Transom Advice - buying an older boat

[vogelfish]

I posted some questions about a boat I was looking at that had transom issues and received a wealth of great info from you all - Thanks much! I ran away from the boat on your advice and now have another in my sights...thought I'd dip for some more advice.

So I'm a little paranoid about transoms after reading all the posts in my previous thread - I'm looking at a 1983 258 Mako with an Evinrude 225. Boat seems in good shape, motor runs great, but when I stand on the cavitation plate and bounce (I'm a light 270 pounds) I can see a little flex in the transom (motor in the down position). No signs of cracking or water damage (visible) and it doesn't appear to have been repaired or painted or otherwise "modified". So... is that a show stopper? Or is a little flex expected? I've done a similar test on some other boats and saw no flex at all.

Got my running shoes on stand by

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Transom Advice - buying an older boat

It's starting to rot.... It isn't 'GONE" yet but it should NOT flex..... If it's an $8000 engine on a normally $5000 hull for $8000 go for it.... If the whole rig in good shape is worth no more than the asking price then keep shopping

ps.... I skipped over the make and model cause it's irrelevant so don't assume anything from my example numbers

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: Transom Advice - buying an older boat

Yup, put those runnin' shoes to use again. That engine weighs somewhere around 400 to 450 pounds, when the boat is bouncing through waves there will be larger forces on the transom than what you applied by pushing on the engine.

 

[vogelfish]

Re: Transom Advice - buying an older boat

Thanks guys - It's a great deal for the asking price - I guess that's why... I'm not interested in something that will need major repair in a few years... so off I go the next one...