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Author Topic:   water seeping from screw holes

kenyon posted 05-31-2002 05:08 PM ET (US)
i have A FRIEND WITH A 1984 outrage 22 feet.i am taking off some of his old transom mounted electronics.it appears that water is seeping from the mounting holes. the is water is in the wall of the transom. will it rot? should he panic ? obviousley there isnt anyway to dry it out??? thanks
bajabreeze posted 06-01-2002 04:56 AM ET (US)
What you have there is water trapped in the foam core. This is common with Whalers that are kept in the water that have a crack or a point of entry for water into the hull. The only real way to get rid of it is to sit the boat up on a steep angle stern low and drill a number of holes in the hull bottom and let the water drain for a few months. Once you've done that you will have to inspect the bottom for blisters and see if the gel coat shows signs of water coming out from the fg core.
Tom W Clark posted 06-01-2002 12:58 PM ET (US)
kenyon,
Water weeping from screw holes in the transom of a Whaler is very common. Unless the screws used for mounting transducers and other pieces of equipment are caulked well, water will tend to get in there.
Do not panic if water is coming out. There may be a lot or a little in the plywood of the transom itself or it may be that the foam in the hull is wet too. Not much to be done about it other than to leave the boat out of the water for a few years and see what happens. Water will not really “drain” out. The foam holds it very well.
Really, I would just seal the holes so more water can't get in there. You could do a little probing with a stiff piece of wire to find out if the plywood is rotten or not.
If the boat has been mooring in the water for some part of its life then some water is almost to be expected. If it has been moored in salt water then that's better for the wood as salt water has somewhat of a pickling effect on wood and will rot it at a slower rate. This is one advantage of a saltwater Whaler.
If is possible the plywood is rotten but it will not necessarily be. On the 13’ Whaler that I cut up I found NO ROTTED WOOD anywhere even though it was 32 years old and wet through and through. It was a fresh water boat as well. This surprised me. The wood in Whalers may be better than we think.
Remember that both water and air are necessary for dry rot to occur and if the transom is well sealed up again a little moisture in there shouldn’t hurt anything.

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Author	Topic: water seeping from screw holes
kenyon	posted 05-31-2002 05:08 PM ET (US) i have A FRIEND WITH A 1984 outrage 22 feet.i am taking off some of his old transom mounted electronics.it appears that water is seeping from the mounting holes. the is water is in the wall of the transom. will it rot? should he panic ? obviousley there isnt anyway to dry it out??? thanks
bajabreeze	posted 06-01-2002 04:56 AM ET (US) What you have there is water trapped in the foam core. This is common with Whalers that are kept in the water that have a crack or a point of entry for water into the hull. The only real way to get rid of it is to sit the boat up on a steep angle stern low and drill a number of holes in the hull bottom and let the water drain for a few months. Once you've done that you will have to inspect the bottom for blisters and see if the gel coat shows signs of water coming out from the fg core.
Tom W Clark	posted 06-01-2002 12:58 PM ET (US) kenyon, Water weeping from screw holes in the transom of a Whaler is very common. Unless the screws used for mounting transducers and other pieces of equipment are caulked well, water will tend to get in there. Do not panic if water is coming out. There may be a lot or a little in the plywood of the transom itself or it may be that the foam in the hull is wet too. Not much to be done about it other than to leave the boat out of the water for a few years and see what happens. Water will not really “drain” out. The foam holds it very well. Really, I would just seal the holes so more water can't get in there. You could do a little probing with a stiff piece of wire to find out if the plywood is rotten or not. If the boat has been mooring in the water for some part of its life then some water is almost to be expected. If it has been moored in salt water then that's better for the wood as salt water has somewhat of a pickling effect on wood and will rot it at a slower rate. This is one advantage of a saltwater Whaler. If is possible the plywood is rotten but it will not necessarily be. On the 13’ Whaler that I cut up I found NO ROTTED WOOD anywhere even though it was 32 years old and wet through and through. It was a fresh water boat as well. This surprised me. The wood in Whalers may be better than we think. Remember that both water and air are necessary for dry rot to occur and if the transom is well sealed up again a little moisture in there shouldn’t hurt anything.