Hello All !!
I have just started to rebuild my 1988 CC 260 Stinger and I am at the fun part where I discover that my transom and engine stringers are damn near void of any wood. I have decided to redo the transom with 3 layers of 3/4" High Density PVC Foam board which was suggested to me buy a guy at my local marine surplus supply store. My questions is... Can I use this same material for the engine stringers?? Is that stuff strong enough for that application or should I redo the stringers in wood?? I would love to replace the wood with something that will not rot out in the future. Anyones comments on this would be appreciated!!

well, if you follow offthefront tread about his formula, he used foam. More expensive but no rot on the long run. On the other hand, it took close to 18 years for your boat to need a transom change. Are you gonna keep this boat for 20 years ?

Since I'm guessing the answer is no, I'd go with wood! you'll still never see the end!

do not use foam for the transom it cannot handle the compression load as well as wood. also standard transoms are two layers of 3/4"

Like Dave says do not use that foamsh**t!!!
When I do such transom/stringer repairs I use birch playwood. Thats A shortfibre strong material and very nice to handle. I did some minor repairs in my -89 312 Stinger last winter. I Belive its a good idea to coat the bottom with a dark grey gelcoat when you had the glass job done.
Do you have any pic so we can try help you out here??!


Mange

Yes bearch is also what i used, also rember the name west systems. We used it after we cut the tops out of stringers, put a few peices of wood in then just filled them to the top with west systems. I can guarente that it won't go anywhere, solid as steel.. Good luck

i would also use an epoxy system other than WestSystem. its great stuff but cost to much and its viscosity is kinda high, makes wet-out a pain sometimes. i have pretty good luck with products from USComposites

http://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html


their epoxies come in three different viscosities and are priced at a fraction of WestSystems. as a matter of fact all threir products are pretty well priced. good luck with you project.

nice look'in work Mange! alot of guys dont go through the extra effort to surface finish a repair area. nice

Hey Mange, Thanks for the suggestion. It looks like your project turned out pretty nice. Great work!! Glassdave... I checked out that link for the epoxy and I think that I will go that route. Did you use the thin kit or the thick kit? I'm guessing the thin.

yep, thin. make sure any fiberglass you use has binders that are compatable with epoxy. use sewn bi-ax fabrics if possible. also no need for chop strand layers with epoxy.

That stuff is defently cheaper then westsystems, but when ya need a fix, thast what ya got thats waht ya use, I might have to try out the uscomposites on the next batch of stuff, thanks dave