Stringer question
Posted: Dec 17, 2011 1:41 pm
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!
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!