How to know if a transom is rotted??

[SpareTime]

I am just getting in the market and casually looking for a new boat.

I was just wondering, how can you tell if a transon is any good or not? Is there an easy way to tell?:confused:

What else should I watch out for? I don't want to spend a pile of money on a lemon. I'm looking for about a 20-23' hardtop w/ cabin for the family.......what are some good makes and models to watch for? Price wise, it seems I am looking on the early to mid 90's years. Bayliners look to be really cheap (way below my budget).....are they a waste of money?

Thanks for any info you have to share.:)

[kroppe]

I think Beave is the resident expert on this site, regarding buying a boat in this size class. He looked at a lot of boats and had some surveys done. Comments Beave...??

Bottom line is I think you need to hire a professional to do a survey. Decide if a boat is "the one" and then pay for the survey. If it comes back clean, you're good. If not, then it's back to square one. Lots of $$ at stake, so the survey expense should be looked at as part of the price of entry.

[Jason Adam]

Theres not a sure fire easy way to tell rot. Youd really need a moisture meter. You can pull a screw out of the transom below the waterline and see if its gucked up. As was mentioned above, you'll need a profesinal survey once you decide on the boat. When you find a boat that looks like its "the one" put money down pending a clean survey then hire a surveyer.

As far as what is "the right boat", if you list what your intened uses are, and things that you are dead set on as far as style, power, amenities, PRICE, etc, I'm sure youd get alot of suggestions here. Boats are alot like cars. Everybody has a bias, every manufacture has made good and bad, some people have had good expericance with a brand, others have had bad boat experiances.

As far as bayliners, I wouldnt rule them out at all, there are alot of good trophys out there and if they suit your needs and pass a survey, they are alot of boat for the money...

[Beave]

When you find one you want have it professionally surveyed. There are some things to look for though. Buy yourself a small brass or rubber hammer. Tap lightly down the stringers, hull, and transom with it. It should sound like you're tapping on something solid and have a sharpness to the sound. When you're on the outside of the hull and reach a stringer the sound will change, but still sound "solid" or firm. This isn't an exact science, but a water-logged stringer or transom will have a flat sound to it.

As Jason said, pull a screw or two if the owner lets you. I like to pull a motor mount screw and something from the transom. I bring a pick with me to poke into the wood. The wood should be solid and dry. Pay special attention to holes drilled in the transom so the owner could get electronics or trim tabs through. They're often sealed off improperly and are a good place for water intrusion. The nice thing is there's usually a screw there to pull.

Also look for blistering in the hull, and if you do a sea trial on an I/O watch for the motor to jump when you put it into gear, indicating the motor mounts may not be solid anymore.

Those are just a few things I've learned to look at to save the money of a survey on a boat that will obviously fail. Ideally find a boat that's been kept on a trailer and not in the water for extended periods of time. (My new boat has never been slipped for more than a week.) Even with proper bottom painting a 20 year old boat is going to absorb some water.

Don't be afraid of Bayliners. My new boat is a 21' trophy and I got a good deal on it. It needs a lot of minor work yet, but the price was right. One thing about older Trophies... There's a piece of plywood in front of the motor and behind the gas tank there as a seperator. Bayliner did a horrible job of sealing that piece of wood off. 80% of 15-20 year old Trophies will have that board deteriorating because they didn't fiberglass the top edges on most of them. The board has nothing to do with the structural integrity of the boat, so don't let that one bother you if everything else is fine. It's easy to reinforce the gas tank.