Stringer Question

[Bradf]

Ive found a hole in one of my stringers just behind (transom side) of my motor... Sure its great for letting the water pass through the stringer to the bilge pump.. but i dont want it to rott the stringer away...(when i stuck my finger in it, it felt a bit slimey/moldy((wow, no sexual pun there))) I was thinking i should drill the hole bigger and fill it with something. or is there a different/better way to leave the hole, making it rott proof, so the water can still pass through?
Brad

[Wicked Performance Boats]

Plug it, then drill it bigger, and coat the inside with fiberglass resin Budlight

[Bradf]

When you say plug it, do you mean with anything?
Thanks for the response!

[Ken F]

Brad,
He means plug it with a piece of dowel or something like that so that you can drill a new hole with a hole-saw or a spade bit. I'd recomend a hole-saw.
The plug is only so that the drill bit in the center of a hole saw has something to run in and keep the actual hole saw running straight.
What I have done in mine was got some brass tube that will fit the hole that you make with the hole-saw, and then use some fiberglass resin to "glue" the brass pipe in, making sure that you get a good seal all around the tube so water can't get to the wood.
The normal way to do it is just paint the inside of the hole with resin to seal the wood.
Hope this helps
Ken F

[Oldsquirt]

Brad, clean the slime out of the hole first. You may find that the hole was glassed or at least resin-ed when the boat was built. In that case you would not need to do anything. That's the way my old Tahiti was and the way my Eliminator is.

[Bradf]

Thanks Ken and oldsquirt
The hole is rather small, maybe 1/4"-3/8 in diameter at most.. it almost looks natural, like it wasnt drilled. That or the stringer splintered when the person pushed through w/ the bit to hard. (there is no matching hole in the other stringer). This scares me, If it is indeed rotting.. im scared to find out just how much has rotted away.

[Ken F]

Ask yourself this question:
Do I need a hole there for water to drain into the bilge while the nose of the boat is somewhat elevated? If you come up with a yes, then it was probably put there, and I would put one in the other side also. At any rate, it's not going to hurt to have a hole there. drill it out a little larger and then seal it well against moisture to the wood. by drilling it a little larger you should be able to tel if the rot has extended past your new hole. think of the bulkheads in an airplane. they are full of holes to lighten them arent they? as long as your hole is round, it's not going to effect the strength of your stringer. (unless you get carried away and drill 2" holes! lol)
Ken F

[SmokinLowriderSS]

I have a hole in each stringer, 1 on each side, and they are right about 1" round, about 18" (aprox) fwd of the transom. A decently large size also prevents some small debris from plugging it up.

[YumaBiesemeyer]

I drilled one on each side and used the brass tube like Ken F did. I used Marinetex to seal mine.