Aluminum Stringers

Pete, I feel just as he does, but I've yet to find the answer. I'm happy to use fir as I know how to make it fit...but will I be wondering 5 years down the road?!!?

As a residential home builder and remodeling contractor as well as a furniture builder I am all too aware of wood and it's limitations which is why the synthetic building materials industry that produce products that DO NOT ROT has sky rocketed in the last decade!

I'm trying to think outside the box to see if there might be some better solutions for our great classic crafts. "If you always do what you've always done, You'll always get what you've always gotten! Rotten!

On many larger vessels that have planning or semi-planing hulls I have read that high density foam is used and covered with a 1/4" layer of glass unlike my stringers that have only a thin layer of glass. At that point the glass build-up becomes the structural part of the stringer and the foam just stays in there as a support. Anybody tried this method?

After a little more research I'll try something non-wood and let ya'll know how the boat performs. Thanks to everyone for all the continued input, and Happy Boating!

8122pbrainard wrote: Keep in mind that the factory made no attempts to keep water out of the wood stringers and they used polyester resin (hygroscopic) and not epoxy.

Very true, I will have opportunities to seal the wood in better than it was. I also won't be leaving any raw plywood edges exposed.

Have you drawn up plans for a V-8 wheelchair yet? Somehow, I think aging will be a little different for many on this site! LOL

Hi

Have a look on web for this Roechling Glastic which is made in the US May be spelt Rochling in the US,you have more choice of grades,than I have in the UK, If you look under Gold Member they say it can be used for boat building/repairing,could be of some help.

Roger.

Bhedbloom wrote: BuffaloBFN: That V8 wheelchair sounds like a cool idea, but only with headers, side pipes and maybe some racing slicks or monster mudd tires!

LOL!!!

Out of all the times this issue has been discussed, I think this is the first time somebody pointed out the importance of the care of the boat, post installation of the stringers. I understand that it is a boat, but the water is supposed to stay on the outside.

In my neighborhood there are two boats that have sat outside, uncovered, for two years. I see plenty of boats sitting in slips, uncovered with strange growth on their hull. I have seen plenty of people being very careless about getting water inside their boats while at the lake.

But there is a population of responsible boat owners who are very careful while on the water; they wipe their boats dry when they pull them out of the water; and they store them inside some structure. I like to consider myself part of that group.

Having said all of that, I too, thought of several options, other than fir, to replace the stringers in the '87. In the end I chose fir. Somebody else owns the boat now, but if they care for it properly, their grandchildren will be able to ski behind it 40 years from now.

Bill, well said! Your point holds true with most things. Know that your comments are welcome over in the pumpkin patch!

8122pbrainard wrote: Greg, I thought of you last evening. I was watching "Modern Marvels" on the History channel and they aired the segment on engines. In that segment they report on Waukeshaw (the same that at one time made marine engines) and the large engines they put on their gensets. Because of the noise and the orange color, they call them "thunder pumpkins"!!

LOLOL!!! I just about fell outa my chair?!!? We were watching the very same show and we laughed so hard...I remember thinking "I wonder if any of the guys saw that?". Amy likes the nickname, but I think it needs mods...    And this is your fault Eric L...but we like it. All of my friends and neighbors ask about it now.

Was that 47lb pistons?!!? WOW I think I counted a V-16!!! Now that's a lot of metal in motion...I think it was constant(and low) rpms though.

8122pbrainard wrote: Greg, Start knocking some of the baffles out of the mufflers!! Reid is trying to figure out how to get the V16 in one of his Mustangs!! Ether that or one of those gas turbines!

On a serious note, there's only one small baffle...kinda tongue shaped for lack of a better term.

...if he tried to put a V-16 in a mustang, he'd need to re-roam!

I volunteered for another mission in Afghanistan that departed in March. But I got passed over on that one. Now I train soldiers on the Stryker RV. Unless I can catch another mission I'll be stateside at least a year before I head back to a fighting unit.

Thanks for looking out.