1987 Grady White 204C rotten stringers and transom.

[Glasser]

Hello Everyone,

I'm brand new to the forum. I just purchased a 1987 Grady White 20C Overnighter. Unfortunately, I found rot in the stringers around the tank and some in the transom. I've been browsing the site for some info.
The stringers look ok in the bow under the cabin and close to the transom. I'm getting ready to start cutting the floor and deck out to reveal everything. I have a couple questions. Is it possible to remove the rotten part of the stringers and splice in new? I was hoping to keep from tearing into the cuddy section since the stringers look good there. Also, I thought of replacing the transom with a full transom and adding an extension bracket for the motor which will be a four stroke 150 Yamaha. Is there any special ways the transom would need reinforcement for this?

Anyway, glad to be here and thanks again.

 

[Glasser]

I meant to say a 204C.

Thanks and Merry Christmas to all.

 

[glacierbaze]

I hope that your first name is Fiber!

 

[seasick]

The strength of the stringers is not so much the stringer core but rather the fiberglass outer shell. If you extend the distance that the fiberglass splice extends over the 'good' section of stringer and/or bulkhead, the new stringer can be as strong as the original. There re many videos of fiber glassing structural parts on the internet. There are certain tricks that can make the difference between a solid structure and one that will crack and fail.

 

[Fishtales]

Agree, you can bring them up and glass over existing and new. I used Total Boat products when I recored/glassed the backside of a hatch cover. Cheaper than West System.

 

[Hookup1]

I hope this is a labor of love boat and it didn't cost you much. If you have the time and ability to DIY it could be a winner. Best of luck!

 

[Glasser]

Thank you all for the responses. I pulled the tank and found the rot not nearly as bad as I anticipated. I cut a 4"X4" section of the woven out and found the rot isolated to the forward starboard area around the tank compartment. I'm going to dig out what I can and then pack it with structural putty. Then I'll lay 1708 over it and seal it up with gelcoat with wax in it.

 

[seasick]

I don't know about the structural putty idea. Patching with a composite board (expensive) is a better idea or instead using some marine plywood, That gets epoxied in and then glassed, at least three layers each overlapping that previous layer. If there are 90 degree angles, those should be filleted.
I suggest you spend some time watching videos. Boatworks Today has a good library of videos. Andy knows his fiberglass.

With respect to the gelcoat, that is overkill and a lot more work if the work will be under the deck. It would be perfectly OK to glass and then paint the repair. Use a two part paint compatible with your repair materials.. If you use epoxy for the repair, you don't need gellcoat to make it waterproof.