Re: Not-So-Wellcraft rot
I just talked to a guy at a marine repair outfit on Lake Union in Seattle which has been in business for twenty five years. He says he sees this sort of thing all the time, virtually every brand of boat. I've noticed that the fiberglass surfaces in the engine mount area are somewhat orange covered, maybe a previous owner let the bilge fill up and just left it that way. <br /><br />He said that if the mounts are shot the stringers and transom are probably rotted, too. He offered to look at the boat for free, I'll probably take him up on that. He says to remove and replace the outdrive and engine typrically runs $2500, then $6-7000 to replace virtually all of the wood in the boat, including the transom and stringers. If that is the case, of course, it is a total. He told me to knock on everything with a small hammer and that rotted areas sound like cardboard underneath. Well, I've now done that and my uneducated ear tells me that the transom may be solid and I can't tell about the stringer areas. <br /><br />I think I could pull the engine myself (garage ceiling high enough?) and have a guy do the fiberglass and wood work on the mounts in my garage, if that is all that is rotten. I'd have to somehow get the right person for sure. Oh well, its all speculation at this point.