Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

[ckat]

New to forums. Considering 22' Grady White Tournament 1993 model. Been reading about transom rot but unsure about what year or years GW had this problem.

Any advice or experience with Grady White boats around this year would be appreciated.
Any experience or advice on Transom Rot for this particular boat?
History: One owner, docked in water for many years, last 4 yrs has been in high-dry covered slip. Has 2005 engine though.

Thanks

 

[NYBo]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

Welcome to iboats!

I can't answer specifically, but Grady Whites are premium boats, and their owners seem to take care of them. A marine survey would be a good investment, even if it turns out GW didn't use wood in the transom.

 

[Ocean Airbrush]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

All Grady Whites have wood in them.
I have an 85 tournament 197 and it was badly neglected by the previous owner. However, the only rot I managed to find was the starboard motor mount. That said, even the best boat will turn to junk in the hands of a careless owner. A marine survey is the only way to know what your buying with confidence. I payed $1700 for mine, running. I am now up to $4200 and still have 2 grand to go until I am satisfied the boat is in tip top shape. So far, every dime I have invested over the purchase price has been to catch up neglected routine maintenance items (risers, manifolds, shift cables, a new outdrive due to the badly neglected outdrive seal which should have been checked annually). I was however prepared to do what it took to get the boat restored when I bought it. I checked it over as best I could and got relatively lucky on the fact I had a solid hull, but I would have gladly replaced the transom if it were needed. Especially since a new tournament 18x is knocking on the door of 35-40K.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

Grady's are no more or no less prone to transom rot than any other boat.

Grady's are fishing boats and as such typically don't get babied. They get run hard and they get put away wet. If the maintenance was keep up on the boat you have little to fear. The three places to check for rot is around the access plates on the deck, underneath the aluminum angle on the transom and check the condition of the top of the fuel. If the owner neglects to keep the decks or the hatch covered sealed this is the first place it shows.

Having said that, if you don?t know what you?re looking at hire a surveyor. Preferably one that knows Grady?s. I? on my third Grady and I knew more about the idiosyncrasies of the boat than my surveyor did. Have him take moisture readings on both the transom and the deck. My surveyor insisted that the boat didn?t need it but I insisted only to find out dry the boat was for one that sat in a slip a good part of it?s life. The owner took good care of it.

 

[edwardh1]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

boat manufacturers are real slow to get away from wood. seems some progress has been made in the last 10 years as many makers advertise no wood.
cars used to be made with wood- glad they stopped.
Wake up, boat makers!!!
wake up boat buyers (quit buying boats with wood)

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

boat manufacturers are real slow to get away from wood. seems some progress has been made in the last 10 years as many makers advertise no wood.
cars used to be made with wood- glad they stopped.
Wake up, boat makers!!!
wake up boat buyers (quit buying boats with wood)

They still use wood to build boats because that's the only material they can find that will rot as well as burn.

 

[Ocean Airbrush]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

boat manufacturers are real slow to get away from wood. seems some progress has been made in the last 10 years as many makers advertise no wood.
cars used to be made with wood- glad they stopped.
Wake up, boat makers!!!
wake up boat buyers (quit buying boats with wood)

Sure, and I suppose that is why Grady White has the highest customer satisfaction of any boat manufacturer according to several different independent agencies? Wood is never a problem until the owner neglects it or the manufacturer tries to get cheap and cut corners.

 

[clockwatcher]

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

I'm rebuilding my boat. The stringers/sole were bad. It would have cost twice as much to use non-wood materials. Now that I'm building it correctly, it will outlast me.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Grady White Advice, Transom rot?

it seems to me, that in a quality boat, the only times you will get transom rot is if it sits on a trailer full of rainwater for months, or if there are defective through-hulls letting water in. I suppose an I/O has more riskdue to that big hole back there. So if you have reliable history, you can assess the probability of transom rot. make sense?