TOPIC: What be stringers?

Hi All,
I've read much talk here about about the integrity of the transom (I know where that is), the deck ( the part I'm walkin' on), and the stringers (huh?). I know that the stringers are fore and aft structural members glassed in to the hull. I also know that they need to be checked for rot and/or structural integrity. I have a 59 Crosby Fish 'n' Ski and I would like to know 2 things. One, what are the stringers made of and where would they be in the hull/sole of my boat and two, how do I go about checking to see if they are in good shape? I'm certainly hoping that I don't have to cut the boat in half just to find that the stringers are in good shape. The jpeg that I have attached shows two small valleys on both the port and starboard sides with a rather large area in between them that is relatively fair. Is that entire area between the valleys the stringers or are the stringers just a couple of 2x4s spaced apart from each other? If the stringers are just a couple of pieces of wood, where abouts are they so that I can check in the right spots for rot? Thanks in advance.
Shipster

The stringers are under the floor and glassed in to the inside of the bottom of the boat ..Wish I had an answer for you on how to check without cutting the floor open . Ive seen them with the fiberglass still looking good but the wood rotted inside . Heres the stringers on my 56 Delmar




On mine the wood is real solid but it had pretty thin Fiberglass on them that pulled apart pretty easy .Mine are only 1 by hardwood .Many have 2 by 4s Or even plywood . It depends on the boat . Maybe somebody smarter than me can tell ya how to check without surgery ..

stringers would be the "back bone" of your boat . the stronger the better , a lot of stringer replacements are done with kiln dried Doug fir .

With the photo supplied it looks to me the your floor may cored and thus have no stringers. There are most likely other members with the same boat you have that might be able to confirm the original construction.

Greg Anderson
Wisconsin

Greg, Can you elaborate a little bit on "being cored"? Appreciate it.

Shipster:

I own a 58 Glass Jet with a cored floor. It is has been waiting in line to be restored. Other newly acquired boats keeping pushing it back down the line. I have not really gotten into the floor on the Glass Jet because I am "just not there yet". However I have pulled up part of the floor just to see what I am up against. The construction of the Glass Jet (and possibly your boat) "appears" to be as follows: From the bottom up, fiberglass hull, layer of balsa, or other wood in the 1/2" thick range, some boats floor "cores" may be thicker. Wood "core" is glued to the hull floor with fiberglass resin (possibly thickened). Then the core is encapsulated in fiberglass for waterproofing and strength. The Glass Jets core is comprised of many 1.5" wide by 6" to 3' long strips of some type of soft wood (not oak). The wood is water logged and rotten in spots. The use of balsa for re-coring seams to be quite prevalent. It must be able to be made to conform to the contours of the inside of the hull quite easily. I have seen photos of other products used in re-coring such an aluminum mesh. I would guess the chances of your cored floor not being water logged and rotten in spots very low. Screws and other fasteners installed into the core over the years and not having been bedded correctly would most likely cause major problems.

Good luck with your project.

Greg Anderson
Wisconsin

Thanks for the insight Greg. I'll post pix as I get there.

It is a tri-hul balsa core. My Crosby Ranger has not had any screws nails etc thru the hull but my new F&S was not so lucky. I look forward to your work as I will be going down a similar path in the future months.

Randy