Stainless Steel Stringer

[gddaven]

I have had the rear hatch cover, live well, seat assembly, foot rest, T-Top, entire center console and the 85 gallon fuel tank removed for inspection looking for a possible fuel leak.

I had the fuel tank pressure tested and "Thank God" it passed with no leaks.

Once the tank was removed I could clearly see how the Stainless Steel Stringer runs the length of the fuel tank.

There has been a lot of threads/posts about the Stainless Steel Stringer in the bilge area and cleaning and re-applying new RULE there but now that I have seen it fully exposed I can clearly see where water can enter the inner hull all the way to the front of the tank.

Since everything is out I plan to have all of the old RULE removed and new RULE applied.

See my pics for details.

[rudderhinge]

Man. this is what you call getting into your boat.
gddaven I just took a look at your pictures and I am very impressed. What a job you have undertook. That new transom saver is something else. Did you have it made or did you do it yourself? It sure looks like it will do the job without any problems. I have seen the SS stringer under the tank before and know what kind of problems it can cause. I have also seen the t top tubing split due to freezing. I have seen the upper tubes freez and crack from where water had got into them where holes have been drilled for antenna mounts and other things. Most of the older t top tube connections are just butt welded and will trap water. Any holes should be sealed when mounting anything on t tops.
Be sure to chack, if you haven't all ready, the two void areas that your gas tank sets on for water. If you have ever seen water coming out of the SS stringer bolt / gob areas then you have water in them. There is a void area on each side of the stringer. They will hold a lot more water than you think. I drilled a 1 3/8" hole on each side of the stringer just aft of the gas tank and vacuumed out about 40 gallons of water. The water got in through the stringer/bolt/gob area. I used spin weld plugs to seal the holes back. This water will not come out through a inner hull drain.
You had mentioned installing new type of plugs in your through hull fish box drains. If you do, look up through them and see if you can see any foam. These drains have caused people a lot of problems by allowing water to get into the inner hull. I have welded tubes in several boat that people had drilled into the foam area.
Just one more thing about the gas smell in the boat. Check the fill nozzle and hose connections in the gunnel, where you put the gas in when you fill up. I have seen leaks at the hose connections. Is the chain still on the gas cap? If not, check and see if the screw that anchors the chain to the fill nozzle is still screwed in. If it is not in place the screw hole can let gas get into the gunnel and the plastic sleeve that the hoses are wraped in while filling the boat on some early model boats.
Keep up the good work and keep us informed about how things are going. I think that your pictures are going to help so many people have a better understanding about their boats and what can be done to fix and make things better. Great Job and best of luck, Bob

[gddaven]

Wow, thanks. I assumed all of my inner hull water would come out my inner transom drain once I get all of the hull breaches fixed.

What are spin weld plugs?

So you drilled holes aft of the tank or just in front of it close to the mega hull wall on both side and sucked water out?

On the the new Aluminum Transom Saver I had a well known welder prop shop in Dallas go over with me what I want and he used 1/4 inch and built it. I went from 2 good thru bolts to 8 good thru bolts in the saver. It cost quite a bit a took a good bit of time but its solid now.

As far as the fish boxes go I plan to use garboard plug, RULE and nuts and bolts as apposed to screws to mount them with.


I will check my gas cap as well.

Thanks,

[rudderhinge]

This photo shows the area that I am talking about. The raised area that your gas tank sets on is hollow, it has no foam, and can hold water. It is just a platform for the tank to set on. The ss stringer runs through the middel of it and gives it and the hull some support. It is two sections divided by the ss stringer. The area is deeper in the middle (keel area)and shallow on the outside.
Mt boat has a 70 gollon tank so it is shorter than yours. I have about 12" of the area exsposed from the back of the tank to the bilge pump/through hull fittings area. I drilled the holes aft of the end of the tank and about 3-4" to the out side of the stringer. Yours does not have that much area exposed. You would have to do it before the tank is re-installed.
I was backing my boat down a boat ramp and remembered that I forgot to put the plug in. When I got in the boat to install the plug I seen water squirting up out of the gob area. This is where the bolt goes through the ss stringer and is covered with Rule elastomeric. The ramp is a step one and the water was squirting all the way up and hitting the deck hatch cover.
If you have removed the old rule from the stringer and did not see water coming out you may not have any water in the void area, but if you jack up the front of the boat and see water squirting out then you do. You can also rock the boat back and forth and hear water sloshing in the area.And if water squirts out it can get in.
I had a cracked housing on my bildge pump before and had a lot of water in the boat before I found the leak on the pump, that is how the water got in the area.

What it a Spin Weld Plug? It is a poly pro plug that is used by Triump to plug the holes where they inject foam into are boats. If you look at the motor notch in you transom, on the upper edge of the notch on each side you will see a round plug with a rectangle recess in the middle of it. This is a spin weld plug. This is where the HD foam was injected into the boat. The recessed rectangle is for a arber head to fit into and a router or a high speed drill motor to spin it very fast and friction will melt the poly pro and weld it in place. They are used in other places on the boat also. They have a 1 3/8" raised area on the bottom of the plug and abont a 1/2" flange lip for a contact area. They can also be weld in place with a plactic welder. The arber is not ez to get hold of.
The thing is, if water gets in this area it will no drain out of the new inner hull drains.

One other thing to check while you have your boat apart. Is your through the hull drain fitting is the kind that has the strainer bars on it and has the screws that help hold it in place. If so be sure to check the screw holes in the bottom of the hull. Look and see if you can see foam in any of the holes. Also, if you have ever seen water dripping out from around the fittinds flange or screws, then water can get in that way. Be sure to seal the screws, flange and the neck of the hull filling very well. Triumph does not use this fitting anymore. The fitting goes through a kiss area (all plastic) but the kiss area is not in the same on all of the boats. Sometimes the screws get in the foam area. Good Luck, Bob

[NCangler]

I contacted the VP of Operations at Triumph Boats about the stainless steel stringer and the possibility of inner hull water leaks and this was the official response:

It is possible for water to enter the inner hull if the stainless steel
support that runs parallel to the keel (keel support) is not well bedded.
The keel support is installed into a cavity that is molded in and
through bolted to another stainless steel extension that is molded into
the last three feet of the keel running surface. The interface between
these two stainless steel supports is the most critical area to be
checked and well sealed.

[NCangler]

I had a follow up question for Triumph...
How/what would someone look for to see if water is coming in because of the bedding of the keel support? Answer....

If water is going in, it will typically come back out. If a person is
concerned they can:
1) Check the drains that are located on the sidewalls of the bilge
2) (With the boat out of the water) Make sure the bilge is pumped out
and relatively dry and watch to see if there is any water coming into
the bilge, especially around the center, keel support.
3) After the boat has been out of the water long enough for the trailer
to drip dry they should look and see if they see water continuing to
drip, especially around through hull fittings, transducer and trim tabs
screws, motor bolts and drain holes.