Why Worry About Rot?

[Hess]

What is the end result of running a boat with a rotten transom? I would imagine at one point you would hit the throttle and the engine would tear itself off the transom (outboard power).

What about running with rotted out stringers / floors? Here I would imagine that the flexing of the hull would give you some crazy “performance” (or lack of).

The reason I ask, is I’ve been looking for an older 16-17’ Checkmate and been finding most range from some rot to all rot. However, I have never seen or heard of such a disaster and with all the yahoo’s running around in boats without an ounce of regard for safety, I would think it would be common. What gives here?

[Hess]

What is the end result of running a boat with a rotten transom? I would imagine at one point you would hit the throttle and the engine would tear itself off the transom (outboard power).

What about running with rotted out stringers / floors? Here I would imagine that the flexing of the hull would give you some crazy “performance” (or lack of).

The reason I ask, is I’ve been looking for an older 16-17’ Checkmate and been finding most range from some rot to all rot. However, I have never seen or heard of such a disaster and with all the yahoo’s running around in boats without an ounce of regard for safety, I would think it would be common. What gives here?

[175checkmate]

Running a boat with rot.
Well I did that. Developed A few stress cracks in funny spots.
Next was a bit of chine walk due to the transom flexing.
Then the killer. The bilge pump woul dnot keep up with the water flowing in from the holes and rot in the transom.
I then took the boat off of boating duty and rebuilt it.

[jkeiper]

In a slow boat powered by a 35hp motor the biggest danger is a major hole in the bottom and sinking. In a performance boat it can break apart at high speed and kill you and your passengers. Just go to Scream and Fly and check out what a boat looks like that comes apart and it will scare you enough to fix it before you run it.


http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60090&highlight=crash

Jim

[bostoncan]

excellent post there Jim , to bad that jerk got on to their thread and closed it down . pretty sobering pictures of what can happen in a second .

[Chris]

Running an old rotten boat is bad news. There are a bunch of those threads kicking around at Scream.

If your boat delaminates at high speed while you're running, only God can help you.

[JUPITER PULSARE]

ROTTON TRANSOM?? HI-PERFORMACE BOAT?? YOUR HEAD......HITTING WATER AT 7O=MPH........FEELS LIKE CONCRETE......WOULD YOU LIKE BACON WITH YOUR SCRAMBLED BRAINS??? http://checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/brickwall.gif http://checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/jpshakehead.gif http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[Hess]

You guys are preaching to the choir. I’m not advocating running with rot and I’m not asking if it’s OK to run with rot. I’m asking why this sort of disaster doesn’t happen more often? I guess the title of the post was misleading and warrants the responses given.

I’ve looked at more than a few boats with severe rot lately and have walked away from them… most from people who have been recently using them… some from people that act like they don’t even know they’re rotten. Many rotten boats aren’t performance boats, and I still wonder why there aren’t A LOT more idiots running rotten boats that are blowing them apart. I would think it would happen less with performance boats as in general, performance boaters are more in tune to their boat and the safety of running it.

[Chris]

I guess it's ok to run with rot if you're prepared to deal with hitting a wave and have your motor tear off the transom and then have your boat sink.

[bostoncan]

lets get some ideas on the best way to check for rot without tearing your boat up.I used an old light test with a sharp point sticking it in any existing holes by removing the speedo pickup screws,battery tray mount screws and checked for any soft spots with a rubber hammer ,checked around motor bolts .

[Hess]

Hey Bostoncan,
Can you explain the "old light test"? I'm assuming your looking for conductivity (moisture), but how do you set this test up?

[bostoncan]

No. its just that the probe on my snap on tester is really sharp .it has nothing to do with current. i guess an ice pick would work to.

[Chris]

You have to look at the color of the wood or balsa where you can see it. Tapping with a screwdriver on the hull and listening sometimes will work or even a mallet. I suppose you could also get a moisture meter like my buddy has who does flooring for a living.

Or better yet, get a professional opinion. http://checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/thumb.gif

[jkeiper]

http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif Hess, I didn't mean to preach. sorry! I was just saying that it wouldn't be a wise thing to try. I agree, I think a lot of people don't know their boat is rotten. They just get in and drive it.

