recently seen a 38 scarab AVS for sale on FB, has been determined it has rotted front stringers. Talking to a customer of mine, he says a LOTO surveyor told him its very common on the AVS hull design for front stringers to be rotted. Without tearing a boat apart, is there anyway to even check them (access point), could they be changed without removing top cap and liner from boat (cut out everything then patch liner back together?), just curious, Smitty

If its a common problem, it must be a pretty well kept secret. I ran around with a few guys that had 38s, and never heard of any issues

I have a 43' AVS and YES... it is a pain in the ass problem!! There is NO forward bilge pump to remove water that collects from either leaking forward hatches or rainwater that gets inside the cabin from the door. I've also thought the water was getting in there from the anchor locker but cannot actually figure out how it is getting in the cabin.

There is a small hole in the floor supposedly for a post mount or something... i put a 3/4" hose in there with a pump that dumps into the sink, to the outside of the hull. The boat is trailered and stored indoors, so again... the only explanation is rain water or washing it from when I take it outside as the water has no Salt taste and that is the only use I have had of lately.

My plan is to cut a floor access panel and add an automatic bilge pump with a tee into the sink drain.

I've owned a 26, 1998, a 29, 1999, and a 38 AVS, 1999. No problems with stringers. Did have a problem with the deck cracking on the 38. IMO, very easy to happen, and I've seen it in many boats / brands, regarding the stringers. Anything stowed nose down is prone to the problem. Hard to tell how a used boat was stowed, but not impossible to check forward stringers for rot.