1970 18' Starcraft fiberglass boat

[utfyrfytr]

Last fall bought a 1970 Starcraft 18' fiberglass boat. I'm not sure of the model but it says Riviera on the storage compartment in the front. Anyway yesterday I was installing a transducer on the transom and when I drilled the mounting holes the wood on the drill bit was very wet. I have examined the bottom of the boat and other than a couple of 1/4" chips I cannot find any damage unless it is right at the back edge where it is sitting on the roller. (I'll have to look at that in the morning). I will obviously need to find the leak but is there any way to dry that out and be able to continue using the boat? The transom seems to be strong with no cracks or damage that I can find. First boat and I'm a little down in the dumps right now. Thanks for any and all help!!

 

[sphelps]

I don't see a riviera here .. http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/File:Starcraftbb006.jpg
A wet transom is not a good sign ...I think the only way to dry it out is to replace it ..
I know thats not what you wanted to hear ...

 

[jigngrub]

The moisture in the wood core of your transom probably isn't coming from a leak, it is more than likely from years of exposure to the elements (rain, snow, ice) due to being left outside uncovered. Not only is your transom wet and rotting, your decking and stringers are also in the same shape...and your floatation is probably saturated too. A 45 yr. old fiberglass boat is way overdue for a complete restoration if it hasn't been garage kept of covered it's entire life.

 

[utfyrfytr]

You are both probably right. The boat does have new floor, carpet and has been rewired I just don't know how far they went. I have a name of the person who did the floor and carpet so I guess I will call him and see if he can shed anymore light. Thanks for the info.

 

[jigngrub]

You are both probably right. The boat does have new floor, carpet and has been rewired I just don't know how far they went. I have a name of the person who did the floor and carpet so I guess I will call him and see if he can shed anymore light. Thanks for the info.

The sad thing about that is that they usually just lay new plywood and carpet over the old rotten stuff for a cheap fix and a quick sale to an unsuspecting buyer, we've seen this many times on this forum. The boat looks nice from the top but is very rotten underneath the cheap quick fix.

This is a popular thread on the forum that documents how a person can be taken in by a quick deck job and how to fix it:

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...nature-deck-and-stringer-restoration?t=510077