need some guidance. stringers & transom

[dan4836]

I can give you some insight on the stringers but not on the transom. My transom is in good condition and I only (only) had to do the stringers and floor.

I completed this project over the winter (mostly spring because we had a harsh winter in the Northeast)

During my initial research, I found I could do the stingers a few different ways:

1) Remove the stingers completely, add new wood and glass over. This is similar to the way they were originally constructed.

2) Cut the tops and remove the 1" X material (yes it is a solid piece of wood that will be rotten except for the bulkheads which are plywood) You will find the solid piece of wood is much easier to remove than the plywood. After rot is removed, I could pour Seacast or Arjay

3) Cut the tops of the stringers, remove rot, add new wood and glass over.

4) Leave the stringers alone and glass over with a layup of 1708 and chopped strand making the hollow stringers structural.

I opted to do number 3 and added 3/4" plywood and glassed over with 1708 and chopped strand. When I was done, they felt the steel beams.

This was a lot of work and I was tempted to do #4 but a lot of people said I should not leave any rot in the boat and I agree. The amount of work was much more but I am happy with the results.

For the stringers and the floor, I used (2) five gallon buckets of polyester resin and (1) gallon of putty (thickened resin with hair) I purchased all my products from Barnaget Light Fiberglass. They were really helpful in making material list and technical help.

For the floor, I chose 3/4" plywood with one layer of chopped strand on the bottom and two layers on top.

It's amazing this boat floats with the added weight but speed is not my concern. If I can cruise at 23 knots (I have the I/O 470 Mercruiser) and feel safe in the ocean when it gets nasty, that is my goals.

Also, I did not foam. I will be adding at least one 4,000 gallon rule pump with two backups, most likely at 2,000 and 1,000 because all water drains into the bilge.

I hope this helps.