I Just Bought My First Boat. 1997 Sea Ray 175 3.0LX A1 G2. WHERE TO START PLEASE HELP!!

[97Alpha175]

Hi,
I just bought my first boat and it performs great, but it has a lot of rust. Took on a small amount of water on a two hour trip.
I will post some pictures. I am looking at a lot of work and service/maintenance. I have no idea where I should start from cleaning to rust to repairs... PLEASE HELP! WHAT SHOULD I START WITH Thanks in advance!

 

[Scott Danforth]

first, welcome aboard

second, dont focus on rust on the motor at all. all raw water cooled motors have rust. same goes with your trim pump and other things. buy a can of boeshield and move on.

your focus needs to be on why you are taking on water. since your boat is 25 years old and was designed to last 15, and there is still wood in your 1997 boat. your transom may be rotten.

additionally, it looks like your boat sat a long long long long time without water in the cooling jacket. what is the history of the boat?

 

[97Alpha175]

It has had 3 owners and 2nd owner put it up in a barn for some time after driving it often on the ocean ( think it was a manifold and water pump leaking that caused it, maybe). 3rd owner had it outside with a shabby cover for 2 years. I have no history or maintenance.
I just watched a video on the transom AHHHH! I need to find a good way to inspect that.

 

[97Alpha175]

Well I just beat on the back all around the out drive and the left and right side sound the same. Tone changes the further you go from drive or side/bottom wall, but it is the same on port and star side. So maybe if there is a good way to inspect it from the interior I can quickly rule this in or out (it seems solid, but I do not know other that driving and pulling/banging on it.).
A visual I can see the shift cable bellow has a small tear. Other bellows do not show signs from what I can tell. I want to replace them, but I am not sure if that is the first thing I should start with.

 

[nola mike]

Well I just beat on the back all around the out drive and the left and right side sound the same. Tone changes the further you go from drive or side/bottom wall, but it is the same on port and star side. So maybe if there is a good way to inspect it from the interior I can quickly rule this in or out (it seems solid, but I do not know other that driving and pulling/banging on it.).
A visual I can see the shift cable bellow has a small tear. Other bellows do not show signs from what I can tell. I want to replace them, but I am not sure if that is the first thing I should start with.

Start with the transom. If it's rotten, the boat may not be worth saving. Go to the restoration forums here to get an idea of what to do/what you're in for. To check the transom, you'll need to drill holes from the inside, about 1/4"-3/8" drill bit, go about 1.5" into the transom and inspect the wood shavings that come out. They should be dry and well formed. Mush is rot. You want to drill holes near the outdrive cutout, and a few more to the sides, as low as you can get. If all good, fill the holes with 5200 or similar.

 

[97Alpha175]

Start with the transom. If it's rotten, the boat may not be worth saving. Go to the restoration forums here to get an idea of what to do/what you're in for. To check the transom, you'll need to drill holes from the inside, about 1/4"-3/8" drill bit, go about 1.5" into the transom and inspect the wood shavings that come out. They should be dry and well formed. Mush is rot. You want to drill holes near the outdrive cutout, and a few more to the sides, as low as you can get. If all good, fill the holes with 5200 or similar.

I have not found any reason to believe the transom is bad. I am reluctant to drill holes. Is there another way to get an idea before that? This is an I/O. I have seen a moisture meter that is not invasive.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I have not found any reason to believe the transom is bad. I am reluctant to drill holes. Is there another way to get an idea before that? This is an I/O. I have seen a moisture meter that is not invasive.

a really good FLIR camera and non-contact) moisture meter

 

[dubs283]

I am reluctant to drill holes. Is there another way to get an idea before that?

Quick easy way to see if transom is rotten is to stand on the drive partway trimmed up and gently bounce on the drive. Look for yourself or have a helper watch the transom for flex. You want no flex, if you see flex then then there is an issue and time to start drilling holes as stated earlier.

 

[97Alpha175]

Quick easy way to see if transom is rotten is to stand on the drive partway trimmed up and gently bounce on the drive. Look for yourself or have a helper watch the transom for flex. You want no flex, if you see flex then then there is an issue and time to start drilling holes as stated earlier.

Okay. I am sure that it can handle much greater force than me, but where should I safely stand/bounce on this thing without breaking something or myself?
I am new to boating but I feel like I am being hazed lol! You got a new boat, drill holes in it and jump up and down on the outdrive lol...
I know drilling is a thing and bouncing well it can't hurt if the transom is good..
Thanks for the input guys! I will bounce on the outdrive tomorrow and report back.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Note, if you can break something JUMPING up and down on the drive, while it is unsupported and mostly in the down position, then it is in no condition to withstand 130 HP of torquey thrust at full throttle. This is not rocket science, it is foundational structure for safe operation.

