Transom condition

I have attached some pictures of my transom. This is a 1988 Bayliner Cuddy 1902. The bought the boat with a 135 merc which is 10hp and 100 pounds more then the Force 125 it came with. I am concern about the stress cracks in the transom even though the dealer I bought the boat from assures me that the transom is sound. I have looked the boat over and it seems to be solid and I have bounced on the motor and the transom does not move. I am just concern about these stress lines in the transom and any input would be welcome.

 

Lock the engine in the down position, then grab the lower unit and lift up, trying to swing the engine on it's pivot. This will load up the transom bolts. Watch the bracket and bolts as you do this. Any movement is an indication the transom core is shot.

Knowing your boat as I do, I can tell you, it most likely is shot. The next test is to remove the two lower bolts and stick your finger in the holes. If they're wet, then you pretty much know what's going on, bit I can tell you I've done quite a few Bayliners of that vintage and all had rotten transom cores.

Tip for the future, never believe what a boat dealer tells you about a boat. They make used car dealers seem like preachers and personal injury lawyers look like boy scouts.

 

Par has given some good tips. The cracks may also be the result of extremely thick gelcoat that has shrunk and cracked. Are the cracks in other places or just at the bottom and around the vertical ridge. If they are in other places it may be a bad transom. If just where you have shown then it may be a gelcoat problem. Either way it is not pretty

 

As PAR says, a boat of that age probably has a bad transom. Take the salesman for what he is. An independent opinion will have much more value.

 

I did stand on the motor with the motor up and bounced really hard and the motor/transom and the transom does not seem to budge at all, seems pretty solid. Some local boaters are telling me that this is normal for this age boat (1988 Bayliner). I have talked to alot of people and it seems I am getting 50% bad and 50% ok/normal. A couple local guys showed me cracks in there boats and they are alot newer then mine. The dealer I got the boat from and where it is stored showed me some cracks on a 2005 he had there and said this is normal gel coat cracks and that the cracks I have do not effect the integrity of the transom. He said not to lose any sleep over it but this does worry me and since I am paying monthly for the boat till spring, I wonder if I made a good purchase. He told me I am getting the boat for practically nothing since the motor a 93 merc 135, the quick silver controls and trailer is well worth the $3500 alone. I know nothing about boats, this is the first one I have ever owned although I grew up around them growing up on Cape Cod, family always had 1 or 2. It is the style boat I have been looking for and I did what an outboard cuddy

 

Look if you think seeing this is "normal" then there's nothing I can tell you that will make sense. Of course I don't have anything to gain from you, such as continued boat payments, so what the hell, right . . . but NO IT AIN'T NORMAL.

Take the boat to a repair shop and have it inspected right away. They'll quickly see what's up. Jumping up and down on the drive isn't telling you crap, because you're applying load in the compressed direction, which is the exact opposite of what you need to inspect! You can ask professionals or your can ask people that don't know what they're talking about, it's your choice.

BTW, 3,500 bucks for a nearly two decade old controls and engine is about 2 grand more then necessary so believe who you want, but never, but never believe the salesman!

 

I am also a surveyor and here in the US. A quick way to check the value is to compare to what nadaguides.com says. In this case you will probably have to do the boat, motor and trailer to come up with the total value then add in any accessories. The trend I am seeing now is that if you are purchasing the boat at or below the low end of the value range then it is in line with what is currently going on in the market. One thing I am seeing lately is that demand for smaller boats is greater. Most of the clients I have worked with are looking pretty hard to find a decent boat in the size range you have. In addition to the transom you should check out the stringers if they are accessible. If they are soft the bottom may develop a hook degrading performance. Tap on the stringers and interior of transom. You will hear the difference between good and bad.

