Stringer delamination?
 

I just finished winterizing. As I was pulling the port battery I tapped the stringer and found the glass is loose from the wood for about six feet. Is there any such thing as an easy repair or should I just start parting out the boat. :mad:

Duct tape it down, and repaint the bilge. Then list it on Ebay!

Fixing is NEVER easy.

But it can be fixed .

Did it justcome off or is the wood rotten ?

If it just delamed then cut it of grind the wood and reclass, overlap on each side (about 6 ") and repaint with gelcoat .

Havn't opened it up yet. It feels solid behind. Problem is about 50% of it is going to be a real pain in the ass to get to without some major boat taking apart.

I might list it for the value of the parts.

question is WHY did it come unglued?? wet stringers is the usual culprit...time to break out the grinder and play itchy scratchy

:ernaehrung004:

it's on ebay check it out http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=

good luck, it will be a great project for the right person

Its a nice boat,,,,,,just fix it.

1+1/2 weeks and 2500 bucks ,,,,,done.

then I'd have to keep it. I never planned on keeping this boat for more than a couple years. I hate putting a lot of work into somthing I'm not going to keep. I'd like to have a late 90s early 00s formula in a 35'. I have a set of strokers waiting for the right boat.

Have you brought it to Ron at Fiberglass plus?

not yet I'll stop by and talk to him before I bring it over. Thanks

Take a 1" speed bit and drill a cpl of holes ..... will tell you alot ...m

People are not buying good running/structure boats for much right now as it is, parting it out is alot of work and will not make it easier to sell off really, I say if you are able to tyake it apart, have a glass guy do the work and put it together yourself, i did it, not that big of a deal. takes 2 days to pull engines, get the interior out, older Baja's or any other are known for these issues,
I am usually a fan of a part out when all else fails, but in this case I think you are better off fixing the boat, selling the bl;owers seperate,return engines back to stock then sell the boat fixed and solid, that way you will still get a decet dollar for it.
454's with blowers are not going to sell thate asy, most people figure tbhey will need redone, drives can be boght for 1500.00 each. like Is ay, prob better off fixing it..

Thanks brother- I probably will I was pretty frustrated when I found it. No real action on ebay. She's put up for the winter now, I don't have anywhere indoors to work on it. I'll break her out early in the spring and tear it apart. I'll take a bunch of pics and post progress on this thread. :ernaehrung004:

Thats cool, I hate to see a good boat get taken apart, believe me... I was almost ready to give up at some point!

But now it was all worth it and i know the boat better then anyone, i did everythign BUT the fiberglass work, a long process but looks and runs good now!

Here is my mess...Amazing what you can do with some effort! Threads are from my buddys site.

http://www.islandpirates.net/forum/s...hlight=transom
http://www.islandpirates.net/forum/s...hlight=transom
http://www.islandpirates.net/forum/s...hlight=transom

I wood go in there drill several 1/4 holes along the top, deep as you can go, look at the wood that comes out on the bit...wet dry ?? If wet drill holes all along till you get to dry wood, keep the area dry and let it dry for a week or 2, what you want is a swiss cheese look....then start filling with git-rot, take your time, fill slowly, when you get it all filled the stringer will be stronger than when new...this stuff works unreal...Rob

I was told that thatonly works if they are just wet, not rotted...if it is delaminated I would say it is rotted, and knowing how baja's were not sealed well I would say do it right.

When I has some issues I looked at product called "Seacast" ... cut the top of the stringer off and remove all wood material and then pour in the seacast and reglass in the cap ...I did not use it however .... went with Coosa High Density Foam ...m

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...project-2.html

http://www.coosacomposites.com/

Isn't that Coosa stuff expensive?

It wasnt cheap ...seems was about 180.00/sheet (4x8) ...We used 3 layers of 1.5" for the center Stringer and the Bulkhead ...1" for the outside stringers ... Its done though now and is lighter wont rot .....I dont think it really added to the value of the boat but I do think it will help sell it ....m

I figured since he was not planning on keeping it too much longer to make it cheaper, if done right and sealed well the wood would be fine, keeping cost down.

I had mine done last winter, transom, all 3 stringers and bulkhead for 4100.00 that included paint, and marine plywood for transom, my stringers are made from 2x12's I like that since it is one piece of wood, not sandwiched wood

Thanks for all the advice and pictures. I still have one guy asking questions and thinking about buying it. When he goes away you guys are getting me jazzed to take it apart. Problem is if I take it apart it will snowball. If the engines come out then they have to come apart and will need forged internals a stroker crank aluminum heads ect ect ect. All the new glass and engine compartment will have to be sanded smooth and gelcoated. It may never see water again and like anyone else who has done this kind of thing I'll have way more money in it than it's worth. :ernaehrung004:

It does not have to snowball.... do the engines another time, they are easy to take in and out, unless yours are not good now, if they run keep running them, it is worth the work, I love showing off what my boat was and is now.

That is ABSOLUTELY the WRONG way to do it, laminated plywood is much stronger than a single piece of wood, a single piece will splinter whereas the grain in plywood is staggered on each ply, much stonger.

It has been that way for 22 yrs with no issues, I had the boat redone the way it came when built, barely wet when removed but I figured redo it while I had it apart.

It did not ROT like the plywood in the rest of the boat, what is stronger then?

he is right the plywood is glassed together which done right is better, my 88 stringers look like plywood, put I could be wrong I need the bulkhead in front of the motor replaced stringers look go so far and the floor might need some work mine is going in as soon as I am recoved from my knee replacement this spring I have a new 572 bower motor going in so the bulkhead has to be moved or mod wear the belt drive is:eek: and I want to add a bulkhead going into the cabin it has plexiglass on each side now plus a ring bulkhead in the cabin we have reinforce the deck already a few yrs back I want this to last another 20 years the past 20 it went from a 60mph boat to a 83mph boat its faster but ran out of prop at 6000rpm. the new motor should get me over 100mph. artie

Airtime did you already add a ring bulkhead in the cabin or you are going to? I thought about adding one to my boat, it has a large deck that can flex in the rough, I want to try and strengthen it up.

going to add one I think if you wrap it up the ends with a layer of carbin fiber it will stiffen it up more Iam putting a full one at base of the cabin and full where the motor is so ANEW BACK SEAT WILL BE NEEDED TOO.

Art you are going to open up a can of worms bro. Unless you get SUPER lucky the gas tank will be back against the bulkhead. So the tank will have to be removed. Then the stringers in the engine bay may need to be replaced so that they can go farther forward to the new bulkhead. I doubt that they should be extended.... Seat moving forward is probably not a big deal at all. Then the engine hatch will need to be extended and reglassed..... Sounds like my POS boat :D

I have to notch the bulkhead cause the blower motor won't fit:rolleyes:, and the old seat was roughed on the back side, so yeah its going to be a pain but not as much as my leg:pI need a bottle of jack and a bigger chop saw to just cut that phucken leg off so I can move on:ernaehrung004:. still can't drive jon:grinser010:. well I'll call yah to night buddy. artimus is leaving the building.:eek:

So how is this project going?

Cut the glass off. Make sure you dry it for weeks in a warm building with a heater then use a moisture meter. When it is ready, have a professional reglass it. No big deal.