Stringer and floor replacement in Mobile, AL
Mobile Bay Fiberglass Under the deck of most boats is a skeleton of wood-cored stringers, plywood flooring and flotation foam, and none of it was meant to stay wet. It does anyway. A screw hole in the deck, a hatch gutter that stopped draining, years of rainwater sitting in a boat under a carport in Theodore, and the structure below the sole quietly soaks it up. The first thing most owners notice is a soft spot underfoot, usually in front of the console or near a fuel tank hatch.
Rot travels along the grain, which is why the soft spot is almost never the whole story. Water that got in at midship has usually wicked forward and aft through the stringers, and saturated foam holds it against the wood like a sponge that never dries. Boats that ride out storm season on a trailer with the plug in are some of the worst we see. This is also why we will not quote a firm number from a single photo of a soft deck, and why you should be suspicious of anyone who will. The honest answer lives under the floor, and nobody has seen under yours yet.
So the job starts with an inspection you are welcome to stand next to us for. We pull hatches, drill small test holes, sound the sole and check moisture readings until we can draw a real map of what is wet and what is sound. Then we open only what needs opening, cut out rotten stringers and flooring, dig out waterlogged foam, and rebuild with new cores glassed and tabbed into the hull. New foam goes in, the sole goes back down, and the deck gets finished to match the boat.
The typical range is $1,500 for a contained section up to $6,000 when rot has traveled through most of the structure, and we tell you where your boat lands before any cutting starts. A solid rebuild puts the hull back to original strength or better, and on a boat you already own and trust, that is usually far cheaper than replacing it. Call (251) 220-4157 and we will start with the inspection.
When boats come in for this
- A spot on the deck that feels spongy or moves when you step on it
- Cracking sounds from under the floor when the boat runs through chop
- The boat sits lower or feels heavier than it used to, a sign of waterlogged foam
- Water squeezes up through a deck seam or screw hole when you step down
- A survey flagged wet stringers or high moisture readings
- Hatch openings show dark, punky wood at the cut edges
What it costs
| Job | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Localized floor and stringer section | $1,500 to $3,000 | Rot contained to one area, straightforward deck finish, easy access |
| Extensive stringer and floor rebuild | $3,000 to $6,000 | How far rot has traveled, foam replacement volume, fuel tank removal |
Full ranges for every job type are on the cost guide.
How the job runs
- Inspect with sounding, test holes and moisture readings to map the actual extent of the rot.
- Agree on a written scope and price with you before anything gets cut.
- Open the sole and remove rotten stringers, flooring and saturated foam.
- Glass in new stringers tabbed to the hull and pour or fit new flotation foam.
- Lay the new sole, glass it in, and finish the deck surface to match.
- Sea trial or hose test, then walk the finished structure with you at pickup.
Common questions
My deck has one soft spot. Can you just fix that spot?
Sometimes, and we will if the inspection supports it. But rot follows the wood grain well past what you can feel underfoot, so patching one spot over wet stringers just moves the problem a foot over. The inspection tells us which situation you have, and we only quote from that.
Is a stringer job worth it on an older boat?
Usually yes, if the hull and motor are otherwise sound. A rebuilt structure is as strong as the day the boat was made, often stronger, and $3,000 to $6,000 into a paid-off boat you know beats payments on a new one for most people. If the numbers do not make sense for your boat, we will say so.
Does the fuel tank have to come out?
Often, since many tanks sit in a foamed cavity between the stringers right where rot collects. The upside is you get to inspect a tank that may be twenty years old while it is out. If yours shows corrosion, replacing it during the rebuild is far cheaper than cutting the deck twice.
How do I keep the new structure from rotting again?
Every core we install gets fully encapsulated in glass and every deck penetration gets sealed, which removes the paths the water used the first time. After that, keep drains and gutters clear, pull the plug on the trailer, and reseal any new hardware you add. Do that and the rebuild outlives the boat.
Get this priced for your boat
Photos plus the boat’s size gets you a written range, usually the same day.