I am 100% to blame. Recently bought a 2005 Z20 from a private party. Boat showed some wear and tear but nothing that looked like a deal breaker. The upper right rear side of the hull (where the Z20 emblem is located) had been refinished. Previous owner said that his cover came apart while traveling causing some scratches in the gel coat. I looked at the area from the inside the hull via the battery hatch. Area showed no signs of anything other than factory glass. I tapped the transom looking for soft spots and found none. Sea trial went well. We made a deal and picked up the boat the next day, about a month ago. Ran it once since then. It ran well. I was looking under the dash to get a game plan together for electronics install. While laying on my back with a flashlight I was cutting zip ties to remove an old fish finder and found a piece of dry seaweed. I cut all the zip ties and found more seaweed, way up inside the console. Spent the money and pulled a history report - a little too late. Report showed the boat was in a collision and was heavily damaged. It was ran thru an auction as salvage. Previous owner said he had the seats recovered and carpeting replaced in 2017. I removed the seats and the passenger side trim piece. Left side of hull and deck lid by passenger console had been patched, terribly. I removed his "new" carpeting in the left rod locker revealing fully cracked bulkheads, rear of locker and front where rod tubes are located. Not only was the hull repair work done poorly, there is major delamination of the interior hull in that area. As I chip away at the Home Depot foam I find more unsettling things. I am truly sick to my stomach. I have done repair work with fiberglass in the past and I am confident to judge this boat structurally damaged to the point where it should never see water again. I am the poster child for getting a report before buying a boat. My fault. Conversation with previous owner yielded no information.
I am not making accusations at anyone about anything.
Boat was repowered with a 2016 Yamaha Vmax SHO 225. The motor has good compression and ran well the one time I used it. 2013 EZ Loader trailer. I'm not sure if I should keep the motor/jack plate and sell what parts I can or keep it together and sell it as salvage. But I don't want it to end up on the market again. I will gladly take a big financial hit to make sure the hull never sees water.
Any thoughts?
I'm not sure if I should post a pic of the boat along with the rough location to see if anyone can remember anything about it (2011 - 2012). Sometimes I need to be careful what I wish for.
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Originally Posted by Ranger Rod
