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...
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
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
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...
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...
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...
@alldodge Thank you for the self test. I don't think I understand. Clearly I'm dumb but why would you drill above the leak? Wouldn't any water go down and I should drill below the leak to test the quality of any wood below the leak where the water possibly sunk in? And just to confirm I...
Thx all. Just to confirm, the strong sense I'm getting is that IF I were to have this boat surveyed (as the extent of the damage is unknown), and it passes the survey, I should consider the hull to be sound despite the leak. So if I can track down and fix the leak, I should consider this to be...
lol I forgot about the assumption of suspicion on this site :) this boat belongs to my cousin, he is pretty solid financially and when this happened he took it as an excuse to buy a new boat. The offer is basically “I think this boat is still solid but it *does* have a leak so it’s yours if you...
Thx. So my big worry is that the fact that the transom has been so recently wet might mess with their readings, since I feel like they rely on moisture meters and stuff pretty heavily. Is this the case? Or can they identify issues (or lack thereof) with a wet transom? For instance, it's not...
Even if the marine survey comes back and says the transom is fine? My major question is whether a marine survey will tell me whether or not there is structural damage to the transom, stringers, things like that. thx
Hello,
I am being offered a free boat. It's a 1997 seaswirl striper. It has been a great boat, generally well maintained, etc. At some point over the last 6 months or so, it developed a slow leak somewhere. Over the course of 2-3 months, it filled up to where it touched the oil pan. So the...
Hello,
What is the best material for rivets under the waterline in saltwater? Do I need to stick with only aluminum (body and mandrel) or can I use aluminum body and steel mandrel or even a pure stainless rivet? Will dissimilar metals cause weird corrosion issues in the saltwater? Thanks I’m advance
