Buying Boat with Wet Swim Platform

[tonyp444]

Hi everyone, I’m new here. I’m currently under contract to buy a 1996 Carver 325 and very excited about it. The surveyor found elevated moisture levels on the swim platform in a couple of spots. This boat has the deck box, and I’ve read extensively on this site about the water intrusion issues related to the deck box fasteners. I think it’s highly likely that is the cause of the wet swim platform.

The surveyor also did percussion testing on the swim platform and it came back normal, and it still feels solid underfoot, so it seems as though there isn’t a major rot issue (yet).

I’m looking for advice - do you think this is caught early enough that if I drill out the screw holes and fill with epoxy to stop the source of the water, it won’t develop into a bigger issue? Or since it’s already wet, are we past the point of no return and looking at a very big and expensive repair in the future?

Would you be comfortable buying a boat that has this issue, or is it enough of a problem to walk away?

Thanks so much for any guidance you can provide.

Tony

[Cooler]

I would not walk away from that issue. I would, however, inform the seller and ask for repair allowance. There are a couple of things that could be going on. Where exactly were the high moisture readings, if the surveyor was using an infrared meter, that could be a false read. I would not simply drill out the screw holes, because that does nothing if there is water intrusion in there already. If the damp reading is localized enough, and confined to a small area, it may not get worse. This issue is a little more complicated depending on current condition. This can be repaired by a good fiberglas person, but I would try to negotiate a repair allowance, then determine if the issue gets any worse over time. Good luck! er

[tonyp444]

Thanks for the quick reply and for your insight. The surveyor used a Tramex meter. It read very high (30%+) in a couple locations that were reasonably localized on the back of the platform near the deck box. The readings on the front of the platform and sides seemed normal. From what I can gather, there is a probably 1-2 sq foot area near the deck box that is very wet, but it hasn’t spread too far yet.

[bud37]

Welcome to the forum.....what advice did your surveyor offer as to how to proceed ? Sounds like what I would expect given the box being there.

[tonyp444]

Thanks! Here is what the surveyor said: “Monitor the area closely; if it becomes soft underfoot or percussion testing is no longer normal, have a qualified marine technician inspect and recommend an appropriate repair.”

I’m worried that if nothing is done, it definitely will become soft underfoot and then it’s going to be my problem.

[tonyp444]

Looking at the photos from the survey again, it looks like it’s actually wet the whole width of the deck box and roughly 1 foot in front of it.

[bud37]

Source of the post Thanks! Here is what the surveyor said: “Monitor the area closely; if it becomes soft underfoot or percussion testing is no longer normal, have a qualified marine technician inspect and recommend an appropriate repair.”

I’m worried that if nothing is done, it definitely will become soft underfoot and then it’s going to be my problem.

It will , all depends on how it is handled now IMO.......nobody can really say how long before total failure but the whole width , I can't say either. Bring it up in the negotiation with an estimate of repair, perhaps your guy can help with that.

[tonyp444]

Thank you. I’ll see if I can get an estimate of the cost to repair and see if we can negotiate an allowance into the price. If anyone has paid for similar repairs in the past and has a rough idea of the cost, that would be a huge help too just so I have a ballpark idea of what’s reasonable. I realize the scope of the repair and the cost will probably vary significantly from one situation to the next.

I know multiple members on here have tackled this repair themselves but that’s not something I particularly want to bite off for my first project!

[Cooler]

Another possible explanation. It would make sense that Carver installed some squares of marine plywood around the box base area under the box. If that is accurate, then the meter could be reading the resin in the plywood as water. Did the surveyor perform that same meter inspection on the stringers? What were those readings? er

[km1125]

Source of the post Another possible explanation. It would make sense that Carver installed some squares of marine plywood around the box base area under the box. If that is accurate, then the meter could be reading the resin in the plywood as water. Did the surveyor perform that same meter inspection on the stringers? What were those readings? er

^^^ Definitely have to consider this. I had a friend who thought (or had been told) that had a "moisture" problem in the deck near his anchor winch. When they tore into it, they found there was plywood there, put in for the strength. There was no actual moisture problem.

There are probably threads on here where folks have opened up their platform to resolve issues and you might peruse those of similar models and years to yours to see what kind of structure they ran into when they had it opened up. Some include good pictures of what they have under the surface.