View Full Version : dry rot inboat?
boatman
08-21-2009, 07:47 AM
What can a layman look at and how to find dry rot in a boat? This is a Glass-ply
fishkisser
08-21-2009, 08:13 AM
knock on the transom , no I'm not kidding ...
Dry rot will sound hollow and wet rot sounds like a ripe water mellon ...
Pulling a bolt will allow you access to poke around with a probe ...
Look for stress cracks at the corners of the transom also ...
And sometimes in the bilge area the gel coat is missing and you can
look for discoloration under the fiberglass ...
Drilling test holes is the best way to see how the wood is holding up ...:twocents:
tallswedeone
08-21-2009, 09:46 AM
It is usually easiest to find it in the floor as it will feel a bit like wet card board to walk on with just the carpet holding it together.
ondarvr
08-23-2009, 08:55 PM
There's about an 80% chance of an older boat having rotten wood, the fix it time consuming and dirty, so look very carefully. Like already said, drilling holes is the best way to find it, dark wet wood is rot, dry light colored wood is good.
If there are any even slightly soft spots in the floor, then you know there are problems.