1990 Bayliner 2255 transom rot

[Fink343]

Have a 1990 Bayliner 2255 I pulled the Y pipe off the Gimbal housing and examined the transom where it meets the plate and found that the port side is Solid and the starboard side has some rot. I did the Hammer test on the out side of the boat when i first looked at it and it sounded good. But after pulling the engine and the Y exhaust pipe i found a line of rot. The boat in good Condition isn't worth much I got it for next to nothing. Is it worth fixing Or cutting up and moving on. Its going to need a new 350 block as well as mine has a crack in it.

I can Replace the transom but I'm not sure that the boat is worth the amount of work needed for it. Looking for a what would you do in my shoes.

The rot on the right side but not on the left

The boat

Started gutting the interior to redo it

 

[tpenfield]

It matters what it is worth to you. Assume the rot will go further than you think. Sounds like you are already planning to put more effort/time/$$$$ into the boat with the other work, so what's a bit more going to matter.

There is that old saying . . . 'if you are going to take a bath, you may as well fill up the tub'

 

[Scott Danforth]

the hammer test only means that you had a hammer in your hand....... as far as determining if a transom is good with a hammer, its really useless

drilling and looking at the wood shavings is the easiest. a moisture meter is what most surveyors will use

being a 30 year old bayliner guarantees its going to have rot.

so ask yourself, do you want to spend $3-4k on the hull and about another $2-3k on the motor and then have a boat that will last a long time, or do you want to dump and move on..... only you can answer that.

 

[Chris51280]

The question is how much boat can you get for 5-7k? How old will it be? Will it need work too? Most likely!
I assume for 5-7k you will get a boat thats between 10-15 old. It most likely has also a wood structure. Now with the engine, depending on the hours, you are still putting money into it. If you look for a hobby, then rebuild the boat since you won't have to shell out all the money right away but in stages. Most people rebuild old boats because it is still cheaper than buying a newer one. You most likely have gone through everything at that point and have an almost bulletproof boat that you know in and out. Can you say the same of a 10-15 year old boat. Boats are not build to last and at about 15 years of age, you are looking at repairs no matter what.

 

[Fink343]

I hate giving up on projects, I'm perfectly fine with rebuilding the entire transom. I do wish is was a 26 foot boat with the nice L shaped couch next the helm but this is the hand i was dealt. I would like to get a season out of it before doing all the work and see if the size is right for our family's and pets. I plan on sticking to Lake Winnipausake and Sebago. Either way i need to replace the engine as its toast. The rest of the boat is in really good shape. I do want to add a Tow hook for Tubes

 

[Fink343]

so ask yourself, do you want to spend $3-4k on the hull and about another $2-3k on the motor and then have a boat that will last a long time, or do you want to dump and move on..... only you can answer that.

So doing all the work yourself costs 3-4k for the hull? Also on what planet does a Small block chevy cost 2-3k dollars? I do all my own work Right down to rings. Yea If i was paying someone to do it the no brainer answer would be this is a dumpster baby. I can get a 350 block for $200 reuse half the parts. The Most expensive part of the project would be the marine plywood and the chemicals needed bonding agents and fiberglass.

 

[Scott Danforth]

doing all the work on your hull yourself will run you about $3k if you make no mistakes

for the SBC, even if you have a good core motor, the cost of machining the block, heads, and crank will cost you about $1100 to do it right, or skip the crank, buy a new crank, your still about $2300 to do a SBC and that does not include the exhaust manifolds and elbows or a marine carb.

 

[kcassells]

So doing all the work yourself costs 3-4k for the hull? Also on what planet does a Small block chevy cost 2-3k dollars? I do all my own work Right down to rings. Yea If i was paying someone to do it the no brainer answer would be this is a dumpster baby. I can get a 350 block for $200 reuse half the parts. The Most expensive part of the project would be the marine plywood and the chemicals needed bonding agents and fiberglass.

 

[kcassells]

Keep that positive mindset and your partway there.

 

[JASinIL2006]

It’s really hard to say what the non-engine cost will be until you know the full extent of the rot. If you are extraordinarily lucky, the rot is confined to the transom. More likely, other structural elements are affected as well, which can greatly increase the amount of time and the cost to repair it all. Hard to guesstimate without knowing the condition of stringers, bulkheads, etc.

 

[Fink343]

I took a break from it today to give myself a breather from letting the whole thing consume me. Tomorrow I'm going to pull the Gimbal housing and back plate and expose the Transom and I'll take pictures and post them up here and get your opinions on whether or not I can save it or move on to the next. I have all the engine parts in bins in the garage for either rebuilding into a 350 or parting out to add to buying the next boat.Or still buying a 350 and making my Glastron SSV 175 a Speed Demon. Either way tomorrow I'll have more pictures of the transom.