Free boat with history of leak... worth it? Will a survey catch issues?

[Batperson]

Just to add my 2 cents the drill test is the way to go and know for sure how far the water got and make the repair asap. The wood will never dry out and it will become an issue some day.
If the leak is a recent discovery the fix is within reach without a big rebuild project. A good thorough inspection will be worth every penny.
Best of luck

Hi, can you say more about this? This feels like an important point but I'm not sure I'm understanding. Maybe I can clarify a few things. It sounds like you're saying that the wood, once wet, will never fully dry out and will just keep rotting forever. So even if, for example, there's a small leak through a through bolt and the wood really isn't all that wet (like, optimistically, let's say a quarter sized wet patch)... that's bad just in and of itself and the transom is toast in the mid term future. This is true even if I do something like pipe warm air in there for 3 days or whatever?

And then you say that the fix is within reach if the leak is recent. Do you mean without rebuilding the whole transom? For example, like if I could do something along the lines of just cutting out the wet patch from the back and then replacing just that small patch, or something? What would you consider to be 'recent' and how big does the affected area need to be in order to be too big for a reasonable (not major) repair job? Thx.

I’ve seen a lot of boats in my lifetime that passed the survey with flying colors. Then they get to our shop with multiple issues. Including bad transom’s. Not all surveyors are competent, I’m sure there are good ones out there but not all of them know enough about boats. If they run and drive, that’s all they care about.

ok so this is scary. Can others confirm, is this common? Even with licensed marine surveyors? Thx

 

[FLATHEAD]

Yeah this one has a through bolted bracket, it has a fish finder transducer and a speedometer and some other stuff but it's definitely through bolted. It's don't know whether the whole leak is here or what, maybe it's bellows or something for sure but for now I'm just trying to figure out: IF I assume that I can find the leak and fix it, and IF a mechanical inspection comes back that the motor is fine, and IF the survey comes back and says that the transom is structurally sound and the stringers and all of that... is this boat safe to use? Or are there other hidden gremlins that come up when the boat gets flooded that far, that maybe a survey won't catch or something? It sounds like all indications are that a survey will tell me what I need to know! But I agree, pretty dumb system for the transducer :/


This is a good and fair question. I think just the once

It’s near impossible for us online to tell you if that boat is safe to use. No crystal ball. If your confident in your survey and no other source of leak is detected you do the drill test( which is a must in this case) and all comes out fine then you have to decide if your good to go.

 

[alldodge]

ok so this is scary. Can others confirm, is this common? Even with licensed marine surveyors? Thx

That's why my second comment (post 4) quoted "good" surveyor

It depends on your area and if there are quality requirements

Same thing with home surveyors, you can find someone that hung a shingle out and says they survey homes

Finding where the wet starts is key as to what and how much needs to be removed to fix. Need to first know how far has it gotten. If it's wet a few inches then that gets removed and reglassed. If it's smaller or larger area than, all are variables

 

[cyclops222]

The good die young. The bad ones live forever.

 

[JASinIL2006]

My boat had water intrusion from swim ladder bolts that were below the waterline but were not properly sealed. Four holes - maybe 5/16" each. The entire starboard side of my transom was rotted and water migrated to the deck thru the wood fibers and rotted much of the deck on the starboard side.

You really have to look carefully at how far the water has wicked into the wood. If the wet section is really small (e.g., a half dollar) you would be extremely lucky and you could probably arrest the problem without removing a lot of the transom core. That would likely only be the case if you found the leak relatively early. It does not take wood long to absorb water and it's really hard to dry laminate wood like plywood. If I recall correctly, some folks (@tpenfield ) have had some success with injecting anti-rot compounds like antifreeze into the wood to stop the rot, but I don't know much about that process or when it is likely to work.

Bottom line: you really need to do drill tests to find how far the water has migrated into the wood, and to see if rot has set it.

