Stringer Repair 1985 2001 Ski Nautique

I would sand off only the high spots & proceed with the layup schedule.

iplan wrote: With that information, do you still think working from the inside would be the easiest approach?

+3 with Joe and Tim. The gel on the outside is only for looks. Much like drywall,repair the structure,"spackle" the gelcoat from the outside sand and buff.

I wish this hole was on the floor, but it's located in the transom (between the exhaust port and the speed sensor ~ where the secondary stringer is bonded to the transom. There is a ton of stuff to work around back there.....

With that information, do you still think working from the inside would be the easiest approach?

iplan wrote: SNobsessed wrote: Resin, cloth, resin, repeat! Should I epoxy something to the 'inside' that would give it a little firmness, and then make the repair from the outside?

Absolutely not!

Get under there with some tape.. apply the tape on the bottom to keep your repair from the top from dripping through. Use your flap disk to enlarge the area around the oops.. and taper the edges of the new area so you can apply increasingly larger layers of resin coated glass from the inside.... do this until your final layer is at least as high as the surrounding glass ( a coat or two overlapping the repair and the existing glass cant hurt since it will be unseen) and then go about your live. When you remove the tape from the bottom it will be smooth and ready to go.. no harm no foul.

Resin, cloth, resin, repeat!

Soooooooo ~ the more I work on this project, the damage I seem to do.

I was trying to really "clean" out that groove that the secondary stringer buts into ~ with hopes of being in a position to attach it tomorrow. I did a really good job too.



Obviously this has to be addressed before I go in with the secondary. I was thinking some fiberglass mat and a few layers of cloth tape, but the area is in the middle of the seam (and really narrow).

What to do?

My new Starboard side secondary stringer (all 4 coats of CPES, individually fiberglassed pieces, and bonded together with epoxy, etc. was a complete waste of time.

The stringer was 1.5 inches too short, and would not hug the floor like it did before I glued it together. I planed, sanded, etc., for about an hour. Then I made the best decision I could under the circumstances: I threw the stringer out of the boat with all the force I could muster, and followed as quickly as possible with the sledge hammer. After a surprisingly large number of blows, the stringer was reduced to kindling, and I felt better.



Thankfully, the same side main stringer fits like a glove. What should I bed it with? I've seen 3 different things used (mat, milled fiber, etc.)>

Bedding Filler Preferences?

Okay ~ I've seen all of these used
1. Fiberglass Mat (trimmed to the dimensions of the bottom of the stringer)
2. 1/32 Milled Fiber
3. Aerosil-Cabosil

I have all 3 solutions represented in my purchase. Which one do you recommend?

TX Foilhead wrote: I would, you're going to build a new one with the the new stringer. It sounds like you're adding a bit of work to the process. Get the stringer cut and figure out where you want it, bed it in some epoxy and faire out the transitions to the hull then cover it in fiberglass. No need wrap it first or do anything other than some CPES before it goes into the boat.

Thanks TX ~~~ I was doing some extra work there. I'm going to finish the grinding out tonight, clean everything up really well, and start bedding stringers in the AM.

TX Foilhead wrote: Grind the lip away.

All the way ~ until it is level with the rest of the hull?

Okay ~ quick question before church ~~~ I glued my Secondary Stringer together. Now it will not fit in the seam like it's supposed to. It is the area in the aft tapered section. Should I grind away that part fo the lip, or should I sand down the stringer until it fits?

Today's Work load:

1. Gluing Starboard Secondary Stringer Pieces together today
2. Planing Starboard Main Stringer
3. Treating Starboard Main Stringer with another coat of CPES
4. Cutting Port Side Secondary Stringer from Starboard Secondary Stringer Template
5. Tracing Port Side Main Stringer onto D.Fir, using planed Starboard Stringer as a template

Should probably grind the hull a little bit also.....

Quick Question: I have a few places were there is weaved mat that didn't get enough epoxy in the original layup, and it is just 'laying on top' unattached. Should I cut these pieces off, or epoxy them to the floor now?

I'm not planning on putting any layers on before I install them in the boat.

Alright ~~~ Question:

How many layers of glass do you put on the Secondary stringers before you install into the boat?

I've got one layer on so far.

How many layers of glass do you put on the Main stringers before you install them into the boat?

Making progress!

I don't know if experience is truely a ninja trick but it helps, round edges help too. Try to move the bibles all the way out to the edges with a plastic scraper and your hands. I put on 2 or 3 pairs of gloves so I don't have to stop for clean ones. Once it's pretty close and things start to stiffen then you can knock down the bubbles with the roller. It's mostly practice though. Larger spots sand out quickly with a palm sander small ones can be filled with a syringe of epoxy.   For the most part your using much better materials and probably more of them than nessecary. A small imperfection isn't going to cause the whole project to be a waste, the wood is doing most of the work. A spot with one less layer of glass, an air bubble the size of a dime or a spot with too much resin doesn't change that. It would be a different story If you were building an offshore boat or a super light drag boat where you're going for minimum weight and maximum strength.

An last of all, nobody will see what's under the floor so it doesn't need to be pretty. You'll have it figured out by the time you get to the visible stuff.