Structural integrity and boating safety.

[matt167]

So I just bought a boat for parts that is structurally not sound but it is mechanically good. The previous owner, a younger gentlemen which it was his first boat actually said he had it out on the water. And called the boat still useful. With a deck so bad you’ll fall through it and the transom is gone. I kind of guided him to know that the wood structure is gone by the time the deck is soft and it was not sound. It got me thinking that if we see this at the boat launch, what should we do? Confront the owner with a suggestion before they leave? Or just monitor 16 while Out there

 

[racerone]

People usually respond with -----" my boat is fiberglass , so nothing can rot "

 

[matt167]

That is pretty much what i would expect as a response as well. My fears are with children. Luckily I haven’t seen any real rattle traps at the launch I frequent.

 

[stresspoint]

ha ha , never voice an opinion as to the integrity of someone's boat ,the people that own these death traps tend to get upset if you imply their boat is a POS and should not be on the water .
as a joke ,you could stand next to their boat and pray to Poseidon for the occupant's safe return as a token of your concern.

 

[matt167]

Perhaps just monitoring ch 16 will be the only thing that can be done. But they probably don’t even have a radio. With the guy who owned the boat I bought. The blessing is he ran out of gas and thought he had carburetor trouble so it never went back out

 

[topgun3690]

You could easily find yourself in a "Ramp Rage" incident......lol

 

[racerone]

Saw a 30 foot center console with twin V-6 outboards.----Commented that transom might need some work.-----Reply from owner was ---" just been redone 2 years ago with input from an engineer "------I would not go out in big water from what I saw !!

 

[tpenfield]

I guess it would have to be pretty obvious and blatant signs of structural issue to see that from the antics at the launch ramp. The spectator's area and cheering section is about 150' from the actual ramp.

I'd expect the boat owner in question not to be receptive to any comment or concern, but given the situation I may just strike up a conversation to see is they are aware.

 

[matt167]

We’ll here is the condition that got me thinking about this. This boat was on the water this year and previous owner didn’t know it was unsafe. Lucky it’s last mission is giving an old StarCraft a new power plant. Can see they even put brand new seats in it

 

[briangcc]

In this day and age I would respectfully just let it be as you have no idea how the person is going to react. And truthfully you have no idea if its going to fail that day or a week/month/year down the road.

I'd make sure my boat was ready for a water rescue if needed.

 

[matt167]

We’ll this one’s transom sounds like drywall with 24” centers. It’s one good wave away from blowing the transom seal. But yeah after thinking I’ll just monitor 16 in the situation