Stringers??????

[cjtpilot]

So just out of curiosity for those that rehab the older boats, why do you replace with wood stringers? Why don't you use the composite decking boards used for decks?

[Jetlink]

Ease of shaping and working with wood over the other materials would be my guess. Curious what others come up with though.

[jasun]

Composite deck boards are not load baring.


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[michael hunter]

Bottom line is the wood stringers used in the boats to start with were mostly untreated with no limber holes to let water out combine that wit the open cell foam to hold the water in and you have a wood rot disaster. In spite of all these factors the boats still lasted 20 plus years. Anyone doing a stringer job today with the upgrade on materials and workmanship will have a boat that will probably last twice that. Wood is relatively cheap and is easy to work with.

[CornRickey]

Using the glassing tech. seen in the thread, you could probably use untreated wood and get twice the longevity but who wouldn't pay the little extra for pressure treated.

[Jetlink]

Using the glassing tech. seen in the thread, you could probably use untreated wood and get twice the longevity but who wouldn't pay the little extra for pressure treated.

In my experience, pressure treated lumber has a tendency to warp in almost all applications. If you glass in your stringers how Michael Hunter has done on his '84 Comp though, the wood is entirely encased and sealed unlike how all these boats came from the factory.

[CornRickey]

Wood (treated or not) warps due to poor materials and/or uneven drying. If you choose pieces that are more quarter sawed than flat heart wood you will have less /no warping. Encasing it in glass will eliminate uneven drying.

[dirtydawg]

composite decking is way to weak and pliable. Wood is many times stronger. I took the "once and done" approach and used african mahogany. Straight grain with no tendency to warp, twist, crack or rot. A bit on the heavy side but the stringers will outlast the hull.DSC00521.jpg

[Jetlink]

There is building, over-building and then there is what Dirtydawg did.

[dirtydawg]

There is building, over-building and then there is what Dirtydawg did.

Well being a cabinet maker made the material more accessible. If I remember correctly the lumber cost was around $600. But doing all the labor kind of makes justifiable in a way. All though it was almost to pretty to glass over...