Just curious about "wood" or "no wood"

[Realdon]

I have posted here a few times before, have a boat, but have gained most of my limited boating knowledge from this forum.

I keep reading a lot about rotted wood, stringers, flooring, etc. being a problem. Although I have done a lot of wiring, added a new bilge pump, glued an edge of carpet down, etc. to my 1982 Ranger 375-V, I have never noticed any wood in it, thus my question.

Does my boat actually have wood in it?

Thanks,

Don

 

[Philster]

Re: Just curious about "wood" or "no wood"

1982? Surely! if done right, it's all glassed in and is only adding strength.

Wood = trouble when the wood is just exposed and not glassed or... the boat is left to rot and water gets to the wood, or because someone drilled into the boat and created an access point for the wood to suck in water.

Most builders use wood and have not found a better material to use. As long as the wood is glassed in and never exposed, and as long as the owner doesn't leave the boat out to rot in the sun/rain/snow all year, wood is not a concern. Some boats have such good glass and gel that their decks can last a very long time if left outside if they shed water properly.

Some boats have exposed wood... right under the carpet! Then some have stringers that aren't completely protected... and others have so many holes and bad fittings and add-ons in the transom that the whole transom is rotting.

Note: Composite construction usually means 'wood' is in there somewhere. The number one composite material is Balsa Core. Only "wood-free" means... well... wood-free!

Wet foam: Wet foam in a boat can hold water against the structure and facilitate wood getting in contact with water.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Just curious about "wood" or "no wood"

another place you may find wood in a non-wooden boat is backing under the fiberglass (or aluminum, I'm guessing) surfaces such as the dash board or the deck (floor). This might not be structural but it's important.

Water can also get to the stringers if the glass encasing them gets stress cracks.

Fresh water rots wood far worse than salt water--we just don't see much of the rot problem except for a neglected boat with accumulated rain water. So if your boat drains, you can leave it out in the rain no problem. If it has a lot of upholstery, carpet or other water-trapping features, you can have issues. Boats can get wet; they just can't stay wet.

freezing adds to the dynamic--if the boat is dry, whether covered or draining properly, there's nothing to freeze. But the accumulated water, even in cracks and old screw holes, makes the holes/cracks bigger with freezing.

The floatation foam is not as bad as a sponge but it's not sealed cell either. I wish I knew why not. So it becomes a problem not if it gets wet, but if it's left in standing water. Picture a boat on a trailer with the plug left in, or one at a mooring without a bilge pump. That's the problem; not water from ordinary use that drains out like a little bilge water sloshing around during a day's skiiing. Along these lines, if there is a screw hole in the deck that constantly drips water onto the top of the foam, that won't drain and will become a problem

Don't forget that most transoms, like stringers, are wood enclosed in glass. Fresh water that gets in through a crack, loose fitting, unsealed screw hole will become a problem.

 

[minx163]

Re: Just curious about "wood" or "no wood"

Wood is mainly used for filler(cooring) the strength of the fiberglass is what makes a stringer strong.Most modern boats use Coosa a high density polyurethane foam material that does not /or minimizes the absorbtion of water and does not rot . Your boat being an 1982 would have wood cooring in the stringers. and wood cooring in the transom plate.