Hey guys.. I've owned my 1992 Astro bassboat w/ a 70hp Force since 2002.. It was faded pretty bad and the carpet had been replaced before I bought it, so I knew it saw some weather.. It's seen *a lot* of weather since then, too...like, the last four years worth, sitting out in the weeds. To my credit (if you can call it that) I at least put the nose way up, trimmed the motor way down, kept the plug out, and checked it periodically to make sure it still was able to drain, etc..
Even back closer to when I first bought the boat, I noticed that the motor mount would chatter against the transom and I'd get water leaking in through the motor mount bolt holes occasionally.. I'd just tighten it up and move on with life.. Well, after it sat for 4yrs, I took it out and noticed it leaking and chattering again, so I tightened it up.. This time, however, I *really* cranked the nuts down and it kinda oozed a few drops of water out from behind the motor mount.. I did a search about it and saw a post where someone was having water intrusion there and the response was "Your transom is rotten."
Needless to say, that kinda worried me, so I did some more research and found that there's some debate as to whether a "wet transom" and a "rotten transom" are the same, and also on how big a deal it is if your transom it wet, when to start getting really worried, etc.. What I've seen so far are people talking about the glass cracking and transom bowing out, being unable to trim the motor because the transom flexes, etc.. I haven't experienced *any* of that..
In fact, I know that if I trim my motor too far down with the boat strapped to the trailer, the skeg will make contact with the ground and begin pulling the trailer backward and lifting the whole boat/motor/trailer off the ground -- but the transom doesn't flex at all.
So, I guess I'm just looking to get a discussion going here on "wet transoms" vs. "rotten transoms" and so forth, what people have seen first hand (as in, motors falling off, transoms being ripped off, people keeping transoms alive with brackets and homemade road-sign plates and 2x6's, how long they ran on wet/rotten transoms, etc)..
Thanks!
Even back closer to when I first bought the boat, I noticed that the motor mount would chatter against the transom and I'd get water leaking in through the motor mount bolt holes occasionally.. I'd just tighten it up and move on with life.. Well, after it sat for 4yrs, I took it out and noticed it leaking and chattering again, so I tightened it up.. This time, however, I *really* cranked the nuts down and it kinda oozed a few drops of water out from behind the motor mount.. I did a search about it and saw a post where someone was having water intrusion there and the response was "Your transom is rotten."
Needless to say, that kinda worried me, so I did some more research and found that there's some debate as to whether a "wet transom" and a "rotten transom" are the same, and also on how big a deal it is if your transom it wet, when to start getting really worried, etc.. What I've seen so far are people talking about the glass cracking and transom bowing out, being unable to trim the motor because the transom flexes, etc.. I haven't experienced *any* of that..
In fact, I know that if I trim my motor too far down with the boat strapped to the trailer, the skeg will make contact with the ground and begin pulling the trailer backward and lifting the whole boat/motor/trailer off the ground -- but the transom doesn't flex at all.
So, I guess I'm just looking to get a discussion going here on "wet transoms" vs. "rotten transoms" and so forth, what people have seen first hand (as in, motors falling off, transoms being ripped off, people keeping transoms alive with brackets and homemade road-sign plates and 2x6's, how long they ran on wet/rotten transoms, etc)..
Thanks!
