Jump to content

Welcome to TheMalibuCrew!

As a guest, you are welcome to poke around and view the majority of the content that we have to offer, but in order to post, search, contact members, and get full use out of the website you will need to Register for an Account. It's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the TheMalibuCrew Family today!

Well...crap...89 Sunsetter Bad Stringers


Pete89Malibu

Recommended Posts

Took the boat in to have some cracked gel coat looked at and did not expect that they would find that the stringers (likely all of them) need to be replaced. As per my other posts, I knew the boat needed some work but...I didn't think it needed stringers. We got a good enough deal on it to where I am not too disappointed that it needs them. However, it does still kinda suck. I asked the prior owner about them but didn't double check them...shame on me.

Anyway, the couple of folks that I have talked to about having them repaired and a new floor put in, it definitely isn't going to be cheap. But, that doesn't bother me too terribly bad. I want it done right...not cheap. The biggest disappointment is...the boat will be laid up for about 3 weeks. That really sucks. So, what are y'alls thoughts on finishing out the season but take it easy, e.g. no crazy tubing and only pulling a single skier? Think the hull will hold up and not cause any further damage from flexing? I definitely do not want to make this any worse. The second guy I took it to seemed to think it would be alright...just stay out of rough waters. While he's preparing me an estimate, I asked him to check everything and confirm that.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

-Pete

89Sunsetter

Link to comment

Take a quick safety assessment of the stringers near the motor mount lags and transom. It the motor is secure, and stringers are tight to the transom, then finish the summer on the water. IMO anyway. Fix it in the winter, when it'll be cheaper as well. It's been rotten for a while... doesn't happen overnight.

Sorry it happened, but glad you'll be fixing it. There's lots of documentation on this site to help.

Link to comment

Pete-

You have a few tough decisions to make. Several folks here on the crew have already done the project you speak of. Some have elected to turn their head the other way. I have an 89 Sunsetter that I am currently rebuilding, completely! Of course it did not start out that way, it just made sense as I began to take more and more of the boat apart and discovered things I could not overlook. But my point here is that after seeing how extensive the rot was and realizing that I ran the boat in that condition for a significant amount of time, Yes you can enjoy the rest of the season in your boat- conservatively. (taking what rugger said into consideration of course.)

Here is what I first found. http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd337/jasonyman/smallDSC06930.jpg

We ran the pants off this boat before we new the extent of the damage.

And from there I basically ended up gutting the entire boat down to a bath tub. I replaced the transom, the wood that the steering box mounts to, and right now I am installing new stringers. And still going....

You will need to decide if you want to just put a bandaid on it or if you want to go for a complete tear down. -And of course your long term goals with the boat will influence the limits you set finacially. I wanted to build it better than it ever was, I wanted to change and redesign a few things, use the best materials I could get my hands on, and know that a few years from now when I go to bed at night, that baby is dry on the inside!

Good luck

-Jason

Link to comment

In April I started to replace the carpet and stoped at the hull. Not what I wanted to do but I take my kids out. I posted some of the photos in my gallery. It was a big job but I know the boat is safe. I am sure the rot was there when I got the boat and used it for two summers. Good luck with your project !

Link to comment

Thanks for the replies y'all. We are probably going to gently use it the rest of the season and then make a decision.

Has anyone considered a stringer replacement alternative? Something instead of wood? I am sure that I am oversimplifying this but, here's what I was thinking: remove rotten wooden center stringers (vacuum?), media blast the remaining wood, apply direct heat source/air flow to dry stringer shells and finally fill...with something. It just seems like if you have stringers that are still largely, or 100%, intact, why rebuild? It also seems that if you replace with wood and plan on keeping the boat, it is just a matter of time before you will end up replacing them again. I do agree that if you were going to do a factory restoration, sure...use wood. But, kinda like FAST in drag racing...as long as it appears factory...who cares? A different material may compromise some ride quality but...it's a flat bottom boat...it's not going to ride well in rough water anyway. I can't help but think an epoxy, composite or dense foam would provide a far longer solution. The dense foam being the least likely.

So, am I crazy for thinking about a better mouse trap?

-Pete

89Sunsetter

Link to comment

Has anyone considered a stringer replacement alternative? Something instead of wood?... remove rotten wooden center stringers (vacuum?), media blast the remaining wood, apply direct heat source/air flow to dry stringer shells and finally fill...with something. It just seems like if you have stringers that are still largely, or 100%, intact, why rebuild? It also seems that if you replace with wood and plan on keeping the boat, it is just a matter of time before you will end up replacing them again. I do agree that if you were going to do a factory restoration, sure...use wood.... I can't help but think an epoxy, composite or dense foam would provide a far longer solution. The dense foam being the least likely.

-Pete

89Sunsetter

I went down the exact thought process that you are. I did a ton of research as far as what else could be put back besides wood. I found a few epoxy based products that you would pour in like you described (Seacast), but in the end I chose to put the wood back in.

Here is why: In the process of trying to expose all the rot in the stringers I found a rather piss pour original boat build by Malibu! This boat started to rot the first day it hit the water. Specifically- the fiberglass work they did to cover the wood was horrible. I found areas that were very thin, so thin that now that the wood has rotted out I can blow air through the open weave in the glass. On the outside edges of the stringers at the engine mounts where the stinger has another board sistered to it for thickness, Malibu never applied any glass or resin to the underside of this wood and it was completely exposed and you know what that means. Had to claw out all the water logged foam to see this though. And so the more I took apart and exposed the more short cuts I found that they took which made me want to inspect even more. You can see the deteriorating cycle this was and that is why I ended up with just a fiberglass shell, bathtub.

