Gary Anderson

I was checking out the Excalibur Cat this weekend that I posted on a couple weeks ago.
I noticed that the stringers/engine mounts in the cat were glassed into the sides and center tunnel of the boat. Have there been problems with the stringers rotting out with this type of configuration?
Gary

BROWNIE

No worse than any other method.

tomcat

I had to replace one on my 1986 Excaliburcat, but I think it was due to a poor job by Wellcraft. The starboard engine's stringer attached to the tunnel was not wide enough to carry the mount lag bolts so the extra width was added with a piece of plywood scabbed on. The plywood didn't reach to the bilge floor so there was an air pocket where the fibreglass mat was laid joining the bilge floor to the stringer. When this unsupported glass cracked the air pocket became a water pocket and the plywood wicked the water up the side of the stringer and it eventually went soft. I replaced it with a piece of hardwood wide enough to carry the mounts. No problem since then.

Which cat are you looking at?

Gary Anderson

tomcat
It's a blue 86 excalibur with 540s and Kaamas. It's been at LOTO for about 6 years, but I dont think it's been run very much. It also has 1 drive or tranny locked up (prop wont spin). I was planning on tearing it down to the bare glass hull. I was just curious about the stringer arrangement. It seems that design would be prone to water leakage through the gelcoat/hull and from water in the engine compartment. It also only allows the use of lagbolts down into the stringer rather than thru bolting the engine mounts. It also sounds like they would be a real pain to remove if rotted.
Gary