Oh Crap

[alden135]

Be prepared for several new questions coming in the next few weeks. I went to install the flotation in my floor yesterday and decided to check my transom for rot. Tap Tap..good, Tap some more...good, Tap again....like echos in a cave. It's that dreaded hollow sound, the kind that makes you sick. This boat is to damn old to fix (1961 Crestliner) so I'll be picking up a newer hull and transfering my power to it in the next couple weeks. BEFORE I buy something I could use any advice available so I don't end up with more crap for the dump. I know to check the transom (now) but what else should I be looking for? Do cracks in the gelcoat mean structural problems? Is there anything I can look for without disassembling a boat I don't own yet? Thanks to all here for the help with my motor. At least I found the transom problem before someone got hurt or I lost the evinrude.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Oh Crap

I reckon for the money you put into a decent boat you're better off getting it checked by a professional. Treat their fee as a one-off insurance premium. Only problem is to find someone who really knows what they're doing.

 

[alden135]

Re: Oh Crap

But Tinkerer, the only professionals I trust any more are you people. The kid at my local johnny/rude dealer never heard of Seafoam. Catch my drift?

 

[one more cast]

Re: Oh Crap

how about Aluminum.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Oh Crap

Maybe an inflatable.

 

[Winger Ed.]

Re: Oh Crap

If you get a hull more than a few years old, there's a good chance the transom on it will be bad, or go bad fairly soon.<br /><br />If you're handy with that sort of work, replacing the transom board and the floor too, isn't that big of a deal in relation to the expense of buying a hull in really good shape.

 

[Realgun]

Re: Oh Crap

If I really liked the boat I would fix the transom and such.

 

[tengals123]

Re: Oh Crap

yes, me too. and that's what im doing with my boat. I love my hull shape. cheers

 

[alden135]

Re: Oh Crap

If I really liked my boat I would fix it, however I'm not in love with it at all. I'm looking for something heavier duty like yours tengals( not that realguns isn't beautiful). I need transportation in all weather and sea conditions. A boat for me is more a necessity than a toy. I have a house on an island and don't wanna swim the 3 miles to get there.

 

[buckeye_sean]

Re: Oh Crap

I would like to cast another vote for aluminum. My '84 Basstracker is still in great shape, while my father-in-law's '89 Bayliner is ready for the scrap yard due to transom rot.

 

[geekomatic]

Re: Oh Crap

I don't get it.My boat is 47 years old.All of the wood in it was rotten EXCEPT the transom.A little wet,maybe,but solid as a rock.I was completely prepared to rip out the back of the boat and replace the transom if that was what the job called for.Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely glad I don't have to do it,but I would have in a heartbeat.Maybe it was the fact that I paid only 300 bucks for the boat,the trailer, and a pretty tasty little '58 Evinrude 18hp.This gave me plenty of financial room to bring it back from the dead.I'm still in the process of learning what's going on within the guts of this thing.My only worry is that I find something that can't be fixed after spending a ton of money on it.In your case, you've certainly got my vote for getting something else.You have a need for a mode of transportation. I have a need to fill up space in my garage.

 

[tengals123]

Re: Oh Crap

geekomatic, just about anything can be fixed. If your willing to put the time, effort and money into it. cheers