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My Fish Finder Main => General Fishing Discussion => Topic started by: tracker 1 on May 11, 2008, 08:20 AM

Title: Fiberglass hulls
Post by: tracker 1 on May 11, 2008, 08:20 AM
I need a little advise. Looking at buying a used fiberglass boat. Its pretty well set up for fishing and has most of the electronics I want.My big concern is the fiberglass hull. I have always had aluminum and never had any problems with the transom. Can anyone tell me how I can tell if the transom is rotted.
Title: Re: Fiberglass hulls
Post by: Skipper on May 11, 2008, 08:33 AM
get in there with a screw driver and start poking around. Typically, a glass boat will have a massive piece of plywood back there. It should be exposed in some areas for you to see. If there are wood planks, check to make sure they are not all spongy. Some boat builders completely cover the transom wood in glass, this is good because it keeps the moisture out. Sometimes you can remove a large bolt that goes through the transom (like a engine mount) to see the internal condition of the transom. Makes dang sure you reseal the bolt when you put it back!

Aluminum boats can often have wood in the transom too. Always look at this when you buy a boat of any kind. Glass boats are nice, I would take a glass over an aluminum any day for a bunch of reasons. :)
Title: Re: Fiberglass hulls
Post by: tracker 1 on May 11, 2008, 09:05 AM
get in there with a screw driver and start poking around. Typically, a glass boat will have a massive piece of plywood back there. It should be exposed in some areas for you to see. If there are wood planks, check to make sure they are not all spongy. Some boat builders completely cover the transom wood in glass, this is good because it keeps the moisture out. Sometimes you can remove a large bolt that goes through the transom (like a engine mount) to see the internal condition of the transom. Makes dang sure you reseal the bolt when you put it back!

Aluminum boats can often have wood in the transom too. Always look at this when you buy a boat of any kind. Glass boats are nice, I would take a glass over an aluminum any day for a bunch of reasons. :)

On other boats I have seen tiny little " Spider cracks" do they leak? Can these Spider cracks be fixed?
Title: Re: Fiberglass hulls
Post by: Skipper on May 11, 2008, 09:55 AM
most cases are no big deal as long as they dont start to open up. Most of what you see is just cracks in the gell coat