cracked stringer

[russell1]

I just riped out the deck in my 1969 22' and found one of the stringers has cracked and pulled away from the hull alittle bit,is there a quick repair for this?Can I re fiber glass it down and all around,all my others are solid

[russell1]

I have a soft spot on the hull,its more under neath pretty close to where the viewing windows were,I have the deck out and found that the stringer is cracked right above the spot.What is the best way to fix this soft spot problem on the hull after I fix the stringer problem?

[LilRichard]

What I am having to do (after fixing the stringers) is grind out the stress cracks and refill with new glass.  I am assuming that is what is causing (or is the result of) your "soft spots".  Pics would help.

[LilRichard]

Look carefully at ALL of your stringers.  Get a small prybar and see how secure the bond is on the rest... I could easily pry ALL of my stringers up... and then I replaced them all.

If the rest are solid, and still attached, simply rough up the old stringer and the hull and start tabbing it back down with increasingly larger sized strips of material.  I would use 1808 0r 2415, your choice.  I think some folks will recommend using epoxy... I am using polyester resin.

If you go the full removal route it will be a lot of work- and you will need to properly support the hull while you do it so you don't get a "hook" in it.  But if your stringers are as bad as mine were, you have no choice.

[russell1]

I dont have pictures yet,I was thinking of drilling holes around that area to see if theres water sitting in there or if its from the stringer be detached in that area,what is the best repair sand down to the mat and re fiberglass and gelcoat the hull or fiberglass the inside after I fix the stinger problem?

[russell1]

all the others are solid I tried like hell to get some some kind of movement out of the others and they didn't budge,I really dont want to go to crazy with the rebuild but I also want to be safe and get a lot more years out of it,would it be wise to give them all a layer of fiberglass to give them extra strength,I like the expoxy deal on the bad one,I was even thinking of useing 1/2 ply like a cast then glass it all together once I got it sucure to the hull.This is all new to me its my first

[russell1]

Im going to use 5/8 marine plywood,probaly going to mat both sides but, Im going to lay it on the lip that I left from the old floor,I'm also fiberglassing a sheat of aluminum to the under side of the floor for the console and seat.what is the best way to bring the height of the stringers up to meet the new floor and to secure the floor to them?

[LilRichard]

I would just advise you (and see what Wart  or Shine says, they are the ultimate experts) to grind the hull and the stringer, then tab it back down like I said.  Use something like 3 layers of 1808 going 1" increasing widths.

[LilRichard]

I would grind from the inside if you already have access to the spot.... keeps the fairing work to a minimum.  Once again, let's see what the "pros" have to say...

[RickK]

Hi Russell, Welcome Aboard!!
You could 5200 strips of the same plywood to the tops of the stringers.  I used 5/8 plywood for my floor and I think it was the same thickness as the original floor, so that would be perfect.  Putting wood on top of the stringers gives you something to screw into also.  The next thing you might think about is using another layer on top of the floor where the CC screws down.  Not covering the entire area under the CC, just around the flange along the base of the CC.  Bevel the wood at a 45 on both edges and glass it down to the floor.  That'll make the CC a very stable thing to hold onto in rough seas.

[russell1]

thanks for the reply,what do you think about a sheet of aluimun under the floor for support

[russell1]

do I fiberglass the wood before I lay it in there,then add another layer to the entire deck area,or fiberglass the bottoms then do the deck in one layer,or just resin coat both side then install and fiberglass the entire deck

[russell1]

i saw a post saying it costs about 250.00 to replace the floor in your boat,maybe that was just for the wood.I'm at 425.00 already and I'm sure I'll need about 50.00 more for mat

[RickK]

do I fiberglass the wood before I lay it in there,then add another layer to the entire deck area,or fiberglass the bottoms then do the deck in one layer,or just resin coat both side then install and fiberglass the entire deck

My $.02 -
I would resin coat the strips of wood, let it cure and then 5200 it down on the stringers. That should take care of the difference between you using the lip of the old floor and the stringers.
The plywood floor ... there are many opinions here and I welcome all who have one to kick in here - on MY FLOOR I just resin coated the plywood (not even marine plywood - which at the time didn't exist) - just made sure that I laid it on thick and coated all edges/sides and let it cure.  
As for metal plates or just another layer of wood under floor glassed in - I guess it is up to you.  If you're mounting something like a tower, you want to distribute the stress and frankly anything you screw into the deck could use the reinforcing power of multilpe layers- so either will do IMHO.
To finish securing the floor, I screwed it down around the edges and to the stringers.  Then I used 6" glass and joined the sidewalls to the floor and covered the joints between the panels.  Next I used a hole saw and cut holes in the floor to pour in the foam (one for fill and one for escape) and filled her up where it  needed it.  I covered these holes later with glass. (Now is the time to decide if you're going to build up where the console screws down - if so, 5200/screw them to the deck and glass in.) Then I did the entire floor in non-skid.  See my post here on instructions.  It's very easy and is the best non-skid I've ever seen.  See "gofish"'s result later in the thread for "evidence".
Again - my $.02

[russell1]

What Would happen if I left the wet foam in the stringers??