 

So what I am getting here is that I possibly have a bad transom. So, I guess I have a couple choices to make here: Back out on the deal and tell him I do not feel that his assessment of the transom is correct and I have major concern of the integrity of this boat and cannot therefore buy the boat or use the boat for the season, see how it goes and fix it at the end of the season or fix it before the season even starts. I am willing to learn to do anything since I am a certified mechanic and have a Electrical Engineer degree minor is Software and have worked as a Hardware Engineer and Software Engineer for Major networking companies for years till laid off in 2001. I can fix just about anything electrical or mechanical so I am willing to learn to fix a boat. I have viewed a few threads on fixing transoms, some major work and one where he used some kind of resin stuff to fill the transom after gutting it out (seems a way I might go). So I guess I would really like any and all thoughts on ways that I can fix this, from the easy to the hard. Can I just coat the back of the transom to protect against any future water getting into the transom? Is there such a coating method? I have looked at everything that I could get at on the boat hull/frame and everything I am able to view or feel seems solid, I could see no rot what so ever anywhere. I did view a project boat that did show the inner hull and now I know where all the supports are. I cannot see under the floors but the floors are solid and all the structure in my 2 storage wholes that I can see is pretty solid. Back under the rear seats, battery compartment are all solid to. I can't see any signs of rot but then again, it is hard to see transom rot. Any ideas or a thought about any of this is more then welcome. Thanks.

 

You are going to be hard pressed to "see" rot on that boat, but an experienced boat carpenter will be able to find rot and suspected rot through several techniques.

The simple way is to walk away from the deal if you can. In the current market, you can get nearly perfect boats for cut rate prices.

If you want the boat and think it's a good deal (what is the price, make, model and year again?) then considering your experience level, it's just reasonable to have a boat mechanic look over the engine and controls, to insure you're getting what you're paying for. Do not use the salesman's mechanic, he'll just tell you what you want to hear and what the salesman wants him to say. Either bring in an outside vendor or insist it's surveyed by a professional. If the sales outfit balks at either of these suggestions, then you know they're trying to sell you a bag of crap and you best course it in the opposite direction.

Think of this as buying an old muscle car. You would just naturally bring a trusted mechanic, who knows these things so you don't buy a clone or other wise get ripped off. Same deal, just with a boat.

 

This boat is a 1988 Bayliner 1902 Capri Cuddy with a 1993 Merc 135 and trailer is in very good shape. He told me he has alot tied up in the motor so I assume that he worked on it. The boat I am buying for $500 and the motor for $3000 since he was going to give me the boat for $500 and install a Johnson 85 for an addition $1000 plus $200 for the controls. This boat does have a new Quick Silver control and it looks very nice. What makes it even a better deal is that he is letting me pay for it over the winter and is including shrink wrapping and storage for free. I told him before I agreed to buy the boat that $3500 was over what we were willing to pay for a boat right now and that is when he mentioned putting in the Johnson 85 for $1000, then when I mentioned that I would liked what was on the boat and after a few talks he thru in the shrink wrap and storage. So over all, I like the style of the boat, what I have been looking for and it is not breaking the bank right now. I just have concern about the stress cracks but he assures me that the transom is good. I do kinda trust him because I hung around there a couple times over a few days and seen them in action talking to clients and they are very knowledgeable on what they do.

 

I was just told that I can fix these stress cracks with Gelcoat repair kit. What to you think? http://www.iboats.com/Marine-GelCoa...0406318--session_id.253707148--view_id.246645
Thanks

 

Probably the salesman told you that. $3000.00 is really high for the motor. Unless you get the whole sales pitch in writing, it is not worth much.

 

Simple test - drill a small bit into the transom within 4 inches of the bolt pattern from the inside. CAREFULLY back out the bit and examine whatever is on the bit. Wet? Rot? Black dust? The dealer can put some white marine -tex back in the hole for about 50 cents.

 

No dealer in the world is going to let you drill into their transom Fg1inc, regardless you what you tell them about plugging the hole.

The moment you noticed "issues" the first reaction of the salesman was to "bait and switch" by giving you other "free" stuff to make you forget about the "issues".

Run as fast as you can away from this boat and more importantly this hustler of a salesman. He knows the tricks and is going to unload a hornet's nest of trouble on you, of course if you let him.

Look $500 for the boat suggests it needs repairs and more then cosmetic ones, which those cracks indicate. $3000 for the engine and controls (the controls almost always go with the boat, so who's he kidding, pricing them separately) as I said previously and has been confirmed by Gonzo is out of line, so do yourself a favor and run as fast as you can in the other direction.

Boats in good condition, with engines that have very low hours can be found for the same money. Do you have to have this particular one this badly?

Lastly, wouldn't it be nice if all we had to do was open a can of magic goo, smear some on, over the cracks and damage and presto, all better. Boy this salesman is good . . .

 

I agree PAR, it's a good test of the transom and/or the "dealer"