Hull and Side Panel Stringers in Aft Compartment - i550 Sailboat

This post is intended to backfill information about steps we took in early June, 2008.

Early in construction, it seemed like the large open, unsupported bottom and side panels between frames 169 and 214, needed additional support. While trying to work inside the boat, those panels just seemed to flex and deflect more than I liked. So, we added cedar stringers to make that part of the hull a bit stiffer. Some of the other builders used plywood for that same purpose.

The bottom hull stringers were located by simply extending the stringers in between frames 169 and 124. I bonded cedar 1 x 3s vertically in line with the other stringers. So the dimensions of those stringers were 2½ inches by ¾ inch.

The side panel stringers were made from the same material and were located initially by spanning a hollow in the starboard side panel in the aft compartment. By mounting the stringer in that particular location, I managed to draw out the hollow resulting in a much more fair side panel for later finishing. The port side panel stringer was then mounted in approximately the same location as the starboard side, both of which were pretty much in the middle of the panel running fore and aft.

In order to mount the stringers on the side panels, I first drew a line on the inside of the hull where I wanted the stringers to attach. Then I drilled a couple of small holes on that line and sunk a couple of small sheet rock screws through the hull side panels into the stringers to hold them in place while thickened epoxy set up. They were then filleted and the sheet rock screws removed. The screw holes were filled prior to painting.

Those four bits of cedar made a huge difference in the stiffness of the aft-most compartment. Is it overkill? I don't know, but adding those stringers after the cockpit is glued down would be a real pain.