Need advice on replacing cabin sole and stringers.

[sailorsam57]

The cabin sole and stringers in my Yachtcraft 34(Islander 34) are waterlogged and need to be replaced. This is a Kit(homebuilt) boat. It appears that the cabin sole is providing support to the hull rather than the stringers. I'm concerned about the hull FLEXING if I try to cut the entire sole out. I'm thinking of cutting sections of the sole around the stringers and replacing them 1 X 1 and then when all have been replaced I would cut out the remaining cabin sole and replace. Does this make sense or is there a better way? Pics attached. Sorry about the # of pics, just trying to be thorough.

[Spot]

Working through a smaller version of this on my kit boat, so I feel your pain so to speak...

Here is a video of something 'more your size', may want to watch the one ahead of it too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyKy-cDy6e8

[sailorsam57]

yeah, I've watched about a dozen videos.

[sailingharry]

I did that project on my Sabre 34. Brutal job! But a thought to consider. On my boat, the original construction was done with marine plywood. That is an absolutely awful material for water soaked or exposed parts. The beams were made of laminated plywood and the sole is a sheet of marine plywood.

When I redid it, I made all the beams out of pressure treated 2X stock. I scoured my attic and friends attics for stuff that had been stored indoors for a couple of years, so it was bone dry. And from a structural standpoint solid timber is much stronger than laminated plywood in this load direction. One half of the plies in plywood do not contribute anything.

And for the sole, I used a product called PlyDeck It is a high ply count, low void, pressure treated and then redried (PTKD -- Post Treatment Kiln Dried) plywood intended for the pontoon boat market. At over $100 a sheet, it was not cheap, but it was very nice to work with. Unfortunately, some quick googling doesn't find it now.

[psk125]

The plywood in the photos still looks reasonably solid and well tabbed in to the hull, with no delamination visible. Is it in worse shape than it looks? The floors (crosswise structural supports for the cabin sole, which can also tie the hull together in the bilge) look well tabbed in too. Are they rotted or just wet? Stringers run fore & aft - don't see any in the photos.