1"vs 2" stringers

[holorinhal]

Why is it that Some boats are built with 1" stringers and others have the realy thick 2" stringers?
Boats like the daytona and stealth tunnels ,some CP's and others are built with skinny stringers and others have thick stringers.
Are the 1'' stringers sufficient (Strength wise) to mount engines and seats and rigging,to and still lend enough hull support?
I do really like the looks of the skinny stringers vs thick ones.
When looking for stringer wood it is hard to find kiln dried doug fir in the 2x6 (1 1/2"thick),or any that is not overly bowed or twisted. I can find nice dry doug fir and other woods that are 1x6(3/4"thick)and are nice ,straight and not twisted. the 2x6 stringers are 1 3/4"when wraped in 4 layers of glass,and the 1" stringers are 1" when wraped in its 4 layers of glass.
Just wondering if Icould use the 1" stringers instead of the 2"......Hal

[BrendellaJet]

Try a search. there was a thread on this in vdrives about a month or so ago. 1 inch stringers are fine.

[Wicked Performance Boats]

Hal, Just laminate 2 one inch stringers together with a layer of mat in between. A few stainless screws will hold it together/ with clamps till it dries. It will be stronger because you have 2 different wood grain patterns. Pat

[BrendellaJet]

Hal, Just laminate 2 one inch stringers together with a layer of mat in between. A few stainless screws will hold it together/ with clamps till it dries. It will be stronger because you have 2 different wood grain patterns. Pat
uhhh, pretty sure thats not what he is asking about.

[Wicked Performance Boats]

uhhh, pretty sure thats not what he is asking about.
?????? Hal asked about strength. I know Hal's boat is an older one. But apparently you haven't met Hal. He's a large guy[ no offense Hal]. Tunnel boat tend to be more rigid than a simi-V as they have more bends or corners in the bottom. However 2" stringers require less bracing to give added support. And in your boat Hal that's my recommendation. Pat plus You can get clear Douglas fir at Home Depot in 1"X 12'

[Taylorman]

I just had my stringers replaced and the fiberglass shop used two pieces of 3/4" plywood to form my stringers. He used treated plywood from Home Depot, so why do you need kiln dried fir?

[Wicked Performance Boats]

I just had my stringers replaced and the fiberglass shop used two pieces of 3/4" plywood to form my stringers. He used treated plywood from Home Depot, so why do you need kiln dried fir?
Kilm dried fir is the standard. Plywood? I'd be worried if water got to the plywood over time it would delaminate much quicker. Pat

[BrendellaJet]

?????? Hal asked about strength. I know Hal's boat is an older one. But apparently you haven't met Hal. He's a large guy[ no offense Hal]. Tunnel boat tend to be more rigid than a simi-V as they have more bends or corners in the bottom. However 2" stringers require less bracing to give added support. And in your boat Hal that's my recommendation. Pat plus You can get clear Douglas fir at Home Depot in 1"X 12'
He didn't ask if he should put 2 one inch stringers together. He asked if a one inch stringer is strong enough.
Hal I've god a mild v bottom boat with 1 inch stringers. boat is 6-700 lbs. It is stout and the stringers are solid, have been beaten on since 1978 and they are still going strong. The guy I bought my boat from weighed a good 350 lbs. The seat didn't like him much, but the stringers didn't care(they support the motor after all).

[Nucking futs]

He didn't ask if he should put 2 one inch stringers together. He asked if a one inch stringer is strong enough.
Hal I've god a mild v bottom boat with 1 inch stringers. boat is 6-700 lbs. It is stout and the stringers are solid, have been beaten on since 1978 and they are still going strong. The guy I bought my boat from weighed a good 350 lbs. The seat didn't like him much, but the stringers didn't care(they support the motor after all).
Do you have a sub floor?
1" is the standard in tunnel hulls like pat said due to the bends and such which makes it a bit more rigid and on some tunnels there is wood laid down on the flats. A v bottom needs more strength length wise due to flexing. They will flex both forward (like a wave) and sideways wanting to curl the hull inwards and try to fold it.If you have a sub floor installed that will help the curling effect as will the gunnel suppots. Either way it all depends on how it was manufactured and the load bearing effects that were engineered into the hull. All hulls are designed different and what is good for one wont be good for another. I would go with the 2" on a V bottom, but what do I know??
On a 1/4 stringer boat the floor is its strength..period!!

[4trax]

My kid runs two on each side.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/4trax67/Boating%20members%20boats/100_1499.jpg?t=1178136250

[holorinhal]

Yes My boat has a sub floor.It was a removable floor ,but when I replace the stringers the new floor will be glassed in solid with the stringers.I want to do an exposed wood floor and stringers(wood shows through the glass ,No carpet!)with wood laminate outer floors.All the 2x6 material that I find is green,full of knots,split,and bowed or twisted to hell and back.However like Pat said ,I can find nice straight,clear,dry doug fir in 1" stock.
I also like te look of the 1" stringer,and am trying to save a little weight.The 2" are heavy as hell!
I spent almost an hour picking through the pile ,managed to find two that were prety staight ,they wer'nt that clear,and were green as hell..I set them out to dry and after a week they had split and warped,despite being weighted down.
Brendella I did find the thread in V-Drives,and Wannabe racing had a very good support for 1" stringers(I wish I knew how to link to it.
The main reason for my intrest in the 1" srtingers are weight saving,look's and ease of finding good material....Hal

[BrendellaJet]

