1993 Trophy 2502 rot?

[Twin_Screws]

Hello all.....I'm the new owner of a 1993 Trophy 2502 w twin Johnson 225 VRO's......she appears to be well maintained & aside from a regular seasonal motor maintenance interval, most all other items are cosmetic. One thing I have read about on forums more than once is the issue of some sort of hull rot?? Most all accessible places that I have found thus far show no signs of any rot? Then again I have not been able to find anywhere to inspect below the floor from behind the helm seats to the stern battery compartments. Where & how is this inspected/observed?......any & all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[JoLin]

If you're concerned, hire a marine surveyor to inspect the boat for you. They'll have the experience (knows how to do a tap test) and tools (like a moisture meter) to find problem areas, if any. For future reference it's a lot better to spend that money before you buy, instead of after.

My .02

 

[Scott Danforth]

Most surveyors use an FLIR camera early in the morning. Wet and rottwn wood and foam stands out like a giant blue light

 

[Old Ironmaker]

Does the bilge appear to have or had water in it? Feel for soft spots in the floor underfoot. It's the first sign that there may be rot below. Taking core samples with a hole saw in discrete areas will give you an indication of what is under the floor of that boat and a core sample of the transom will give you an indication as well. If you are considering re carpeting now is the time to pull it off if there is a carpet. Most Bayliners of that era have solid flooring if I recall. Any boat of that age has a good chance to have some degradation below. After 5 or so responses you make here will be able to post photo's and 1 is worth 1000 words as it is said. We all like pics.

Good luck to you and welcome to iboats

Johnny D/Selkirk On.

 

[Twin_Screws]

Thanks all, appreciate the comments! I was a little leery given the age of the boat. It was put in the water seasonally & then winterized for winter dry storage. I do know diligent maintenance & care when I see it & this boat was certainly well cared for, 2nd owner & the guy did all the maintenance himself & was intimately familiar with the boat & motors. He took time to tell & show me everything he could possibly think of while I video'd the demonstration. No water standing in the transom & when he ran the bilge, no more than a quart of water came out.....sitting in the water, uncovered. The boat did get used fished out of fairly regularly so it did have signs of use but no abuse. I havent yet noticed any soft spots anywhere, just the expected spider cracks in the gel coat in various places which I look forward to repairing......I look forward to being able to post pics & get advice on how to make it the best it can be!

 

[mr 88]

Wouldn't bother with the spider cracks,they should be superficial and the repair will look worse than the cracks as you will never get a exact match with the gel coat.

 

[dingbat]

How does the wiring behind the gauges and the power distribution panel look?

Tried to address an issue in those locations in a 92 model. Black Wire disease was rampant.

Don?t know if it was a one of or not. Just a heads up

 

[Old Ironmaker]

If I recall that era Bayliners weren't known to make the greatest quality of boats in the late 80's and early 90's. If I'm not mistaken Brunswick bought out Bayliner in the late 70's and struggled in the mid 80's through to the early 90's. And according to Wikipedia what I said is confirmed, and they are never wrong, and they still own Bayliner according to them the largest boat manufacturers world wide. The bowling and pool table company. I think they bought out Harley Davidson and nearly put the American Motorcycle icon out of business.

 

[Maclin]

In my opinion, based on a couple of friend's boats, the outboard Trophy's seem to be fairly sound through those years, almost like a different brand.