Reseating Stringers

[Me-and-Boo]

I have two stringers that show the tabbing cracking. The wood is good. What are the repair options? I have been searching for this answer for hours and could not find an answer.

My thought was to grind to clean on the tabs and the hull and glass that down. But, I do not know if that would work out.

The second problem is I need to find a fiberglass person in the SE Virginia area who could look at the problem and give a yes or no statement about sailing her as is. I would like to move her to a yard closer to my home; travel would be on the Chesapeake Bay.

[capt.bobfm]

Can you send pictures of the problem aria ?

[JonathanSail]

Without seeing the damage in person it's impossible to recommend a correct repair since the damage may exceed what is shared online and in photos and only tapping and close inspection of the damage and hull structures by an expert might determine if other stress cracks or problems have been introduced in association with the delamination of the tabbing that you see. If the issue is limited to the delamination that you see then the repair will at least include cleaning and grinding the area in preparation of applying epoxy and some combination of fillers and/or new glass layup.

It may be that simply adhering the stringers to the hull with the current tabbing is possible and sufficient through cleaning tabbing and hull and injecting thickened epoxy between the two. It may be necessary to remove all of the tabbing and start over or to supplement the tabbing with more layup. Care must be taken to avoid introducing hard spots in an area that may need to flex as the boat works.

A big question is why did this delamination occur? Was it a one time incident like a hard grounding or dock run-in? Was it caused by a mistake in construction that caused a weak bond? Did it happen as a result of too much hull flex caused by a problem in a different location and separate from these stringers? Another part of the repair will also included determining why the delamination occurred so that you can fix the source of the problem and not simply patch things up which could cause other problems etc. etc.

I hope those thoughts from an amateur boat restorer help. Good luck getting to the bottom of the problem and repair and feel free to keep us up to date. With more information (and perhaps without) you should get some good information from the many experts on this site.

Jonathan

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Me-and-Boo

I have two stringers that show the tabbing cracking. The wood is good. What are the repair options? I have been searching for this answer for hours and could not find an answer.

My thought was to grind to clean on the tabs and the hull and glass that down. But, I do not know if that would work out.

The second problem is I need to find a fiberglass person in the SE Virginia area who could look at the problem and give a yes or no statement about sailing her as is. I would like to move her to a yard closer to my home; travel would be on the Chesapeake Bay.

When I converted to electric propulsion four years ago I had to modify the existing stringers on the boat. It was setup for the V drive transmission of the diesel. I paid a local yacht refinisher to do the modification. You can see what was done in these posts:
THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: GOING ELECTRIC: PART 9 WHERE TO BEGIN?

THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: GOING ELECTRIC: Part 10 Glassing

THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: GOING ELECTRIC PART 11: THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST

THE BIANKA LOG BLOG: GOING ELECTRIC PART 12: Installing the mounts

They might give you an idea on how to proceed with your repair.

[Me-and-Boo]

It looks like either a hard grounding, no evidence other than the stringers and a Catalina Smile, which is not large, of that. The hull and deck are sound and free of defects; hammer pounding and meter readings are good without problems. One stbd stringer under the engine and one port stringer forward of the head are the problems. Both look to be at lift points.

[amarinesurveyor]

Are these stringers the engine bed? If not where are they located? In order to repair cracked tabbing properly, you need to grind away all of the unbonded tabbing, remove all gel coat and paint, and then apply new tabbing using heavy structural fabric and epoxy resing. Possibly two layers to reduce the possibility of failure again. Make sure you carry the tabbing well up the stringers and also a good distance onto the hull. If there are any gaps between the bottom of the wood and the hull, fill it with epoxy paste.
Take some pictures so we can see what you are talking about.
Brian

[Celestialsailor]

A picture is worth a thousand words M&B.

[James S]

Originally Posted by amarinesurveyor

Are these stringers the engine bed? If not where are they located? In order to repair cracked tabbing properly, you need to grind away all of the unbonded tabbing, remove all gel coat and paint, and then apply new tabbing using heavy structural fabric and epoxy resing. Possibly two layers to reduce the possibility of failure again. Make sure you carry the tabbing well up the stringers and also a good distance onto the hull. If there are any gaps between the bottom of the wood and the hull, fill it with epoxy paste.
Take some pictures so we can see what you are talking about.
Brian

Do your self a big favor...if your hull thickness is substantial enough 3/8 inch or more, you may be able to remove the bulk of the tabs by actualy chiseling them off....yes, as strange as it sounds....you may be able to get the tabs to delaminate from the rest of the lay-up...this will save you a huge amount of the most miserable grinding you can imagine....you will still have to grind, but it will be a fraction of the work.
Also I recommend the new tabs be a substantial lay-up of several layers of mat and one of roving...