If I just hollowed (much harder than it sounds) out the stringer shells, (after I already pulled up all the floors and dug out all the foam after I completely removed all the interior and mechanical parts of the boat) sanded and scuffed the outside of them to be able to get a good bond for the new fiberglass cap to put on them, filled them with whatever was deemed the very best pourable product I could get my hands on, and then put the boat all back together.... Well I just didn't think that was justice for this Malibu or the best way to go for all that work. In the beginning when we first knew that the stringers needed attention we decided to 'fix it right' because we want to keep this boat for our kids to grow up on, not just put a Band-Aid on it and keep going or even worse -sell it to somebody that may not catch it.

So once I was committed to replacing the stringers completely I needed to figure out what I would do it with. After a ton more research a reverted back to wood- Only because I knew my workmanship would be far better than the assembly line at Malibu back in '89. I knew that new wood stringers I build would never see water. I chose wood because of its unmatched strength, ease of use, and stability in any temperature. Foam core stringers will not work in this type of hull, they would need to be dimensionally larger and the hull would need to be really beefed up, then you still have to mount an inboard engine to foam and I just don't like the way that sounds. I also did not like composite stringers in this hull because of their lateral flexibility, unforgiveness, difficulty of use, and outrageous cost.

For my stringers I used Kiln Dried Doug Fir 2"x10"x18', laminated 1/2" Okume Marine ply to the outside edge, another short piece of Kiln Dried Doug Fir 2"x8"x4' to the outside edge of the ply at the motor mount section, and I used West System Epoxy for all of this. The wood is really nice to work with for shaping; you just need a jig saw and a belt sander.

So I tried to be brief and take you through my thought process but as long as whatever you choose to do you are confident in, it will be fine.

This may not be the best way to go, but if the way Malibu did it lasted 20 years; this should last 120 Years!

Enjoy your project!

Jason

Link to comment

Well put, Jason. I went through the same thought process as well. Keep in mind these boat hulls were also designed around having strong stringers, and wood is stronger than most composite you'll find. There are plenty of off-shore boats with wood stringers with outrageous horsepower. When I did my rebuild, we were very careful not to put any more holes in the stringers than were needed. If you want to be real particular, you can even sink stainless threaded inserts into the stringers for the engine mounts. I did this for a custom inner wedge bracket. But otherwise, just using good epoxy/sealant will be fine. Malibu ran hundreds of staples up and down those stringers in the early days. I often throught "you've got to be kidding me" when I took it apart. So during the rebuild, we made sure any screw that attached the floor to the stringer was surrounded by plexus (epoxy).

Following Jason's advice, is my advice. Nothing wrong with wood, just the carelessness Malibu put into it. I ended up with wood stringers and composite floors. Nothing wrong with wood for floors either, if done correctly. Malibu just sprayed polyester resin on the floors and tabbed them in. That was it! Might as well have splashed it with home depot deck sealer. There was no way it was going to last. But if you take the time to wrap the wood in fiberglass (especially top and bottom), the floor will virtually last forever. Another way to improve the design, IMO, is to wall off that floatation foam with bulkheads so it is not exposed. That was another major shortcut by Malibu in the late 80s. Foam works great, but when exposed it just turns into a sponge.

I eventually sold my boat (it was an '87) but I put so much time into rebuilding it that I can't help but throw in my 2 cents on the subject. Take the good and bad. Thankfully there have been people before us with pics. Make sure you post some for the next crew. Best of luck.

Link to comment

I partially repaired one rear section of a stringer last winter, and I will do the other side this winter. I was able to twist the fiberglass stringer behind the motor. The inside was completely rotted out up to the motor. I decided to go with seacast. I was able to cut the top of the fiberglass stringer off. I then dug out all the bad wood that I could, and then poured in the seacast nearly up to the top and capped it with fiberglass. I plan to do a proper repair later on. The cause of the rotted stringer turns out to be bad fiberglass. The 1" drain hole at the back of the stringer to allow water to pass through the stringer in to the bilge had no fiberglass inside the hole, so the water began wicking as soon as it touched the water. The other side was done correctly and the stinger seems solid, so I might just repair the floor.

Edited by 90Euro
Link to comment

...I chose wood because of its unmatched strength, ease of use, and stability in any temperature. :)Foam core stringers will not work in this type of hull, they would need to be dimensionally larger and the hull would need to be really beefed up, then you still have to mount an inboard engine to foam and I just don't like the way that sounds. I also did not like composite stringers in this hull because of their lateral flexibility, unforgiveness, difficulty of use, and outrageous cost...

In boat building, foam core stringers are considered inactive and wood stringers are considered active. Aside from translating the root word "active" to meaning, 'doing something', the foam stringer would be designed to hold the shape of the glass during the construction and rely on that glass and the hull for strength. A wood stringer is designed to be the strength and the glass is to hold it to the hull. To substitute one for the other would be like trying to reinforce concrete with strips of foam instead of rebar.

Going way out on a limb here but speaking of rebar.... why not an epoxy or Seacast based stinger with rebar in it? Crazy?

-Jason

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...