Wet Stringers

I have a question for the Cal 31 owners out there. I have two stringers in the engine room that are water logged. Will I have to relieve the tension on the backstay to replace the stringers? Can I do the job in the water or would it be better to put it in the yard on stands? They’re ½” by 4” and maybe six feet long and open on both ends. No wonder they’re soaked! Is there a preferred type of wood for this application? Jeff Cal 31 Hull #8 "Bonnie Lou"

I did all the structural work on my 29 while it was in the water. That said, just remember 2 things. 1. a level is a useless tool in the water. To get things square, you have to pull strings from reference points. 2. Cutting things out carries a slightly higher risk when the boat is in the water, make a mistake w the saw, grinder or drill and you have an emergency that must be dealt with(I never had a problem, but it crossed my mind a few times :) ) As far a a preferred wood, I used mahogany in a lot of places. The key is to epoxy coat wood on all sides before glassing it in. Get a really good seal. since it's only 1/2 inch you could use a marine or aircraft grade plywood, epoxy coat it and then glass it in. Just make sure you really seal the ends well. Plywood will drink up the first coat of epoxy, on the ends you may need as many as 3- 4 coats. Good luck, Jim East Coast cal 29 sailor. On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 3:01 PM, <je… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: > > > I have a question for the Cal 31 owners out there. I have two stringers in > the engine room that are water logged. > > Will I have to relieve the tension on the backstay to replace the > stringers? Can I do the job in the water or would it be better to put it in > the yard on stands? They're 1/2 " by 4" and maybe six feet long and open on > both ends. No wonder they're soaked! > > Is there a preferred type of wood for this application? > > Jeff > > Cal 31 Hull #8 "Bonnie Lou" > > >

On 2/10/2014 3:18 PM, sailor7312 . wrote: > > > > > As far a a preferred wood, I used mahogany in a lot of places. The > key is to epoxy coat wood on all sides before glassing it in. Get a > really good seal. since it's only 1/2 inch you could use a marine or > aircraft grade plywood, epoxy coat it and then glass it in. The Gougeon Brothers' boatbuilding philosophy is that wood is an excellent structural material if you control for moisture content, because its characteristics vary with moisture content. Keep it constant and optimum and you're in good shape. Sealing with epoxy does that. A corollary is that you must keep it dry. If moisture gets in, you've created a neat little sealed environment for bacteria and such to cook away. You've got to either leave it uncoated or make sure it's completely coated. You've seen what happened when pieces were mostly but not quite completely coated. Chris Campbell

I replace port stringer with marine plywood and fiberglass. It worked great. On Tuesday, February 11, 2014 11:57 PM, "je… [at] yahoo.com" <je… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: I have a question for the Cal 31 owners out there. I have two stringers in the engine room that are water logged. Will I have to relieve the tension on the backstay to replace the stringers? Can I do the job in the water or would it be better to put it in the yard on stands? They’re ½” by 4” and maybe six feet long and open on both ends. No wonder they’re soaked! Is there a preferred type of wood for this application? Jeff Cal 31 Hull #8 "Bonnie Lou"

preffered wood is fir or mahogany marine plywood no need for epoxy fiberglass and polyester resin will work fine and last yrs resin coat all wood surfaces but do not coat more then twice round all edges that are to be glassed around completely no sharp edges glass will not bend a sharp edge air will get trapped. a matt roving matt roving matt layup over the whole surface would be standard Prep is everything