Why am I not surprised by this cut stringer

So, I suppose if you're a Taiwan boat builder in the 80's this is normal. If you want to run water lines and a stringer is inconvenient just cut out the stringer.

It's in the ceiling of a master stateroom locker on our Sealord 35 sundeck (Identical to the Oceania 35). The lines ran to a sundeck sink that had a bad leak and saturated some of the paneling (you can see the mold that developed). It and the aft sundeck teak are all coming off in a few weeks.

Now, to be fair this has been there since 1989 without failing but I cringe every time I find stuff like this. I'm going to glass in a filler piece.

I wouldn't single out the Taiwanese builders for such a thing.

I've seen countless such hack jobs done ashore by plumbers, electricians and HVAC installers.

Sabre602 said:

I wouldn't single out the Taiwanese builders for such a thing.

I've seen countless such hack jobs done ashore by plumbers, electricians and HVAC installers.

Click to expand...

Indeed the PO of my house did a similar thing with the main beam supporting the deck. He wanted to add a dryer exhaust and the beam was right in the middle, so why not cut 3/4 of it to give room to the exhaust. No need to relate what happened a year where snow fall was heavier than normal...

L

Our boat has had plenty off hacking done . Especially when they installed new fuel tanks . I’ve repaired some but I have bunch more that need repair .

More likely it was a previous owner. If the builder didn't want a stringer there, they wouldn't have put one there.....unless you have hull #1, I'd bet an owner did that.

Hmm, I had to rip out original panels (original fasteners etc) to get at it so I'm fairly certain it came from the factory this way but I can't deny the possibility it was hacked up afterwards. Oh well, I'll fix it up.

Remember that only the bottom face of that stiffener is really doing the work. I mean some of the bottom of the wood is working, but mostly it's the 'glass. When you 'glass something in, use several layers of 'glass on the bottom face and extend it some reasonable distance beyond the cut; say 3x the depth of the stringer.

I repaired similar-looking broken stringers in an old FD. I glassed over the break about 4" each way and onto the hull and all was well for the years that I owned that boat.

As a heads up, try West Systems instead of glassing it. I think it’s a lot easier to work with, epoxy bonds better to wood, and you don’t need a respirator to apply. NOTE: if you’re using any of the silica filler then use a respirator for that part as it’s mini shards of glass and stuff....

Exactly, re Jbear, #8. Use epoxy resin with the 'glass reinforcement. Better bond to old polyester-'glass; better bond to the wood.

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I've got to do the job, West System.

I would be tempted to screw a stainless strap over the finished product similar to the one on the rear of the picture and take it about 8 inches on either side to stiffen up the whole thing.

Quote: don’t need a respirator to apply. Quote End


WRONG.
There are fumes from epoxies and they can make you SICK. Worse is those fumes can trigger an allergic response to many other common boat and house used chemicals meaning you may no longer be able to do the needed repairs around the boat, the house, the cars. That includes paints and work working if you are one of the truly unlucky ones.

If you don't believe then do some research.

I made my self sick using epoxies and polyester resins. I got lucky without the allergic response but I was sick.

I learned to use a face mask with appropriate filter elements and gloves.
In a confined space I rig several fans using some duct work/hose to move the fume out of the boat.

If it was a 5 or 10 minute job I might still just go in without the fans but that repair will be more than 5 or 10 minutes.

PROTECT YOURSELF

I was sizing it up again yesterday. This is in a very low load area which is probably why they weren't concerned about cutting it like that just to run some water lines. As I mentioned earlier it looks like it's been this way since construction in 1989 with no ill effects. She's going in to get the aft teak deck removed in a week or so and I'll get the yard to look at it.

I won't leave it this way just on principal but I'm not overly concerned. There had to be a better way to run the lines though.

"More likely it was a previous owner. If the builder didn't want a stringer there, they wouldn't have put one there.....unless you have hull #1, I'd bet an owner did that."

In China it was not uncommon to give a hull to be finished to a newly wed couple.

If the boat sold , another boat builder was created.

Levels of fit and finish varied , but most grooms started at age 10-or 12 working in the yard so were fairly prepared a decade later.

The Other Gary said:

I would be tempted to screw a stainless strap over the finished product similar to the one on the rear of the picture and take it about 8 inches on either side to stiffen up the whole thing.

Click to expand...

I had a similar problem on a glue lam beam in my Sedona house that supported the outside deck. I had a "U" shaped steel support made and it has held up since 1998. If you want a "no fail" fix, put some steel on there as previously mentioned. It's an easy fix.