Hello My Name Is *******!!lol

[james nash]

My name is james nash and I live in south texas. I run a large hunting operation for the last 10 years and recently got an urge to get back into bass fishing with the little free time I have since Falcon, Amistad and Choke canyon are all close to me. So I buy this 96 Savage that looks like a sound boat that needs some work but nothing major. Compression on engine was great and i knew the guy and knew that he was fishing regularly in the boat. So I spend a year getting this boat back to absolute new condition because Im always restoring or building something. So I do carpet, windshields, buff it back to showroom, all pumps, replace every wire and switch, ulterra, helix.....blah blah blah. So I noticed one of the drains in the splashwell was cracked so i go to replace them and when i took it out I noticed there was nothing in my transom...rotted, gone. which blew me away because i tapped on it, had 2 other boat guys do the same thing and we all agreed it sounded solid. i also stood on the motor with it tilted at 45 and saw no noticeable flex. oh well thats that... so then i start thinking if transom is bad then likely there are stringer problems as well so drill a 1/4" hole into them and sure nuff....wet, but not rotten. So advice from all the forums say get another boat and I understand their opinions but I just didnt have more than 10-12k to spend on another one and in my thinking if I fix this one for 10 then I know that everything else on it is new and I found a place thats been doing these repairs for 35 years and warranties for life ( it was in another state but oh well) . so thats my story, the guy who has as much in a 96 as he would have had in a 2010...lol

 

[user 51346]

Everyone makes mistakes, I know I have. And this probably isn't your first, and won't be your last if you are like me!

You can get stringers replaced, labor will kill you, materials is nothing. You can also do it yourself. It's not a world ending job, but not an easy one either.

 

[rbstern]

Ouch. Sorry to hear it.

On the other hand, once those repairs are done, you've got a boat that could be good for another 20 years. Resist the urge to buy a new one in the coming years, and you'll have paid yourself back nicely.

Most of all...have fun!

 

[james nash]

Oh I know all about mistakes...lol. I am a very handy guy, I build mesquite furniture in the VERY little spare time I get, I'm the manager of a 30,000 + acre hunting ranch on the border of Texas and Mexico that also entails a lot of other buisiness incorportated into it, I have a full mechanic shop that I supervise with 60 vehicles as well as 30 pieces of heavy equipment, I d decent electrical work and of course carpentry so I felt like I could tackle the job and almost did but after a lot of thought and consideration I just didn't want to do it with the little free time I have and all the hours I've already spent on the boat but most of all the lifetime warranty on the work from this place gives me piece of mind. I'm just 2 months away from the start of dove season and have already hit the rush of getting ready so any free time I have is gonna be on the water with my fishing partner and his new skeeter. Lol. Mine will be ready 150% the nest time I start having days off in late February.

 

[firedog978]

Sounds as though the repair is the way to go! That warranty for life is 'peace of mind'!
You also did every transom check you could have done. Sometimes it just doesn't show itself.