"Mark" wrote in message
...
I got a crack next to the keel on my 1976 SeaRay (30ft). The BoatUS
surveyor reports the stringers are rotting away inside

Bummer, that can get really expensive.


The stringers under the engines are still in good shape.

Really? That is generally where they rot out first.

What are my options? I know I can repair the crack, but will the boat be
seaworthy?

Not without repairing the stringers. To repair the crack and not repair the
stringers would just be a waste of money. There is a good chance it will
crack again when the sling it up to put it back in the water and even if it
made it into the water okay you are likely to have problems later on. That
rot isn't going to get better on its own and it is very likely to get worse.
If you don't fix it you could have your hull break apart the next time you
get into rough conditions.

Should I get rid of it ASAP?

If the boat is in a repair yard then I would at least get a quote on getting
the stringers replaced. Brace yourself, this will not be cheap! You may
have to spend a few hundred dollars just to figure out how bad the problem
is. They will need to take core samples along the length of the stringers to
establish how far the rot extends.

It would, as a minimum, be unethical and it might be downright illegal to
sell the boat without disclosing the problem . I would certainly expect the
buyer to get a survey of his own and that would probably discover the
problem so all you would do is create a lot of headaches and trouble for
yourself to try and sell it. You could try to disclose the problem and sell
the boat "as is". Someone might want to tackle a big project.

If you basically like the boat and it is otherwise in good shape then I
would fix the stringers and continue to enjoy it.

Rod