Do you have a sub floor?
1" is the standard in tunnel hulls like pat said due to the bends and such which makes it a bit more rigid and on some tunnels there is wood laid down on the flats. A v bottom needs more strength length wise due to flexing. They will flex both forward (like a wave) and sideways wanting to curl the hull inwards and try to fold it.If you have a sub floor installed that will help the curling effect as will the gunnel suppots. Either way it all depends on how it was manufactured and the load bearing effects that were engineered into the hull. All hulls are designed different and what is good for one wont be good for another. I would go with the 2" on a V bottom, but what do I know??
On a 1/4 stringer boat the floor is its strength..period!!
Nope, No subfloor. After 30 years of abuse the hull needed nothing when being blueprinted....Guess I got lucky...:rolleyes:

[Wicked Performance Boats]

Nope, No subfloor. After 30 years of abuse the hull needed nothing when being blueprinted....Guess I got lucky...:rolleyes:
Depends on how thick the bottom is , how it was laid up and what the bottom does under load. The weight saving is not that much Hal. But you do what you want Hal but 1 more 3/4" stringer doesn't add shit. Pat

[Carnivalride]

I just had my stringers replaced and the fiberglass shop used two pieces of 3/4" plywood to form my stringers. He used treated plywood from Home Depot, so why do you need kiln dried fir?
I hope you don't mean they used a pressure treated lumber to lay glass over.:eek: The reason kiln dried lumber is used is so the resin will soak into and bond the fiberglass to the wood. I have seen a local "repair man" use pressure treated lumber to replace boat stringers before....NOT GOOD!!! Pressure treated lumber is for decks or something, it is wet and the resin can't really soak in and bond and its only a matter of time before it delaminates in this case about a month and half, now the boat is junk and his repair money was wasted.
JMO take it or leave it.
Loren

[Jbb]

I hope you don't mean they used a pressure treated lumber to lay glass over.:eek: The reason kiln dried lumber is used is so the resin will soak into and bond the fiberglass to the wood. I have seen a local "repair man" use pressure treated lumber to replace boat stringers before....NOT GOOD!!! Pressure treated lumber is for decks or something, it is wet and the resin can't really soak in and bond and its only a matter of time before it delaminates in this case about a month and half, now the boat is junk and his repair money was wasted.
JMO take it or leave it.
Loren
I know some people who have been in the business a lot of years that would dispute that......They say you CAN use PT wood...if you let it dry outside where air can get to all sides for a few weeks first....been doing it for years..

[holorinhal]

Well It did it again! I went out and spent a half hour digging through the wood pile to find just two decent 2x6's that didnt have a100 knots or splits or warped to hell.
I managed to find two that were staight with only about 3small knots in it,but absoloutly no splits or cracks.
I laid them out to start drying as they are still pretty wet,and just overnight one of the boards had split to hell and back!
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE TO GET GOOD CLEAR DRY WOOD IN NEVADA OR AIRIZONA!
Some one had told me that the HD in Havasu carried kiln dried doug fir .I called them to see for sure and the person I spoke with said yes.I almost had an Orgasm! Then when I was going to drive down to pick them up I called to make sure they had some in stock,The person I spoke with said they did not cary kiln dried.I was PISSED!
Any how when wood arives in las vegas it is still real wet,then stored inside.The climate is so dry here that when the wood is set outside to dry it sucks the moister out so fast tat it does'nt stand a chance...I guess
Any one know how to dry wood out without it splitting or warping?............Hal

[Oldsquirt]

Hal, you're probably wasting your time looking for quality wood in any warehouse hardware/lumber store. Check your phone book for "hardwoods", "woodworkers supplies", "furniture repair" or any other business category that may have use for high quality wood. They are the best bets for locating a source for the quality wood you need. You might also give a call to any of the SoCal or Arizona boat manufacturers to find out who they get their supply from. For that matter, why not go down to the manufacturer's forums and ask this question of John West at Ultra?

[holorinhal]

Thank's Oldsquirt I will do that.
On a nother thought ,is there any thing wrong with using a hard wood for the stringers.I can get real nice clear Red Oak in a 1x6 it would be denser and stiffer than a soft wood like doug fir? is there a suck thing as wood that is too stiff for stringers?....Hal

[SmokinLowriderSS]

Kilm dried fir is the standard. Plywood? I'd be worried if water got to the plywood over time it would delaminate much quicker. Pat
Using exterior OR pressure treated (let it dry in the sun several days on each side first after cutting), the adhesives are impervious to water, so they will not delaminate.
2 sections of 3/4" ply, sandwiched, is about 10 conflicting wood grain patterns, glassed up, is just about as rigid as you could possibly get.
For a V-hull, I would want 2", either natural, or the laminated 1x if still affraid of ply.

[SmokinLowriderSS]

Thank's Oldsquirt I will do that.
On a nother thought ,is there any thing wrong with using a hard wood for the stringers.I can get real nice clear Red Oak in a 1x6 it would be denser and stiffer than a soft wood like doug fir? is there a suck thing as wood that is too stiff for stringers?....Hal
There is a point where harder woods are more brittle. Flex fir a long ways before it cracks. Oak doesn't flex much at all, period, without cracking. Once it starts cracking, it's strength is over.
An extreme example is carbon fibre. Much stronger, pound for pound, and stiffer, than fibreglass, or wood. Exceed it's limits by a tiny ammount (like I saw on an America's Cup race years ago) and it EXPLODES into shards. Complete failure, no partial failures.

[Xlration Marine]

Thank's Oldsquirt I will do that.
On a nother thought ,is there any thing wrong with using a hard wood for the stringers.I can get real nice clear Red Oak in a 1x6 it would be denser and stiffer than a soft wood like doug fir? is there a suck thing as wood that is too stiff for stringers?....Hal
Just skin that cat and toss it on the grill and call it done. But what ever you use for the wood, take a rounding over bit in a router or sand the corners off by hand. This way the glass will conform to the wood and look much better.
Like the ones in the pic above in the jet.