Grant MacLaren's 1972 Correct Craft Skier

Rotten Stringers in
Grant MacLaren's
1972 Correct Craft Skier
MacSkier

Before removing the engine and "side" floorboards:

Click photo for larger image. The floorboards were so filthy, when I stood them up on edge like this overnight, there was a puddle of oil on the floor under their edges. (These floorboards are made of carpet-covered plywood dated 2003. Not original to boat.)

Click photo for larger image.

Click photo for larger image. Before I (easily) yanked the fiberglass cloth off that crossmember:

Click photo for larger image. Uh, oh!

Click photo for larger image. Some bozo applied glass and resin over filthy stringer crossmember. I pulled it off easily with almost no effort.

Click photo for larger image. There was (and still is) a lot of oil in the bilge. I've washed the inside of the boat three times with high pressure hose and detergent.

Click photo for larger image.

1/29/14:
Yesterday, I dug into the port stringer and found it rotten -- really rotten:

Click photo for larger image. I removed a port engine mount and found this:

Click photo for larger image.

Click photo for larger image. 1/30/14:
(A friend writes: Grant, The stringers look worse than I thought possible inside a fiberglass box! What is the plan? New wood or metal stringers? What kind of wood was in there originally? Was it solid or plywood? It looks like it's just saw dust. I am amazed.
LLK)

Found this today:

Click photo for larger image.
Larry, It's worse than sawdust.
It's a black soggy mess, -- typical, I think, of many 'glass boats of this era. No real plan as yet. The original stringer wood was solid, not ply -- rather course grained. I'd call it construction grade.
I've yet to find how far the rot goes before finding good wood.
In fact, I found more rot today on a cross member fwd. of the front seats. (See above) I removed the fuel tank today. It's going to a radiator shop tomorrow. We (Bud Eiler and I) are thinking of continuing my exploration 'til I find something solid, than scarphing in some new wood, 'glassing over the new stuff and adding a metal angle or plate over the patch.

2/16/14:
Worked on fuel system today, then dug into port exhaust pipe bay. Using electric chain saw, I cut out foam surrounding port "pipe." I'm sure you would be amazed at the quantity of water retained in foam. Whoever put this stuff in place sure was ignorant. (I've noticed many who own these boats don't know a thing about good boat design, details, etc.) I also used the chain saw (as recommended by local 'glas boat guy) to dig into stringers. The technique is an excellent one -- easy to "find" and dig out the rot, stopping at 'glas and/or solid wood. But even the good wood is wet. No photos today. Forgot the camera.

Dug this mess out of port exhaust pipe bay, and brought it home to photograph, and to put in the trash. It's a pice of the foam some jerk had put around the exhaust pipe -- like everything else in the boat, including the rotten wooden stringers, it is soaking wet. (I've run an electric heater fan against one "opened" stringer for at least 16 hours. It's still soggy wet.)

Click photos for larger images.

"gR@HaM" on CCF posted this nice image of his boat's stringers. As of this writing, I don't know if CC ever installed metal angle like this, but we are thinking it might be good to do in my boat.