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While unrigging my boat in preperation for recoating the bilge area I discovered that the fore area of my port stringer is rotted.
I am not sure to the extent of the rot, however when checking the holes at the motor mount I find no rot. The stringer is not encapsulted in fiberglass at the last 1" or so. There is where the rot had begun. What are my options in repairing this. Can I have the rotted section pulled and replaced or will the entire stringer have to be replaced.
The stringer is still very solid when pulling and pushing on it. I want to fix this the right way but not break my boat bank account (That has already been done on the motor).
Any help would be appreciated.
Paul
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OK.. I'm not sure this is an approved method, but heres what we did to a friends boat instead of replacing whole stringer. Kind of an experiment.
First we drilled 1/2" holes in the 2x6 from the top down about every 2". Keep in mind this stringer was as bad as they come black,soft,and sounded hollow when you tapped on it.
Then we made some sawdust out of some good wood and sprinkled it into the holes and poured in some penetrating epoxy(a wood rot restorer)available from www.westmarine.com (http://www.westmarine.com)
then packed it down with a 1/2" punch and repeated the process until the hole was filled.
When all holes were full(about 6' worth)we triple fiberglassed the stringer and painted his bilge with tinted black resin and it looks like it could have rolled out of the factory that way.
To date only one season has been put on the stringer but it is still hard as a rock.
No warranty implied or expressed... http://free.***boat.net/ubb/biggrin.gif
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I also have a method that might not be "approved" but has held up for over two years. I had severe rot in my stringers,so I drilled from the top and the sides and then chipped and scraped the rotted wood out as far as I could reach in each direction from the motor mount. Cleaned it out with a shop vac, air blower, etc. Then I filled it full of "MARINE-TEX" that I put into an empty tube of caulk, used a caulking gun and injected it into the stringers. Then I went to a door supply company "THOMPSON DOOR" and ordered a special stainless steel blank wrap around escutcheon plate (stainless saddle) to go over/around the stringer. Redrilled the motor mount holes. The boat is at the shop getting the motor pulled, but when I get it back in a couple days I will post pictures of the repair, hope this helps.
JON
[This message has been edited by INFINITEJJ (edited April 03, 2002).]
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If this is a do it yourself job then I would cut out the bad area and replace it and also "sandwich" the stringer with boards laminated on either side and glassed in. This type of repair should really take no longer than the previous mentioned ones. I see some crazy shit in this business and IMOP this would be the best way to repair your stringer without seeking professional help.
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No No No!!! got to ROTTEN.COM
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gmkiller that is some NASTY sh!t.
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If you dont like ROTTEN, then go to www.thehun.com, (http://www.thehun.com,) this should put a smile on your face
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Thanks for the reply guys. I found a couple of repair guys to call and take a look at it.
I will post the outcome.
Paul
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