Stringer/Floor Replacement Cost

I have started shopping around for a floor/stringer replecment locally.

It will be on my 79' Ski Tique. My floors are solid but the rear stringers are toast. I will most likely get the whole floor and stringers done as I want to be sure it 100% fixed.

Of those who have had this done give me some idea of the cost so I have a base idea when I get estimates.

Thanks !!

SNobsessed wrote: Most guys do the job themselves for about $1500 in materials.

This may be a touch optimistic? Figure new tools and beer and you're well past 2k?

I was in to mine for about 2800.00 doing it myself. But this was with unexpected things such as steering cable, interior, carpet, its the little things that hit your billfold. I'm now another two hundred in for a cutlass and prop puller.

There are the things that you know are bad (like the stringers), things that you don't know are bad (like my prop shaft and coupling, leaking gas tank) and the things that are nice to do while you are in there (Steering cable). The nice to do's are the hard part, because you could get away cheaper without doing them, but they are easier to do when the boat is apart. I had $2600 into the Mustang re-string. In the end I sold the boat and made $200.00 for my 400 hours of work. Make sure you want to keep the boat for a while for it to make financial sense (if it ever makes sense) . I don't regret it because I learned a lot and actually enjoyed some of it.

Tyler - I haven't done stringers myself, but I did rebuild the transom of my previous (outboard) boat.   I didn't keep track of hours but spent every spare hour for a month on it.

The point I am trying to get to is that my boat was worth zero before I rebuilt it (I could not sell an unsafe boat to an unsuspecting buyer).

So the economics of a decayed boat are not in the owners favor, which is why we continually suggest doing it yourself. At least you end up with a great boat you have pride in.

I had a neighbor that had his OB Brendella do e a couple of years ago and he told me 5K.   I know the shop and they do very nice work, but I suspect they used a chopper gun everywhere they could and it it's all done with poly resin.    The home jobs here use much better materials and the boats probably come out better than they were originally.

Now that I have the boat back, work started this past weekend. Got the engine back in yesterday and found that they guy I hired to do the stringer job messed up. The engine mounts only sit on 1/2 of the main stringers...meaning bolt holes line up with the edge of each stringer. This is not good.

This is when one will say if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.

Tyler, I am not trying to hijack your thread, but have a question for Rich.



Rich,

I am assuming the engine mounts have been extended all the way? Also not sure how the engine mounts in your boat. You may be able to fabricate some type of cradle to assist in filling that gap? You have any pictures?

Cradle with some studs on it should fix it.

Just curious, what did numbnutz say when you told him he screwed up?

IMO there is the right way that should last 20+ years, the wrong way that may last 2 years, and the in between which should last 5-10+ years. How you treat/store your boat, budget, and long term intentions all play a factor. Do you really plan to keep the boat forever or would you like to get this boat running for now while saving for a newer boat? We all have our opinions and I would rather save a couple thousand knowing my projects have a finite lifespan than pay double expecting my project to last forever when it doesn't. To each their own though...

The popular answer that most will recommend is to do it right the first time so it will, in theory, last forever. The problem is, the right methods are still too new to truly say that they will last. Like 65Cuda unfortunately had to find out, sometimes what we believe to be the "right way" ends up being worse. I can tell you from personal experience that even vacuum bagged carbon fiber with epoxy resin can fail on you in a few years if the wrong kinds of fuels or chemicals get inside tiny pin hole voids.

Build a cradle like the new boats have, angle iron that sits on the stringers to hold the mounts. You would need a piece that extends across the floor a little ways where the mounts go. Since this is now on the floor it needs studs instead of bolts to hold the mounts since there isn't an easy way to get a wrench underneath. Those would be easy to make by drilling the appropriate holes and puttin a bolt in them. Then you would weld the bolt in place and grind off the head so the whole contraption fits flush to the floor. The motor box should hide everything just like before.

TRBenj wrote: Pretty amazing that theyre off by such a large amount considering that stringer width is pretty much an industry standard. Whoops!

Man I hate when that happens!

That sounds a bit overkill with the backer. I could measure mine when I get home, but if I had to guess I would say 2 x 6 angle and 3/8 sounds about right. It's lag bolted / screwed on the top and the sides all holes have silicone and there's a line around the edges too.   

Not something you can do now, but my motor sits between the stringers on angle welded to the cradle, not sure when they went to that.

OK, 2 x 6 and 1/4in thick. the motor sits on 2 x 2 3/8 thick welded to the 6in side.