 

[Batperson]

dumb question, just because I don't fully know where the leak is coming from: Is it definitely, unequivocally the case that a leak means that the transom is at risk? Or is there some way for it to be leaking where the transom is probably fine, like if there's a cracked bellow or whatever, couldn't water just be draining into the bilge without actually getting the transom wood wet? or am I just dreaming here

 

[briangcc]

Well....

You could take it on, then do due diligence to determine where the leak was and how far the damage is. Then if needed, scrap the boat and sell off the trailer for a bit of $$.

But for me and my family....it wouldn't see or sniff water before I determined it was structurally sound. Going off what's been posted on page 1...where mechanic thinks its the transducer bolts...I'd wager its a full tear down.

 

[alldodge]

I don't fully know where the leak is coming from: Is it definitely, unequivocally the case that a leak means that the transom is at risk? Or is there some way for it to be leaking where the transom is probably fine, like if there's a cracked bellow or whatever, couldn't water just be draining into the bilge without actually getting the transom wood wet? or am I just dreaming here

We're just guessing based on what you have stated, and from what we read it's most likely to transom

A mechanic looked at it at one point and determined that the leak was PROBABLY around one of the transducer bolts that run through the transom as there seemed to be some wetness there. So here's my question... how problematic is that?

So if it's coming from the bellows then there are other concerns. That said if it was bellows the water would be coming in behind the motor. All stern mounted transducers are placed to the sides of the drive, so I doubt it's the bellows

 

[FLATHEAD]

When is your survey scheduled?

 

[Batperson]

Yep, thanks both. I agree that it's most likely the transom. But the mechanic just gave it a Quick Look so I'm trying to find a time to have them back out so I'm just wondering what to expect, like if there's a chance that the transom is okay or if I should be prepping for the worst

 

[Batperson]

When is your survey scheduled?

Haven't scheduled it yet, still deciding if it's worth it. They're expensive and if there's a 90% chance this boat is trashed I might just save my money and let this one go to the dump

 

[alldodge]

Easier to think the worst and have a chance and find it's not that bad

 

[FLATHEAD]

Easier to think the worst and have a chance and find it's not that bad

This /\ /\
Why not be proactive and do a drill test in the transom around the suspect thru bolts and see what you find. It’s easy and harmless. Any number of people here can walk you through it.

 

[Batperson]

I had a mechanic come out today and check the transom. He said he didn't find any soft spots, but he also didn't drill, he had like a little dentist tool thing that he was poking into the transom to see if it was soft. He poked around the fitting and said that it seemed okay. That seems like good news, right?

 

[alldodge]

. That seems like good news, right?

I would say no,
The transom has a layer of fiberglass on both sides of the wood core. Taking a pic and scratching the inside surface of the glass is not telling you anything.

Drill

 

[JimS123]

I go boating with my family. Safety is MORE than job 1. Also, the thought of having to spend megabucks to fix up old crap is a nogo.

If someone offered me a 32 year old boat I would pass.

If someone offered me a FREE boat I would pass.

If someone offered me a boat that had a leak, I would pass.

Bottom line is that I would never have posted this thread in the first place. I would not have considered that boat.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I had a mechanic come out today and check the transom. He said he didn't find any soft spots, but he also didn't drill, he had like a little dentist tool thing that he was poking into the transom to see if it was soft. He poked around the fitting and said that it seemed okay. That seems like good news, right?

I agree with @alldodge . I don't know that a dentist pick would get through the fiberglass layer. It also wouldn't show if the wood fibers were light colorred and dry vs. wet and dark, like the drill test would.

 

[airshot]

I had a mechanic come out today and check the transom. He said he didn't find any soft spots, but he also didn't drill, he had like a little dentist tool thing that he was poking into the transom to see if it was soft. He poked around the fitting and said that it seemed okay. That seems like good news, right?

Obviously not a boat " mechanic" , the drill is the only way to know for sure, any thing else is a waste of time. When the transom gets really soft, you can tilt up the outdrive, then stand on it and jump up and down, if the transom flexes at all, it is bad.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Just know that the transom has to be REALLY bad to show flex when putting weight on the outdrive. My transom was substantially rotted and showed no flex at all.