Stringer broken ?

[aaugman]

Hey Guys, I've been on the forum for about a yr now, I don't post that much but i do read a lot,

I'm redoing a bunch of things on my 99 2100v this winter, The boat has been on its trailer for about 2 months now. I've just noticed that in the middle of the boat there are two pieces of wood (that run perpendicular to the length of the boat) that seem swollen and have lifted the floor up, on either side of the fuel cell cover.

Any idea what would cause that, Is it a problem and how should i fix it ?

Thanks in Advance

Mike

[laserfish]

To be clear, are these are attached to the floor at the front and rear of the fuel cell? Pictures are worth a thousand words. Pics help a ton. All stringers should be totally encased in very heavy fiberglass and glassed to the hull.

[aaugman]

It is in the middle of where the tank is, A bit towards the front.

Here are the pics

[chpthril]

That's just the floor, but it looks like the boat has been under watter, or at least filled with watter. Are those footprints on the gas tank? If so, that's an easy way to bust the fuel pickup and level sender.

[da.bell]

The 8th picture down looks like the floor is made of plywood. Can you confirm that it's plywood?

Yes, sounds funny to ask but the stringer would be further down in the boat than those pictures are taken from.

[laserfish]

These boats came with a plywood floor. However, it looks like someone has replaced it and did not glass and seal the edges of the plywood. Does not look factory to me, although I could be wrong. I would think the factory edge would be glassed as there are not exposed edges anywhere on my boat of a similar year. Also, it appears that someone has painted the floor. On my 2000 it was not painted under the carpet.
Also, in looking at pics 5 and 6 it looks like the cap edges are uneven where it meets the floor, like some had pried it up to get new wood under or old floor out. Could just be dirt or blur. It it chipped?

[aaugman]

Yes it is a plywood floor, I have no idea if it has been replaced. From what I know I don't think it has ever been under water. It was sprinkling when i took the pics.

I didn't know not to stand on the tank, thanks for that info, I certainly wont do that again.

Can I just screw it down ? is it not a big deal at all?

[laserfish]

Can you see underneath the floor? Is it sealed with fiberglass resin? Are the edges exposed or do they have resin on them? If it is not sealed, that is probably why you are getting the swelling. If it is not sealed on the bottom, it will continue to absorb moisture and degrade until you floor starts to get spongy. It can be fixed though. Can almost guarantee it did not come from the factory that way.

[aaugman]

The edges are exposed, I cant see under the floor, the tank is in the way and it floor is flush the the edge of where the tank cover is. The floors edge is right on top of the glassed in stringer.

How should I fix it ?

[laserfish]

Question, what is the top layer of the floor appear to be made of?? A temporary fix is to inject some glue into plys and under the top layer of floor and clamp it together. Then I would seal the edges to keep any additional water from being absorbed. I say temporary because in my experience, once the rot has started, replacement is inevitible because of the environment that it is in. Others on this forum will surely have some additional suggestions. Many smart people on here.

[aaugman]

The floor seems to be coated in fiberglass and then non skid surface