Exposed wood in stringers

You are going to have to let it dry out pretty good before you use the Dr. Rot CPES. but once you use it it will be hard as a rock. On mine the rear 1x6 that goes between the stringers to the rear was rotted out and half gone I applied the CPES and it's like petrified wood now. Just apply the CPES repeatedly until the wood will not soak up anymore per MFG instructions. Then glass over any exposed wood and enjoy the summer. Now i'm sure there will be others that will say remove the stringers or a section of them and replace and re-glass. This is a lot of work and can get expensive and if you work full time then most of your summer is going to be shot working on the boat. Dr. Rot is quick easy and works. Now if your a purist and plan on keeping the boat for ever then maybe you should spend the time and replace the stringers but if you do get experinced help/supervise your work.

You might want to let dry a little long than that. Depending on how soaked it is it can take several months. Wood that isn't exposed will be wet and takes a long time to dry becuase it's covered still, so let dry as long as possible before you have to put everything back together for the season. Once it is dry the Dr Rot stuff will take a week-end to complete you can apply more CPES about ever 1/2 hour to hour and it cures in a day or two.

You might want to us a dehumidifier as well. if you use a heat source make sure there aren't any flamable fumes close by like gasoline, epoxy. the fire will dry things out pretty quick but there's not much left to work with afterwards.

Jim:

You will be fine using the products mentioned above. I strongly suggest you do as you mentioned and cover the exposed stringer with several layers of fiberglass mat and cloth (alternating) to equal the original thickness of same. Most of the strenght of the stringer comes from the fiberglass, NOT the wood. Think of the wood as just a form. The wood actually has other benefits such as noise and harness control and a good material to hold screws/lag bolts (i.e. engine mounts.). Also, FWIW, use epoxy resin when working with fiberglass, it has superior strength over Polyester resin, is a superior adhesive (important when making secondary bond repairs) and does not shrink like polyester resin. Just make sure you find and use fiberglass mat made for epoxy resin.

Almost forgot, another option is to simply cut/dig out the rotten wood and then scab in a new piece (epoxy glued and screwed) and then fiberglass over.

"The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual" is a good book to start with. Also, I think West Epoxy Systems prints a workbook that has good information.

What type of resin are you working with? If epoxy, you should avoid getting the resin on your skin as epoxy can and WILL eventually cause skin allergies with prolonged exposure. Once you get these allergies, you will break out in hives just by getting near uncured epoxy. The allergies stay with you.

I found the best way to keep the resin off your hands is to wear latex gloves (or PVC gloves if allergic to latex). The gloves are available in 100 count boxes for very few dollars. Acetone is indeed the best solvent to use for clean-up, but lacquer thinner will work and is a bit cheaper. Just remember that after you clean any tools in the solvent, do not stick your hands in the solvent as it is now contaminated with the epoxy chemicals that cause the skin allergies.

And lastly, then I will stop with the warnings...the build-up of the allergy causing chemicals is cumulative in your body. So, incidental contact may not cause the allergies, but it gets you that much closer. So keep it off your hands.

Oh, and about covering your new/patched fiberglass floor with carpet. Do not worry about getting the floor perfectly smooth with no hollow spots or humps as you will not be able to feel or see these areas once the carpet is in place. If you are laying the floor up over structural foam, then I would think five alternating layers of mat and roving will suffice (assuming 1.5 oz. mat).