Do these stringers have wood?

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christur
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Do these stringers have wood?

Post by christur »

I'm looking at a 1990 10.8. I've read that some of these boat don't have wood in the stringers.

These photos were taken under the cockpit, port side of the gas tank. There are 2 straps over the tank, and they are anchored to the stringers using those rusted fasteners. Normally, I'd expect the screw end (maybe they're bolts, didn't reach in there) of the fastener to just go down into the stringer, and that's it. But in this boat, there is an open hole cut in the stringer and the hole is filled with something, looks like a stringer width section of PVC. The screw seems to go into this.

Image

Image

Is that circle there as an anchor point? I can't see any other reason. Any why would you need an anchor point unless the stringer is empty?

Thanks!

Chris
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RWS
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Post by RWS »

My 1983 10 Meter International has 4 hollow stringers that are covered with a gel coated, finished liner in the engine room and the lazarette.

There is no visable pattern or weave on the stringers, and they are built into the liner system which, according to magazine articles, was vacuum bagged during construction.

There is a bit of wood in the top layer of that hollow stringer where the factory engine mounts were bolted using lag bolts.

It seems that engineering design and build changed in the 10 meter, however we do not have sufficient information to confirm this.

The mid cabin models discussed here and on the BoatEd forum seem to have a totallly different and more conventional stringer system than the express models first introduced, however we don't have enough examples here to determine if this was a blanket change or if it applied to only certain layouts, certain model years or some other production issues.

When looking at the used market it seems that once the mid cabin model was introduced, the original express cruiser disappeared.

We do have a member here who had to repair some rotten stringers on a mid cabin model which came as quite a surprise.

Remember when these boats were built, they were built to be sold at a profit. I don't believe that they were designed, engineered and built with the idea that they would continue in service for 30 - 50 years. However based on the initial design, given the proper care and feeding, they should thrive.

Drilling a 1/8 hole (and sealing it up thereafter) will certainly tell you the story on your stringers.

RWS
Last edited by RWS on Mon Feb 15, 2010 9:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
1983 10 Meter SOLD after 21 years of adventures
Yanmar diesels
Solid Glass Hull
Woodless Stringers
Full Hull Liner
Survived Andrew Cat 5,Eye of Charley Cat 4, & Irma Cat 2
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jimbo36
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Post by jimbo36 »

Christur, By the looks of the photos, your stringers are wood encapsulated in fiberglass. The PVC you see is a method of preventing water intrusion into the wood stringer, where fasteners are located. There is a hole drilled through the stringer, where a securing screw is to be placed, and the plastic pipe is laminated into the hole with epoxy to seal the inside of the hole followed by filling the pipe with epoxy to be drilled to accept a fastener. This is the best way of securing to wood cored stringers to avoid water intrusion followed by rot. jimbo36.
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BobCT
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the '86 mid cabin I was looking at in CT had wet stringers..

Post by BobCT »

sound of a mallet and hammer confirmed the findings by a surveyor. The '88 that I wound up buying (along with the '86) look just like your pic.


Bob
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gettaway
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Stringer

Post by gettaway »

I would guess that the "hole" also known as a weep hole or a limber hole, in the stringer is for drainage from the outboard sections of the hull to the center of the bilge. You would not water, fresh or salt, to accumulate to where it would have to submerge outboard of the stringer before it found it's way to the bilge pump.
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