Jim

[cooperider]

I just read that whole thread in Scream and other than the first several posts thats about 30 minutes of my life I'll never see again what a waste. http://checkmate-boats.com/6/ws/,s,8626072361/Graemlins/brickwall.gif

[stimpy451]

According to my pops, my Predictor exhibits quite a bit of gunwale flex when jumping wakes. Is this normal? I have to think it's primarily because the gunwales are unsupported for the most part [the overhangy part].

Pops doesn't like the boat because the first time I took him out it was quite rough on Higgins and we were out of the water for most of the trip. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO PUSH EVERYTHING TO THE LIMIT?!"

I also have stress cracks in the top rear corners of the boat, but the transom is quite sound.

[the sMac]

I have an even better question... why, in this day and age, does Checkmate and many other builders STILL use wood??????

I own a 2001 Hydrasports also, nothing on that boat is wood. I take it off the Florida Keys, at times to Bimini in some pretty big waves. No flex, solid as steel, and light. Never a concern of water ever damaging the transom or stringers.

I just don't get it. This is the main reason I really don't want to buy another Checkamte for a while. My Convicor has a slightly wet transom, and I would be afraid to buy another boat with a wood transom and stringer.

Technology is our friend, use it. Just had to get that off my chest.

[Victorious1]

sMac, how much more would your boat cost than an equivalent Checkmate of the same size?

Vic

[the sMac]

Victorious1 I don't know what your question is. Do you want to know how much my Checkmate would cost if it didn't use wood? (that's what I think you are asking)

My answer... I don't know. But lets assume it's a few thousand dollars... on a 80K boat for example, that's a small price to pay. On a 20K boat it's a little higher percentage. However, I still don't think adding 2K to the price would shun off buyers.

Especially if you look at long term return on investment.

I think the question should be: How much happier would you be if your boat didn't use any wood?
Think of the long term savings. Never worry about rot, lighter and more fuel savings, stiffer and stronger, and most importantly, a higher resale value. Let alone all the hassle of buying an older boat and having to worry about replacing transoms and especially stringer.

I would venture to say most people would spend over 5K more for this option... I know I did when I considerd buying an offshore center console boat.

Lets at least get rid of the wood-backed seats and such.

[Victorious1]

Makes a lot of sense to me, but, manufacturers may disagree because what reason(unless they didn't like it anymore) would someone have to give up their boat if it got old but never really became unusable because it was so well built.

If car manufacturers stamped all of their car body panels out of stainless steel, there would very soon be a lot less new cars sold.

But, I do agree that it would be nice to be able to buy a boat and never have to worry about it rotting though, that would suit me just fine if I could afford it.

Vic

[175checkmate]

The funny part about all of this.
If a boat was buil correctly using wood and everything was sealed. The boat would last a heck of a long time.
What kills a boat is the owner. Add a screw here, add one there. Drill a few holes to mount the gizmo and now the water can get in and do its job.

[the sMac]

Sadly, most people will want to add a fishfinder, or something that will allow water to seep into the wood. Plus, I doubt that even the best built wood transom is 100 percent sealed and will keep water out.

A small stress crack, a faulty gasket, or any one of the numerous reasons will allow water to "wick" its way into the transom.

And let's think about the PR and Marketing reasons for doing this. Most of us don't buy new boats because the transom is wet or needs to be rebuilt. If so, we usually fix it then sell the boat. We buy new boats for the bigger, better, newer, faster reasons. Now let's imagine a 20-30 year old Checkmate using composites instead of wood. Thinks of how long they would last. Then imagine some young person wanting to buy a boat. Well, would they buy a wet-wood transom boat or a Checkmate with composites. They know the Checkamte won't have problems with it's structure. More young boat buyers will be buying the Mate. More "addicts" will be formed and life-long Checkmate fans.

On another note, how much marketing power and name branding would it be to see a ton of really old Mates cruising around. "Wow, those boats last!" would be the talk around the docks.

I could go on forever, but I won't bore you all with my reseason why this makes sense to the customer and to the company.