Baja issues with wood rot?
 

Looking to purchase a used BAJA 20-23 ft.. 1995-2001 years.. I read about several issues with boats in this timeframe having transom rot due to factory holes being too large. Now I am not sure if this is true or not.. but was wondering if anyone had information on issues with this for the years listed above.

Thanks.

Rot is an issue with ALL boats that have wood as a part of the hull.

Problem is nobody bothers re caulking hardware...Bedding compound is only good for around 5 years...It should be part of the preventative maintenance schedule ,Especially if you want to maintain the value of your investment.

Just had a friend do his 290 Baja over the winter and rear stringers were shot. The guy that fixed the problem said the stringers were like mulch. Also the area behind the swim platform was holding a large amount of water due to poor design. He had to drill holes in the rear of the boat and seal it to allow the water to get out.

my 1998 272 was possibly one of the ones you read about with the transom hole being cut to big got it fixed right and will have this boat for a very long time now

+1 How do we get people to believe that rot is not related to what year a boat was built, or who built it if wood was part of any structure in the boat. We have see it all from your 1977 Pantera that the rib pad wood was just bare wood and not even a water stain on anything (it was in perfect condition like new) to a 2005 Nor-Tech that we just replaced the rotted rear seat bottoms with plastic material. I think more boats rot from owners that say "it's a boat and it's suppose to get wet" or letting them sit outside with bad canvas and the drain plug installed. My dad bought a 86' Wellcraft 23 Nova that was nothing but rot, now he has an even older 83' 23 Nova that is solid as can be. You just have to inspect every boat you look at.

XT

XT is right i think a lot of my issues were from neglect from the previous owners but it did have the hole cut to big as well

We replaced a transom on a 1998 25 outlaw about 5 years ago, at the time a 11 year old boat. the transom did not have glass mat between the 2 pieces of plywood like every other transom including Baja that I have seen, it had a adhesive of some type that was not spread all over just drizzled on if that describes it. well anyways, the exhaust hose was never properly tightened going to the exhaust tip and it allowed water to fall down between the 2 sheets and it was so rotted by the time we pulled it apart that you could poke a screw driver through the inside and hit the fiberglass back of the boat in a large area. Also found rot in the stringers. I replaced the transom and stringers in my sport 250 about the same time, the transom wasn’t too bad but the stringers were mush. Problem there was the previous owner gutted the boat and left it in a corn field for 4-5 years before I found it. the thing that bugged me about that is the stringers were made of dimensional lumber rather that plywood. I agree with XT when he says the way the boat is covered and maintained has a ton to do with it. after replacing all of that wood in my boat I am absolutely anal about covering my boat and making sure that water and rain does not get into it. my buddy pointed out to me and made a great point, people will buy a 75,000 dollar car and it sits in the garage and gets waxed 3 times a year and then they will have 75,000+ dollar boat siting in the driveway not properly covered and think nothing of it. I am unlucky and have to keep mine outside but it is covered 100% of the time and well, winter time it is double covered.

The worst rot I've seen was on a 2006 fountain !!! transom was dirt, not wood, neither soft wood! DIRT !

so again, year does not count, maintenance does...

All boats with wood can rot, just have it surveyed and tap with a mallet if you can.

Look for tell tale signs, stains running down from ANY Penatration, etc.

" stains running down from ANY Penetration" Hmm.....

Lol.

Hi,I leave in Mauritius and no boat are made with wood here. Can you please advise what international brand of boat is made without wood?

I totally agree with most are saying here. I believe the worst damage is due to rain water and neglect. But I have also taken the trim tabs off of a 98 25 outlaw to find that no sealant was used on the plates or the screws.

My 01 29 fever was always garage kept even by the previous owners. Last year while doing fresh power and drive, it was discovered my transom, stringers, and rear hulk head were full of water and rot. The only place water was getting was through the exhaust holes. After removing the exhaust tips, we could easily see that's where the water was getting in, from there gravity forced the water down to the stringers and keel. from there it back tracked towards the bow to the rear hulk head. It's amazing to me how much any of these boats are new that a manufacturer uses such cheap parts and pieces. The exhaust tips did not have a flange but only a cheap plastic ring on the outside just for looks. There wasn't any left over silicone or any other sealant used in any effort to keep water out. After new transom, stringers, bulkhead, you can bet my new exhaust holes have a flange and we used a ****load of the 3M sealant. I will be checking these exhaust holes, drain plug holes, and bravo assembly rings every 3-4 years just incase!

I'm in the market for a boat from that time period, definitely getting a survey this time.

Same issue my 32 had, couldn't beleive it i bet it was leaking from day one. yet my friend has the same model and is only 3 numbers off. his is solid as a rock.

Go figure.

All boats with wood can and will rot if things leak. Every rigging screw put into the boat is a place water can get in.

100% agree!!

We even installed a drain plug at each end of the hull sides. The guy that did the wood and glass work said almost 10 gallons of water came out when he drilled through!! All being related to the whole "water under the step thing".