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Old 04-16-2019, 06:56 PM
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Default Stringer material

I am in the process of removing the rotted stringers and bulkheads in my 26' Nova, which is nearly all of them. Most of the rebuild threads I have seen are replacing bad wood with wood once again. I found this product, coreliteboard, manufactured by Corelite Composites which is marketed as a plywood substitute for marine use among others. Sorry, I am not able to post attachments yet. Has anyone used this particular core material on their rebuild instead of traditional marine plywood? The thought of not having my stringers turn to mulch ever again is very appealing plus it's 27% lighter.

Thanks, Todd
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Old 04-16-2019, 07:55 PM
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Welcraft had some questionable building practices leading to running jokes on not if it wet, but how wet is it...... That said, their slap it together build strategy lasted how many years?? Use good wood and put it together right it will outlast your ownership.
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Old 04-16-2019, 08:16 PM
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Check out Coosa board
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Old 04-17-2019, 07:36 AM
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Phragle, That reputation is well deserved. With all the exposed wood in the hulls and poor water drainage in the bilge, these boats had to be wet after a very short time.

Gary, Thanks, the Coosa board looks to be a similar product. The Coosa Bluewater 26 board looks promising. Will do some more digging.

Thanks, Todd
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Old 04-18-2019, 12:24 PM
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Coosa or Space Age Synthetics (my choice) are a great way to go but you need to be aware of some differences in build techniques and rigging. Use only a good quality vinylester resin at a minimum. You can use poly but i have never thought the bond characteristics were that great, elongation is to low and can de-lam pretty easy. Anything that is through bolted will need to be backed up with good quality stainless plates or for light rigging large stainless fender type washers. Engine mounts have to be re-engineered to support the entire weight somewhere other then the shear force on the through bolts, some sort of saddle on top of the stringer etc. Some guys will sandwich an aluminum plate between a couple layers of Coosa but i have not done this, i prefer re working the mount. If you choose to do the transom in composite use three layers of half inch with a full lamination between each later, foam transoms always tend to be very flexible the less layers you use. I love working with the stuff and its worth the extra money. Truth be told though i still prefer wood for transoms and engine bay stringers for a lot of reason. Properly installed they will last forever and as far as the rot issue lets face it most of us take care of these things after the fact and it not like they are gonna sit out endlessly in the elements. Its just a personal preference and the argument can be made either way.
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Old 04-18-2019, 08:07 PM
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Dave,
Thanks for the tips. Looks like each of these companies offer a 26lb. panel in 3/4". Besides a little more cost for the material, I don't see a reason not to rebuild with composite panels. My center engine stringer is 4 plys of 3/4, so we can easily sandwich a plate in there and also build a saddle for the angle plate engine mounts. Do you know how companies like Cigarette are building their engine stringers now? Would have to believe they have moved to composite construction. The transom in my boat is actually solid so far. I will know more once I get the engine stringers out and inspect the rest of it.

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Old 04-19-2019, 11:50 AM
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i think most high end builders are doing all composite builds these days, I've seen foam transoms on some late model Cigs but have not gotten into the stringers. Its great stuff and i love working with panels that are always straight. In most non performance cases it can be used pretty much just as wood is (production non performance boats) but for our needs you just have to think ahead as much as you can. For most rigging you need to use the nice billet anodized rigging washers for any heavy stuff and any light duty stuff you can get away with a good quality (actually hard to find) thick stainless fender type washer, watch the quality and thickness of these washers as cheap thin ones can actually bend into a kind of funnel shape over time or if over tightened and that will be pretty damaging to the foam.

Bluewater 26 or Nautical 24 is a good choice although i usually go with something in the twenty pound range and use my lamination schedule for its strength as i dont think the roving cast into the heavier panels really benefits anything i build. The four layers that Wellcraft uses is a bit unnecessary in the center stringer, i do those with two layers and a one foot square stand off pad in the stack right where the mount goes. Never understood why they put that in there, massive overkill .
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Last edited by glassdave; 04-19-2019 at 01:20 PM.
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Old 04-19-2019, 08:22 PM
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Thanks for your insight. Looks like I have a direction to go. Now to spend some quality time with the grinder!

Thanks, Todd
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Old 04-19-2019, 09:29 PM
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36 grit flap discs are your friend.....
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Old 04-20-2019, 05:43 AM
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Exactly what I'm using. Norton Blaze ceramic discs. Makes quick work of it.

Thanks, Todd
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