SEE IF A LARGER LAG BOLT (2 OR THREE SIZES UP) WILL GET A GOOD BITE, OR SOME BITE INTO THE WOOD, IF SO, PUT A PRODUCT CALLED "G FLEX" MADE BY WEST SYSTEM ON THE LAG WITH SILICA AS THICKENING AGENT, PUT IN AND LET IT HARDEN FOR A DAY OR TWO. G FLEX IS THE STUFF TO USE BECAUSE IT ACTUALLY WILL BOND TO DAMP, EVEN WET, WOOD. I DON'T KNOW OF ANYTHING ELSE LIKE IT. THEN JUST MONITOR IT TO SEE IF AND WHEN THE LAGS START TO PULL OUT, IF THEY DO AT SOME POINT, HOLE SAW THE FLOOR TO GET A LOOK AND SEE IF IT IS THE ENTIRE STRINGER, OR JUST THE ENDS. THEN DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO.

RONNY

there is a epoxy called cpes that is made to inject in wood and is post to be stronger than the wood if done right heard of ppl putting it in rotten transoms and remounting motors and never changing the wood out read here for more info

http://www.rotdoctor.com/glass/GLrotrepair.html

I have a 2001 Vegas XT and my ski-pole mount bolts have come loose.........I want to remount my ski pole, but make it super strong.....4 bolts instead of 2. Question - before I tear into my floor and figure a mount system / base plate, I need to know how the hull is constructed. are there 2 or 3 wood stringers in my Hydrostream? Is there a stringer down the middel or just 2 - one on each side? Does anybody have a drawing of the inside of the hull.....the stringer design for a 2001 Vegas XT 20'-6". I get no answers from the Hydrostream Plant..........are they even in business??

poke around in the bolt holes and see the condition of the wood in the stringers. if its just the holes, harden the holes with epoxy and longer bolts. Hopefully the stringers are ok.

Is there any chance that the stringers are rotten only in the areas of the bolts? Perhaps water entered around the bolts and only rotted the wood in the immediate area. This would be a not-too-difficult fix. If the entire stringers are rotten as you expect, I would think they would need to be replaced. Even if you could fill the void/cavity with an epoxy-type material, you wouldn't have nearly the strength you would have with wood covered with fiberglass.

I have a situation with another boat I currently own. It's a 1981 Ski Supreme tournament style ski boat. Direct Drive with a 302 Ford inboard. This boat is used for my course skiing and barefoot skiing. When I was winterizing the motor in October, I noticed the lag bolts that hold the motor mounts to the stringers were loose, so loose that I could pull the lags right out of the stringer by hand. I tried to tightem them down, however, the lags just kept spinning and didn't bite into the wood anymore. Basically the stringers, both port and starboard are rotten. The stringers are 2x10's or 2x12's and encapsulated in fiberglass.

I wanted some thoughts on this issue. Rather than tear out the floor (floor redone in 2006) and remove the entire stringer, put in new stringers and re-encapsulate the wood, my question is do they make an epoxy in which I can inject into the current stringer (fiberglass encapsulation) around where the motor mounts are located and build the strength back into the exisiting stringers? Or do I do the dirty work of taking out motor, floor, and stringers? Or do I just junk the boat and let someone else worry about it as the stringer replacement would take away the time I would dedicate towards the bicetennial restoration project? If so, then the ski boat would be for sale and has a rebuilt 302 with 190 hours on it????

Any thoughts in the matter would be a huge help. Thanks!