

Hello all,
I think we have all been here done that, and that, and that, and ect.......
A little wood some new carpet and back in the water.
Bob

 

[MTribe08]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

Hello all,
I think we have all been here done that, and that, and that, and ect.......
A little wood some new carpet and back in the water.
Bob

Just a little 1'x1' patch and I'll be good to go...yea, prolly not.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

I think this is one of those "if you have to ask...." it's probably rotten kinda questions

 

[jspano]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

purpony

i'm not an expert....but i would try to clean up everything and thaw it out.
drill some small holes over the area in question and try to be objective. odds are they are bad but maybe not. look at other fiberglass treads for some perspective insight. look at oops, micks, archbuilder and many others. if you look you'll see not too many didn't need to be done. just the fact that there's ice down there seems to show the boat was not properly stored.
just my opinion

good luck

 

[tallcanadian]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

I didn't think mine were rotten either, until I tried to remove them.

They look alright.

Guess I was wrong.

 

[purpony]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

They probably are frozen. I thought about it more today and decided to replace them either way, good or bad. Im this far along already, a little more cost and time and ill know the boat is completely rebuild. Now that i own it, it will always be properly stored.

 

[jspano]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

probably the smart thing to do good luck

 

[micks110]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

LOL- Brings back memories about my denial stage. That lasted about 20 seconds once the deck was off. Then the reality of it sinks in- it goes kinda like this- "I need a new deck, new transom, and now new stringers too... ****, what did I get myself into"

Good Luck with your project- it will take some time but you will be happy in the end knowing you did the right thing.

 

[iqxoqlms]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

I looked at my "new" boat in freezing temps too. Here are my stringers. I think they qualify for rotted...

 

[MTribe08]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

I looked at my "new" boat in freezing temps too. Here are my stringers. I think they qualify for rotted...

Haha..that second pick pretty much sums up what I cleaned out...basically just dirt....How does one "Truely" know if the stringers are good under the deck when looking to buy? I doubt the owner would like you drilling holes

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: whats considered rotted stringers?

In addition if there is water under there and it is in the foam, the stringers WILL be bad in no time as the foam never dries once saturated....