Stringer Rot in Pre-Brunswick Sea Rays

You don't want to do that with 5200. The method you are talking about is done using the West Systems epoxy. They have some good instructions on this method in their how-to booklet that you can get where West Systems is sold. I picked up one of those booklets at West Marine when I did my transom and stringer rebuild.


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Surveyor said boat was completely dry, both stringers and transom. Only moisture that gets in the bilge is because of condensation (just from the ambient air), and my rudder seals were leaking a bit so they are being tightened when the boat is winterized this week.

I instructed my marina that I did NOT want any water left in the bilge from draining the blocks!

One thing I like about the Seadancer and the other sea ray direct drive boats, is how easy it would be to replace parts of the stringers if need be. No need to pull the entire floor up or to do other gymnastics to pull the engines. Just unbolt them and pull them out. No muss, no fuss.

I will say that the surveyor told me that if the boat is 32 years old and the stringers were completely dry by both percussion testing and moisture meter, then I won't have to worry about anything. So I'm looking forward to many more years with this boat.

From what I heard, the Seadancer was designed to compete with the Tiara 2700 Open, and I think it does a wonderful job of that. It has a solid FRP hull, so you don't need to worry about core rot.
 
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Since your boat was surveyed clean, you apparently are not going to be worried with stringer repairs. However, you need to understand that rotten stringers give no warning. In your boat they are made of wood encapsulated in fiberglass. When you get a leak in to the stringer from outside the boat at the transom or from a wet bilge from any water source like packing glands on the shafts or rudders, from the deck hatches leaking, from the water system leaking, etc. your chances of water getting into the stringer goes up. Once you get a limber hole leak or even a screw into the stringer that leaks, water will then migrate inside the fiberglass around the stringer and when you finally find the rot, it won't be in a 2" circle around the leak......it will be several feet or more up the stringer's length.

As far as replacing parts of the stringer, it isn't that easy. If you were able to section a rotten stringer, you are dealing with a piece of probably 2" thick X 10" dried pressure treated lumber so it will take a very long scarf joint to make a sound structural repair. Any part of the floor of the bilge or cabin area that is flat has a web of plywood supports under the flat part of the floor for support. Then the entire boat is built around the stringer system so may also have crossways stringers to section as well.

These types of things are always fun to hypothesize about, but this is one repair that is a lot more complicated than it seems if done right.....just keep the boat dry, check for PVC pipe inserts in limber holes and get them removed and glassed in correctly if you have them and reseal any low holes into the stringers that may get bilge water in them....and pray you are never faced with a stringer replacement.
 
There are no PVC inserts in the limber homes at all. Either it didn't come that way or somebody else corrected Sea Ray's mistake.

How can you keep condensation out of your bilge?

I don't permit my shaft seals to leak at all when I'm not there. If they leak I tighten them until they don't when I leave the boat. Also the rudder seals will no longer leak very soon. And even then it was a small amount.

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If your boat stays in Ga in the winter, I suspect a couple of 50-60W light bulbs will take care of the condensation you get.

My boat stays in the water and we probably have a greater change in temperature every day in Panama City that you do in the Atlanta area. I have added 2 vapor proof light fixtures to the main bulk head in my boat and 2 - 50watt rough service bulbs have kept my bilge dry for the last 10 years.
 
My boat stays on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga. Interestingly, it has spent its entire life in Tennessee.

Back to stringers, are those systems of epoxy filler any good?

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There is no better epoxy system than West Systems Epoxy made by Gougeon Brothers. But, it isn't like just "buy epoxy and spread it on." west Systems offers several different hrdners for their resin and each has its purpose.......regular, slow cure, clear for exposed wood applications on furniture/interior work, then, there are lots of fillers available for various purposes like final fairing, adhesive gap filling, hole filling, etc. Epoxy has better strength properties than plain resin, so if you have a project in mind, take a look at the West Systems website. It is very educational and explains a lot about the whole repair process.
 
I've heard of some people drilling out stringers and filling with some kind of compound that binds to the wood and fills the stringers.

I've also heard of a system called DryBoat that comes to your boat and injects hot and dry air into the stringers or whatever is rotten and then fills them with epoxy or something else.

I have a feeling if something is too good to be true, it is.

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