Transom Browning

[IDB303]

I'm new to old boats and am looking for a project boat. Found a '97 Sea Ray bowrider and went to view, it's pretty worn but the engine sounds ok. The hull also seems ok but there is a significant amount of brown staining on the transom. What is this indicative of? is it just superficial or suggestive of deterioration? Any pointers from those in the know would be appreciated, Many thanks!

 

[flyingscott]

looks like a water stain.

 

[mike_i]

I'm an outboard guy and don't know much about out drives. What does the other side of the transom look like? If it's a water stain what would cause it to be in the shape it's in? Could it be stained from the exhaust? Does that area get hot for any reason? Have you tried to rub or wash it off? Are there any cracks in the fiberglass?

 

[flyingscott]

They did not clean the boat off. That happens when boats are kept in the water. Look on craigslist dozens of boats have that stain.

 

[mr 88]

Pain to remove unless you buy the appropriate hull cleaner, which will probably have some sort of muratic acid in it . You can buy that from a hardware store and dilute it vs the "hull cleaner " Wipe or spray on wait a few minutes and wash off. THE big thing here is you should cover you trailer to keep it from scoring or etching. Acid will do that to metal.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Any toilet bowl cleaner that has oxalic acid or muriatic acid will do the job. I use ‘The Works’ and it will take that stuff right off. You do have to protect bare metal, though.

 

[dingbat]

Tannic acid staining….

The bottom of my hull is “tea” colored to the boot strip every Spring.

I use a 5:1 mixture of water to Atwood biodegradable hull cleaner in a 1 gallon garden sprayer.

I start at the bow and work my way back. By the time I’m done spraying it’s time to rinse with water.

No scrubbing. Stains just disappear. Takes all of 10-15 minutes to do

 

[IDB303]

Thanks to all those replying to my first post on this forum, great to hear the tips and tricks for removing this type of discoloration. I'm assuming from the replies that this is nothing 'serious' in connection with the structural integrity or water ingress of the transom which were my primary concerns. This is a great forum, glad I found it!!

 

[dingbat]

I'm assuming from the replies that this is nothing 'serious' in connection with the structural integrity or water ingress of the transom which were my primary concerns.

Its simply a stain

Same substance that causes dead leave stains. Very common in bodies of water with heavily forested watersheds