Drilling holes is NOT a big deal to determine quality of structure - filling them with 3M 5200 is stronger than the wood you drilled out. New to you boat must have a full evaluation to be certain it is safe to operate. A rotted transom or stringers ends up being a blown coupler and a walk back to the boat ramp when your boat no longer has go.

 

[97Alpha175]

Start with the transom. If it's rotten, the boat may not be worth saving. Go to the restoration forums here to get an idea of what to do/what you're in for. To check the transom, you'll need to drill holes from the inside, about 1/4"-3/8" drill bit, go about 1.5" into the transom and inspect the wood shavings that come out. They should be dry and well formed. Mush is rot. You want to drill holes near the outdrive cutout, and a few more to the sides, as low as you can get. If all good, fill the holes with 5200 or similar.

Hi Nola Mike, do you know of any info from the restorations area I can use to inspect the transom? I looked all the way back to the beginning of 2018 and saw nothing but repair threads with obvious damage.
As for drilling holes, every post and video I have seen only does that when their is a concern that the transom is bad. I have no symptoms that I know of. Help me find a symptom and I will drill holes happily.
If someone knows how I can check the transom more than I have, please let me know? Otherwise I am going to bounce on the outdrive tomorrow and move on with those results.
Any checks for the engine bay side of the transom (without drilling)?
Thanks everyone for helping me check what is probably the most important piece of the boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

remember, the drive is supporting the boat when the boat is on-plane. the prop thrust is so much more than you can generate by standing or jumping on the drive.

with the drive up, get your most famine-proof friend - the guy you call Tiny.
and have him hold the back of the boat and violently jump up and down on the back of the outdrive

there should be no flex at all to the transom or transom shield. there should be no movement between them

having water in the boat is a sign of a bad transom or other issues.

every boat I have ever worked on with any suspect of rot, I have done test drills. only once have I ever found dry/light-colored shavings. a few times I had water coming out of the first hole drilled

 

[todhunter]

Hi Nola Mike, do you know of any info from the restorations area I can use to inspect the transom? I looked all the way back to the beginning of 2018 and saw nothing but repair threads with obvious damage.
As for drilling holes, every post and video I have seen only does that when their is a concern that the transom is bad. I have no symptoms that I know of. Help me find a symptom and I will drill holes happily.

Your symptom is that your boat has a wood structure, is 25 years old, and has a known period of time in its life where it was stored poorly. Don't fear drilling the holes...fear what you're likely to find.

Here is my thread where I drilled holes. My transom wasn't rotten to the point of the transom assembly moving, but the transom still needed to be replaced.

 

[FLATHEAD]

 

[JASinIL2006]

Knocking/rapping on your transom will tell you nothing. If your transom flexes when you put weight on the outdrive, it's beyond rotten. The only easy way to check, short of buying expensive gear like moisture meters or IR cameras, is to simply drill holes as has been suggested. It won't compromise your boat at all. If the shavings are dry and light-colored, you're good and you can fill the holes with 3M 5200 and no harm done.

I don't understand the reluctance to make sure a 25 year old boat is safe...

 

[97Alpha175]

Ok so I see a trend here. Let me change the subject then. Who would replace the transom on this boat? And I do not mean what is the right thing to do. Who would actually spend the time or money on this boat to get that done.
Also I will probably take off the rear seat area and then start unscrewing stuff in the transom from the engine bay to check for moisture first.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Ok so I see a trend here. Let me change the subject then. Who would replace the transom on this boat? And I do not mean what is the right thing to do. Who would actually spend the time or money on this boat to get that done.
Also I will probably take off the rear seat area and then start unscrewing stuff in the transom from the engine bay to check for moisture first.

I have done it on better quality boats
I have done it on lower quality boats
I have done it on older boats
I have done it on newer boats

only you can answer if the work and expense is worth it to you.

I personally would not have bought a boat with a 3.0, however I have bought boats with rotten transoms and stringers

keep in mind, any fiberglass boat 15 years or older will need some work. newer boats are suffering from Plexus joint bond issues of the stringer tubs

 

[Rick Stephens]

I redid the transom on my '90 17 foot ski boat. A nothing special kind of hull that I turned into a 2 person super comfortable fishing barge. Had some flooring a partially wet transom to repair.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Also of note, I quite literally loved doing the job. It tickled every one of my fancies to make it better'n factory.

 

[Benny67]

A visual I can see the shift cable bellow has a small tear. Other bellows do not show signs from what I can tell. I want to replace them, but I am not sure if that is the first thing I should start with.

Reading this I'm trying to understand why everyone is saying the transom is rotted when you found a tear in the shift cable boot.

Pull the drive and inspect the rubbers and see if there's any other leaks. I think just saying the transom is bad is jumping to conclusions way too quickly.