Rot or not?

[MikeH2]

Now for the dumb question, how do I check the floor and transom? We pulled up the old floor covering and put new carpet down and all I saw was fiberglass on the floor...How do I get to the wood and what am I looking for? Obviously if I see wood that is falling apart its bad but what else am I looking for... What happens if I miss something? Will the entire boat fall apart when I cross my first wake from another boat? I want this to be a safe boat for my family and friends to enjoy time in the outdoors. Once someone tells me where and what to look for could I post some photos and get your opinions? Thanks again.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Rot or not?

It's not a dumb question. Dumb are the ones who just keep walking on that little o'l soft spot until they step through it. Anyway, what you need to do is to drill some holes in the deck to see if the wood is wet or rotting. I would start with just a small bit and drill kinda slow so the cuttings won't go flying. Take a good look at the cuttings and if you can see that it's wet, chances are, everything below it is wet as well. Wet wood is usually a bit darker, and if you see a lot of black stuff, the rotting process has begun. On mine, I could actually see dark areas under the resin. This is a bad sign. If you see something in your cuttings you don't like, cut a larger hole with a hole saw or something and investigate further. Repeat this process in several places around the boat, particularly around your transom. Unless you've decided to tear something out, be SURE to seal any holes that you drilled with a good sealant or epoxy. Just seal it up, because if you don't have too much of a problem, you sure don't want to create a place for ploblems to start. If you don't find any major issues and you don't have much flex in your transom, you're probably okay for now. There will be some pretty obvious issues appear before your boat falls apart, but do check things out good.

 

[MikeH2]

Re: Rot or not?

Thank you very much! Will do.

 

[BigBoatinOkie]

Re: Rot or not?

Just want to make sure you know that the drilling on the transom should only be done on the inside. Good luck.