Water in boat.

[fishing603]

I just inherited an '86 cajun bass boat from my grandfather. I used the boat once since receiving it, and left a switch on which ultimately killed the 6 year old cranking battery. I removed the battery and the battery box, to find rotten wood. I started investigating and found that the entire deck in the back was rotten with more than half a gatorade bottle worth of water sitting between a stringer, hull and the rotten deck.

I did a little trial and error to see how the water was getting in there. First, I checked the transom with the end of a screw driver and it sounds completely solid, no dull sounds anywhere! The livewells, checked both the front and back, seem to be working properly, both filling up and draining with no leeks.

Non Rotten side


Where the cranking battery was sitting, started pulling up all the rotten wood.


U can see the hull in this picture where the water was sitting.



I'm just at a lose here and don't know what to think or where to go.

Any suggestions or thoughts, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Lyle29464]

Re: Water in boat.

Cant tell that much from the pictures. My guess is it's not that bad. You need to remove the stuff with rot till you get to all good wood.glass etc.you will need to check everything. Ice pick and rubber hammer is good. Then do a search on here and follow some of the rebuild threads. If your not handy with tools. fiberglass etc. you might want to call in a pro to see if you should fix it or get an estmate. Hulls are not real hard to come by. Be sure the motor is tops before you spend money. Might check utube for the how to stuff. The major problems are stringers and transoms. If its just the deck no big deal. remember THINK LIGHT first timers often use thick treated wood and end up with a heavy dog that is no fun.

 

[oops!]

Re: Water in boat.

hi welcome to iboats !

the battery box is the first place to start rotting for some stupid reason....

take a circ saw and start cutting out that area......set the blade depth, to the thickness of the deck wood only.

start cutting where the wood starts to feel solid again.....and cut out the rot......when you have that area out.....look at the foam under the deck.

....the foam could be dry on top but wet on the bottom.. so take a tube of pvc......and cut two teeth in it......stick the pvc into the foam....and dig all the way to the bottom. then remove the tube.......have a look at the foam in the pipe.....this is a core sample.........if the foam at the bottom is wet......you have more investigating to do.

one of the best things you can do to help your self......is read here....read read read....click the link in my sig......and look at frisco boaters vids