Measuring for Stringers Thought I should back up just a little, and show how I measured for the stringers. I couldn't use my old stringer cores as patterns, 'cuz they literally were mush. There was no way they could come out in measurable pieces. When I cut out the old deck, I left the edge of the deck around the outside, just so I would know where it was supposed to go. I took a chalk line and clamped it to opposite deck edges, pulling it tight. With the chalk line pulled tight, and a tape measure laid up the lines where the stringers are set, I measured from the string to the hull. The tape measure was set against the transom, and measurements taken every foot. Here's my son-in-law taking a measurement, using my grandfather's folding carpenter's ruler that's older than me. Best tool for the job!
