Bulkhead/Stringer inspection on a used Penn Yan??

[MarkNY]

hey guys, im looking at purchasing an '89 Penn Yan 245 Contender. after all the research ive done on used trolling boats my biggest concern is problems with the hull structure. what do i need to look for with hull structure when looking at this boat? if there is problems with stringers and bulkheads, is this something that can be effectively repaired or is it a fatal condition? thanks alot, mark

[landingzone]

Don't know about the 245's, but some of the 29'ers have serious stringer/transom rot problems. Not always easy to spot/see. I was already to buy one after my own inspection, then had it surveyed by a GOOD surveyor and he found significant problems. Worth the money. If you want a surveyor recommendation, PM me.

[GAMBLER]

Go with a surveyor. With out one, you might end up with a hefty repair bill.

[ac holmes]

I nearly bought a SportCraft and a Penn Yan with rot in the stringers. The surveyor found a high moisture read with his meter but did not seem very concerned. In the end of it I insisted on core samples drilled out with a 1/8th inch bit and found rot and water in the wood stringer, allegedly "sealed" in a fiberglass stringer box. You cannot tell anything by looking...things can look great and actually be ready to fall apart. Too bad the builders did not use pressure treated wood or something else that did not rot.

Often, kiln dried Douglas Fir is/was used for stringers in this type of boat, Penn Yan included. That super dry wood sucks up water like a sponge. If any water gets in through weep holes or other cracks or breaks, the inevitable result is rot in the stringer. It would be hard to find a boat 20 or 30 years old without bad stringers. I have looked at 10 or 12 and they were all bad. It costs about 8-10 thousand to replace stringers in a 25 footer and probably another 5 or 6 thou to replace a transom. The safety issue is the motor mounts into rotten wood. Let's say you get in a bad storm and the motor starts flopping around and the cutlass bearing gets kinked and that big old V8 keeps making RPMs and tears the bottom out.

[MCF]

The boat should be surveyed. On a 20 year old boat it can be in the best looking shape and a good survey will get below the surface and investigate both the stringers and the transom.

[MarkNY]

thanks guys....

[Yankee Troller]

Surveys generally run less than 500 bucks. GET ONE if your looking at a Penn Yan! We looked at many in the last 3 or 4 years before we realized 99% of them needed some sort of structural work.

[daker1979]

Hers is a good local surveyor

http://www.digitalmarinesurveys.com/

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

Just some additional info on this subject. The original Penn Yan boat company made some of the most durable fiberglass boats made. Already experts in wooden boats( one of theirs sits proudly in the Adirondack museum), the fiberglass boats built in the finger lakes were made with great pride and craftsmanship. The wood used was quality hardwood through 1983 models. It was shortly after that the company went through several ownership changes and quality and craftsmanship suffered. The boats built through '83 were tough as nails and proven Great lakes workhorses.

Any boat, from any manufacturer could develop structural problems if not taken care of or inspected regularly.

[ac holmes]

Penn Yan boats are terrific...no question about it. However, any moisture that enters a fiberglass box stringer with a wood core, Penn Yan boats included, cannot ever dry and will eventually cause the wood to rot. If one looks carefully at the construction of this genre boat, often the weep holes, or "limbers" are not perfectly sealed as well as other places where the "waterproof" stringer box has been compromised with fasteners, wiring, etc.

I have an essentially new Eastern 27 and have some water in the bilge all the time from two stuffing boxes dripping. I know that some moisture will eventually get into the stringers and will cause the boat to loose integrity. The stringer core is quarter sawn, select, kiln dried Douglas Fir beams of the highest quality. Douglas Fir like that is tremendously strong and durable, but will rot fast if it cannot dry out. It will not be a real problem for 20 years or so, but eventually they will rot because eventually some moisture will get in, even if it is through hairline stress cracks caused by running hard in a seaway.

Some boats are now being built with pressure treated wood cores, or done without any wood at all and that is an excellent idea. Everything mentioned above about stringers is even more true for transoms because of screws, bolts, scuppers, etc., etc.

[MCF]

I am finding out the hard way, not that it is a surprise to me but I am having the transom re-done now on a boat over 20 years old.