Agree or Disagree?
 

Agree or Disagree? I have owned many boats over the years (typically more than 10+ years old), and one thing is certain if you dig deep enough you will find

A. Rot
B. Wet wood that is going to rot

I am always find it odd that everyone shocked that the transom is wet, their foot went though floor, screws wont bite, etc... If I bough new I would definitely buy one with a fiberglass stringer system.

Disagree.

boats not left in water and garage kept and ones sealed correctly should be dry...and there are some out there...

disagree,some builders had transom sealing issues but most boats are dry.

Ditto. I've had occasion to drill into the usual suspect areas on my PQ and it has no moisture or rot.

I do agree to some point... My motto is boats are made to be in the water, not hold water...

Disagree.
My Corsa is a 1984 and has NO rot or soft wood anywhere.

It's just kind of a math question. I would say that the older the boat becomes, mathematically the more chances it has for something to go wrong and screw up a transom or stringer. It's not that they are prone to failure because of an antiquated design, I think they are prone to failure by neglect. I love old boats! You just have to look really really close at them before you buy them!!!

edit: I disagree -- subject to the above caveat! :D

Boat covers need to be water proof.

Kids constantly being in water, out of water, drenching on back of boat, etc/etc gets things wet fast !

I've dealt with rot, and have the kid thing. I learned to supply towels before climbing into and onto boat.

Treat your boat more like a car and you'll enjoy more years out of it.

Just like walking across a boat with shoes or what have you - would you do that to your car ?

Oh, if you have boat shrink wrapped, making freakin sure they don't uncover it in the rain and then put the wrap on with any wetness in the boat...Same theme, make sure it is fully dry before you have it put away. Same thing with your covers during the boating season at all possible.

If a boat cannot sit in the water and exposed to weather for a few days I don't think it should be called a boat. Maybe it should be called an overpriced blinged out propulsion unit that needs to be on land and dry.

I agree to a point. The main factor is how long someone's expectation of life expectancy for a boat is.

If it's 15-20+ yrs, they, as an owner need to do what they can and obviously hope the boat manufacturer did what they can.

Just finished a 27 Fountain, kept dry. Had to put a new transom and stringers in it, before installing a new 540 EFI package. Complete derig, steering ram mounts and 4 bulk head line fittings never sealed properly from factory. Not only that, the factory, re welded a screw hole for the fuel level sender, leaving a hump. Just found that, we thought at first the tank was leaking. After all these years the rear part of the foam was saturated with fuel.

Agree, Had a Velocity that the transom went all to chit due to chit workmanship, hardly an effort to seal things up right.

And Disagree, Some Formulas have had the super high tec glue chit fail on their glass grid / stringer systems, as well as deck bond system, one of the claimed top manufacturers, so go figure.

Yet there are 30 year old Bayliners out there that are just fine!

They just cover the whole boat with a chopper gun, shooting glass and resin. LOL

What year was the 27'. That's scary!

I've owned several over the years. Probably 50/50 in regards to the over 10 and under. Never had any issues with any and that even includes the 79 32' Project I'm working on currently. I have see some though with stringers saturated do to setting in the water all summer with bilge pumps and or batteries not working. Not good when water sits at or above any bolt/screw holes etc.

Id like to see the same question posted in ten or twenty years time. (If I'm still around. Lol)

Boats are generally a lot better made than they used to be. Fiberglass boats should be practically impervious to water if they're properly built. I think a new boat now will still be 'rot free' in twenty plus years if maintained. Water collecting and siting in a boat is part of owner maintenance, if you're new boat collects water somewhere, find out why and fix it!

We buy old boats and fix them up because we like the style, enjoy the restoration and the budget fits. In twenty years time, those buying boats built in 2010 or newer should have much less to do than we do with 1990 model boats.

Just my opinion.........

RR

All I can say is that we had a very old boat 1976. Being the lazy person I am and not wanting to clean the bottom of the boat at the end of the season - every time we finished with the boat - it was put on the trailer and put in the garage - where it was kept very dry. Even with this treatment - water did leak (I guessed thru the seal by the outdrive) and rotted the transom. I was VERY surprised to see how soft it had become - considering how we babied the boat. After this experience - our next boat- was a Cobalt with no wood-- ergo no rot.

3pointstar

It just blows me away to see a $100K+ boat that is rotting out ten years after it was built because the factory didn't want to spend $50 extra and maybe 30 minutes to make sure thru-hull fittings are sealed properly, screws are bedded to be water tight, etc. That's just ridiculous.

It is. I agree.

(Getting me fired up) So does:
Blows me away that 200k-1 Million dollar NEW homes being built like pieces of schit

New car parts that either don't fit or don't work out of the box...or break shortly.

Leeching fields that stop working after a few years.

60k trucks that rot out in 10yrs or quicker

20k trucks too.

HVAC systems installed that have totally kinked off flexible tubes going to ducts.

Septic lines that aren't buried far enough and thus freeze each winter for a month or two. Believe it !

I'll stop....don't have a few hours tocontinue.

Being a newbie and coming in fresh to this sport so take my opinion/ rant for what it's worth but a fresh opinion nonetheless, I think that a boat manufacturer should be held liable for sealing EVERYTHING in their product appropriately. PERIOD! If there is rot caused by some other aftermarket part installed incorrectly, owner neglect/ mistreatment, or if the original sealed parts are taken off for whatever reason and reinstalled and resealed poorly then the manufacturers are off the hook for that repair...SIMPLE! These are BOATS and they go in WATER so it should be sealed CORRECTLY the first time no excuses, no BS, that's their JOB! It isn't right that people pay the money they do for these boats, maintain them impeccably and through no fault of their own the thing rots away from underneath them. Are owners supposed to be responsible for taking everything apart after they take delivery of a new boat and check that it has been built and sealed right? If so they should sell "kits" people can put together themselves and pay someone more qualified and cares to do it right the first time... Or someone should open a business called "I will take apart and reseal your boat correctly so it doesn't leak and rot since your builder was too lazy or cheap to do the job right the first time".

Maybe you can tell I'm a little frustrated lol

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/f...head-help.html

P.S. In my case I have yet to figure out why mine has the rot so I'm not passing judgment, but from what I have seen in this industry everyone just "accepts" problems they should not as consumers accept...case and point, "Bravo drives"?? I guess if I hang out here enough I will become numb to certain things... :whistle: lol.

you have a very valid point there, but it isn't nearly as regulated an industry as automobiles. in fact i think just about anybody can buy some molds and a big tub of resin and call himself a boat manufacturer.

That's because nobody complains...

You are probably right so lets do it!! Lol!