Hull questions!!!

[MercPower]

I have a 73 Glassmaster 140hp 3.0 that is taking on a bit of water. I noticed that the floor near the bow was a little wet so I opened up the dry storage compartment and noticed there was about an inch of water in the back corner. The water never increased but it also never drained. Also, I opened up my engine compartment and saw a slow steady stream of water coming in around the outboard.

The front leak is most likely a shabby patch job. The previous owner bondo'd the living bahjesus out of it! Probably wouldn't have been my choice in repairing fiberglass
I called a local body shop that will look at it but he informed me ahead of time it would probably be several hundred to go thru and completely patch up the entire boat. He's charging 60 an hour for labor. He also said after he's done he'll guarantee his work and the boat will not leak.

The leak in the stern I'm assuming is something different. How exactly is the outboard sealed up? I noticed one of the boots inside the out drive is also torn, but it looks like it may be for adjusting TnT or something?

First question! Is this an accurate estimate for hull repair? How much should I really expect to spend? I paid 2 grand for the boat, I really don't want to put much more into it (at least not yet!)

Second question! Does this leak in the stern sound like a bad out drive seal/gasket? Is there even such a thing?

Someone help a noob!!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Hull questions!!!

a 38 year old transom? start at 2 grand and go up from there if all the wood needs to be replaced .
you can do a sounding check of the transom with a small hammer listening for a "dull" sound. thats rotted wood. only 2 boots will leak, the main bellows and the shift boot.other areas can be exaust pipe, water inlet tube, trim/tilt wire entry,corroded hole thru the housing, looses transom seal, rotted away mounting bolts.save your money and look for a better boat , sell of the parts.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Hull questions!!!

Yep, sounds like a rotted transom to me.

 

[MercPower]

Re: Hull questions!!!

Yep, sounds like a rotted transom to me.

I did the knock test with a rubber mallet. I got a hollow noise everywhere except in about an inch radius of the out drive and also an inch from the 90 degree edge where the transom meets the bottom of the hull. I'm guessing this area is reinforced to support the weight of the out drive and maintain structural integrity.

I also noticed, after a bit of poking around, that the boot that is second largest in diameter, right below the large boot, has a hole large enough to fit my finger in it. The boot is all rotted to hell and cracking.

Come to think of it, when i checked the boat in the water it seemed like the water is trickling in in about the same area as the cracked boot. I'm thinking this could be my problem. Going to replace it as soon as I find out where the heck to get one from.

I really hope I don't have to dump 2 grand into the hull! Would def. be cheaper to just buy a hull-donor and drop this engine into it.

 

[cpubud]

Re: Hull questions!!!

if the whole tramson is hollow and the bow of the boat has been patched with bondo sounds like new boat time to me.

 

[MercPower]

Re: Hull questions!!!

if the whole tramson is hollow and the bow of the boat has been patched with bondo sounds like new boat time to me.

I don't think you understand what I mean by hollow. That's acutally a good thing, to some extent, according to BtDoctur. You can hear a thudding noise (sound reflection) when you tap it with a mallet. A dull noise (sound absorption), like he stated, would indicate wood rot.

I don't think buying a new boat would be the most cost effective measure if I can get a water tight repair job done for a couple hundred bucks. Like I said, he would guarantee his work.