Thinking of purchasing a 1997 192 Tournament (new engine and trailer)

[Jon454]

Hello All - I'm in talks with a seller right now about purchasing their Grady While 1997 192 Tournament. The boat has a newer Yamaha 150hp 4 stroke and an almost new trailer. I had a surveyor consult on the boat, as it is not local. The most concerning items he brought up were the heavy smell of raw fuel in the fuel tank deck hole and two stress cracks on the transom on each side of the engine. He used his moister meter to see if the transom was overly wet and it came back slightly moist, but not too bad. He used his hammer to also check the transom and he said it sounded pretty solid actually. My questions here are, what would be needed to find out if the fuel tank or a fuel line hose are leaking and fix it? i.e. Deck removal, other? and (2) what are your thoughts on the stress cracks? If they are worrisome, would a transom plate provide a solution? Thanks All

 

[DennisG01]

So... those cracks are not stress cracks. They are full-on cracks. Anything can be repaired - but a more thorough exam needs to take place. Engine removal... aluminum bang cap removal... inspect. Chances are, water has gotten into the transom core and caused it to expand and/or slightly weaken - with the weight and torque of the engine exacerbating the issue. It should only take a few hours to pull the engine and cap off. You may also want to drill some exploratory holes, vertically down the transom to check the core. HOWEVER, the owner may not be willing to do this - a better solution may be to get some better eyes on it and get a better estimate for repair and discuss with the seller.

When boats sit for a while, gas fumes can become more pronounced than what one might normally think. More investigation needs to happen. Put some fuel in it - does it leak into the aft bilge? Draw some fuel out - how does it look?

Is it a plastic tank? It kinda looks like an aluminum tank, but it's hard to tell. An aluminum tank is more likely to spring a leak. Either can have an old sender gasket not seal as well as it should. Same goes for old hoses as they can seep smells.

 

[seasick]

The fuel line was replaced or worked on at some point in time. There are two clamps on it and the pickup fuel line doesn't need two clamps and may not have had two originally. If they were factory, the clamps would not have been installed facing the same direction.
I can't tell from the picture if all that crud is just dirt and caked slime or if it is corrosion. Regardless, tanks usually develop pin hole leaks on the bottom side.
As Dennis mentioned, those are not stress cracks. .
As I see it the cracks indicate that the forces were not towards the transom but rather from the inside aft. The largest forces typically are against it from outside as the motor created thrust. Since your crack spread in the opposite direction, it seems that the cracks are the result of one or more factors: The F150 is heavier that the original motor and the extra weight would put extra load on the transom but unless weak, it normally shouldn't crack. Another possibility is that the motor had one or move collision with something not so soft. That could cause large forces on the transom.

Did you hire the surveyor and if so did you get a written report? I would like more detail on the hull inspection, specifically moisture readings on different areas of the hull. When was the last time that the boat was in the water prior to the survey? Note that transom with a hollow core will measure little to no moisture so comparisons with other areas of the hull are important. If the core were hollow, I would expect the hammer test to detect the condition by comparing the hammer sounds as the hammer is moved around the transom. How did the skeg and prop look?
As some may have noticed, I am a skeptical by nature and always lean towards worst case scenarios