Is it a microbial (mildew) deterioration? Is all wood that gets wet going to get it? Does it need oxygen?

If you have wood (ie in stringer) that got wet, can you do anything to prevent rot from occurring?

All replies appreciated!

Yes, all wood will rot unless treated prior to installation. Even with treatment, it still can rot. I have 4 x 4 PT lumber (the green stuff) around my home that is in contact with the ground and it is beginning to rot after one year.

Visit "www.rotdoctor.com" for some informative reading.

Next year, when I replace my transom, I'm going to do it with anything but wood. There must be some rigid composite out there that can be substituted.

D. Ocean
Pompano Beach, FLA

A great source of information!

Thank you

Yes there are high density foams that you can use but waite tell you see the price!!! I opted for a Marine Mahogony on all my repairs.

It is my understanding that most wood does need the air to rot. They found a pile of mahogony on the bottom of one of the great lakes and part of the cold water and the other part lack of oxygen has made this some of the most saught after wood in the world.

Jon

I came across this site a while back that looked interesting. Claims to be a pourable transom replacement.

www.transomrepair.com

In my travels, I found a scrap yard that has old aircraft bulkheads laying around. These seem to be a composite, sandwiching a honeycomb (aluminum? magnesium?) material. My transom isn't very large (3.5' x 6'), so I may do something exotic. In this day and age, there's got to be something better than wood.

D. Ocean
Miami, FLA

You can use a 12-16 pound foam for sure. I have done this with smaller boats before. DO NOT use starboard. I have heard of guys trying this but that is a HUGE mistake. There are other options but the names of the products are escaping me.

Jon

I had to replace an engine stringer in my 272. The glass guy who did it used a prisma beam which was a foam core with a fiberglass skin over it. It was probably 3-4" wide and the resin would penetrate through the glass and maybe 1/2" into the core. I've sold the boat, but I can say that it was solid as a friggin rock and much better than the wood stringer it replaced.

http://www.preforms.com/

Bill Prisma beams are GREAT for stringers. Those things are freeking insanely strong. I considered using them for my 302 stringer project but decided not to since I did not want to re-engineer everything. You have to remember with some of the foams, were ever you want to install or mount something you need to put a block of wood to screw into. With Product like NIDA Core if you do not you will be basically screwing into air.

Jon