so im guessing a dehumidifier on a timer would be a good thing to have on the houseboat. We had one on our 60ft traller and it was so nice, dry beds to get into and no mold!< ="">

Dehumidifiers do wonders for a houseboat. We sat one in the gally sink when we werent aboard. We left doors and interiof hatches open and always had a dry boat.

Note: its a PITA to have to replace all the rotted wood but when your done you will have a boat that is ready to go another 30 years. The Nautilines have a good layout and a lot of room, most have veedrives and big engines that are easy to work on and could take a lot of abuse. When your done you will have as good or better boat than you can buy today. You will know how to treat it and you will enjoy it for many years . Post pictures!!!

Hint on some boats the glass on the sides of the stringers is real thick.

If you have one of these dig the wood out from the top and epoxy in the new stringers to the existing glass if its in good condition.

Make sure the boat is supported properly so there no humps or hogs in the bottom when you install the new stringers.

Someone told us that if you cut the top off the stringer in one piece and lift off like a cap  then you can remove the rotten wood replace with new and put the old cap back in place  i'm just not sure how to stabilize the new wood

That is a popular method. you have to epoxy the new wood in place.

Note: Don't use common treated wood. Epoxy won't stick well. If you want to treat the wood prior to encapsulation I would strongly suggest WEST PRODUCTS epoxy. They can also provide a lot of information.


OLD HOUSEBOATER39128.6786458333

but still it would be a good idea to do this out of the water, otherwise it can be really hard? you think?

For Sure!!! Many Nautalines, Chris Crafts etc. have stringers so far gone that the hulls are malformed with a big hump in the cabin floor. It's almost impossible to push the bottom of the boat down into position in the water.

Note: when you get all the bad wood in a Nautaline replaced you have a hell of a good boat because the thickness of the fiberglass is more generous than on most other brands.

Replacing bad wood is an expensive process to have done due to the fact it's labor intensive. If you can do it yourself you can come out pretty reasonable. (if you can stand the fumes and itching)

Our boat had a sunken spot toward the back on the starboard side. When we had it pulled you could see a bulge in the hull.We have had a lot of guys looking at talking about and tweeking jack stands the hull keeps chagning I hope there is a little room for error. Right now we are at a stand still it is to cold  and snowy My husband is changing all the wiring and plumbing still stuff to do just not stringers.  Have a good weekend!