I am in the middle of restoring a Santana 22 that I recently bought (1968, hull #365) and upon removing the chainplates I discovered that the 2"x10" laminated stringer that runs under the mast was thoroughly water-logged and mostly rotten. I cut away the interior fiberglass and removed the decaying stringer and discovered what was left of a 5x9" aluminum inset plate directly beneath the mast that had mostly turned to paste. I guess I have two questions; I was wondering if anybody has experience and could give me some advice on laminating and installing a new stringer; and what should I replace the 5x9" plate with--stainless seems like a better way to go, but it appears to have been nearly a half inch thick. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks,

Steve