rotting transoms?!

[vipertblck]

In my search for a first boat, I feel decent looking over mechanicals myself as im familiar with stuff like that, but new to outdrives and such. Anyway after talking to a local shop, he highly recommended a boat inspection when buying any used boat. Sure that makes logical sense, but he said they charge $300! I've seen other places charge 100. Anyway he went into detail about rotted transoms and how it could be 300 instead of the price of a boat im buying to find that out. boats im considering are 18'-20' preferably in the late 90's or newer. Sure if you let wood sit in water it will rot fast, but what age boats typically see rot...if that's even a legit question?

 

[JimS123]

Re: rotting transoms?!

Lots of variables here, like climate where it is stored and how its stored. IMHO, garage keep a boat and keep the bilge dry ALL THE TIME and that boat will last more than a lifetime. OTOH, keep it outside uncovered and wet all the time and I've seen rot in 5 years.

A northern climate will shorten the lifespan. Even if you cover a boat in the Winter, if there is water in the bilge and the stringers and transom are wet, the freeze / thaw cycle will kill the boat in short order. Once the wood expands from frezzing, you can figure you don't have much time left.

Take a boat that has frozen once in the 1st 3 years, and then the owner polishes her up, puts her in the garage and sells her as a mint condition specimen. So, you buy the boat and garage keep her for years. On the 15th year she's all rotten and you wonder why!

 

[airshot]

Re: rotting transoms?!

The advice given was sound...300 is very cheap when considering the overall cost of a boat and most marine surveys come with a guarantee that there inspection is good and no surprises or they will cover them. If you miss something on your inspection it could easily cost 3000 rather than 300. Another reason I buy aluminum boats only is you can easily see a rotten transom and they are much easier to repair. Look around and see the number of old aluminum boats vs the number of old glass boats. People buy a boat and get quite excited about their new toy and do not realize the cost of using and maintaining a boat so before long the boat becomes neglected and begins to deteriorate and then gets shined up and sold as "like new" and now the new owner pays the price. That is why the 300 becomes so cheap in the long run. Read up in this forum and see how many great condition boats come with expensive surprises.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: rotting transoms?!

The inspection is like an insurance policy, or at least hedging your bet on the investment of your boat purchase. If you don't know what to look for, you could get a lemon. If your spending $1000.00 on a boat, maybe you can inspect and determine what is needed. If your spending $5-10K I would invest in a professional opinion. Boat rot and mechanicals are a must. Shiny doesn't make a boat run any better, it's worth it IMO to seek getting it checked over. Many folks have no idea how to care for a boat. Buying a mess, someone else's mess occurs all the time when shiny is used to select a used boat. Sea testing your prospective boat would be very wise, anyone not willing to do this, should be disqualified, no exceptions.

 

[pckeen]

Re: rotting transoms?!

What kind of boat are you buying? $300 says to me they are putting in 3-4 hours work into the inspection. Look at it this way - you are either paying $300 for one of three outcomes: (1) peace of mind - knowing there is nothing to do; (2) information that the boat has significant problems, which means you'll have spent $300, rather than much much more; (3) information about some fixable problems, which neither you nor the seller knew about, which means you have some information to help bring the price down.

As for whether that price is reasonable, I guess it depends on what work they are doing for that.

In terms of when boats rot, rotten stringers and transoms are not unusual in late 1990s boats, but whether a particular boat is rotten will depend on how it was cared for, stored, and maintained. I bought my current boat when it was 45 years old, and it was still in good condition. My first boat was 8 years old, and I didn't know enough to spot spongy floors, which means the stringers were probably rotten.

 

[Watermann]

Re: rotting transoms?!

I picked up a 1988 Chris Craft as a donor parts boat. The guy spent a 1000 bucks having the interior upholstered and the motor was so spotless you could eat off it. Every piece of wood in the boat was rotten right down to the core with a double deck that was rotting too. When I tore the boat down, I saw where a boat inspector had been, carpet pulled back and a hole drilled in the transom. The seller was so proud of the boat too and told me to take her out and have some fun. I told him that's not going to happen, I'm going to rip it's guts out and throw the rest in the dump where it belongs. He got a little ticked and left real quick like. The boat was not seaworthy at all and he knew it too, it was a death trap. Surely if someone besides me bought that boat they would have been risking his and his families lives.

Here is what it looked like beneath the shine when I was removing the fuel tank.

 

[vipertblck]

Re: rotting transoms?!

I picked up a 1988 Chris Craft as a donor parts boat. The guy spent a 1000 bucks having the interior upholstered and the motor was so spotless you could eat off it. Every piece of wood in the boat was rotten right down to the core with a double deck that was rotting too. When I tore the boat down, I saw where a boat inspector had been, carpet pulled back and a hole drilled in the transom. The seller was so proud of the boat too and told me to take her out and have some fun. I told him that's not going to happen, I'm going to rip it's guts out and throw the rest in the dump where it belongs. He got a little ticked and left real quick like. The boat was not seaworthy at all and he knew it too, it was a death trap. Surely if someone besides me bought that boat they would have been risking his and his families lives.

Here is what it looked like beneath the shine when I was removing the fuel tank.

SURELY you could have felt soft spots on the floor with it being that bad, couldn't you! That looks horrible!

 

[SigSaurP229]

Re: rotting transoms?!

If you follow this list, http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...help-buying-boat-buyers-checklist-635170.html

You will absolutely not buy a rotten boat.

 

[thumpar]

Re: rotting transoms?!

It is about care more than the age. My old 1983 Sunrunner was completely solid. From what I have seen the stringers and floor rot before the transom in most cases.

 

[Watermann]

Re: rotting transoms?!

Yeah there was only one spot that you could tell by walking on it, back by the dog house in the starboard corner. The double decking was only epoxied on the top and was 3/4" ply with just the first couple layers that were laid on top of the rotten deck were gone so it felt solid still.

The transom was rotten too, soggy nasty mess which I didn't even have to look at to tell since the goof had created a dead giveaway to a rotted transom. He smeared white goop all the way around the gimbal housing and it had pulled off away from the fiberglass skin already.