1996 Grady Islander Stringer rot repair

[greauxpete]

Job is complete (minus minor gelcoat touchup):

 

[Hookup1]

Job is complete (minus minor gelcoat touchup):

Starting to size up a transom and stringer job for my 1997 Islander. Still monitoring.

How did you know the transom was good? Was it "wet"? How did you bond stringers to it?

Did you have any cracking under the rub rail, on the transom or in the motor well?

It was just the stringers? This was because the tops were not sealed?

Did you pull the aft tank? Any structural work forward of the battery compartment or outside the center stringers?

 

[Hookup1]

Starting to size up a transom and stringer job for my 1997 Islander. Still monitoring.

How did you know the transom was good? Was it "wet"? How did you bond stringers to it?

Did you have any cracking under the rub rail, on the transom or in the motor well?

It was just the stringers? This was because the tops were not sealed?

Did you pull the aft tank? Any structural work forward of the battery compartment or outside the center stringers?

I re-read the thread. Very nice work! I'll answer my own questions. Please correct them if wrong.

How did you know the transom was good? Was it "wet"? How did you bond stringers to it?
Stringer connection to transom was fine and transom was not touched.

Did you have any cracking under the rub rail, on the transom or in the motor well?
No transom movement. Transom was fine and was not touched.

t was just the stringers? This was because the tops were not sealed?
Yes - just the stringers on one side. Yes - tops were not sealed.

Did you pull the aft tank? Any structural work forward of the battery compartment or outside the center stringers?
No - tank was not pulled. No work forward of the bilge/batter compartment.

I looked my stringers over. In the bilge/battery compartment they are capped and look fine. I'm sure there is a new transom in my future. Stringers will get done then too.

If I understand the construction of the boat the 4 stringers support the transom to keep it vertical. The transom doesn't go all the way to the sides of the boat or all the way up to top half of the boat. The stringers are doing most of the work to keep the transom in place. If the stringers go the torque of the motors will break the transom along the top and vertical edges.

 

[SouthFork]

My ‘95 was the same. On top of that the sides of the fiberglass on the stringers were higher than the wood making a “U” shape at the top of the stringer with no fiberglass on the top of them. The stringer was directly under the caulk line of the floor plate which means water would collect in the “U” channel of the stringer. Absolutely terrible design.

 

[glacierbaze]

Grady‘s problems are not as much poor design as they are terrible quality control. How many people had eyes on all these problems, and never took the initiative to say anything, or do anything.

 

[Fishtales]

First, nice work. Stringers looks super. Agree on QC, but QC should drive change back into design to eliminate failures by design vs inspection.