Moisture in Deck (not access hatches)

[JLK225]

Hey guys, looking at an '05 225 Tournament and just got some pictures from my surveyor and there are apparently some wet spots in the deck but they are not in the fuel access deck or bilge access. I have been reading up on Grady's for the past year and know that the access decks are common problem but I did not expect to see moisture in the deck itself in the aft corners.

Is this another common problem? If the price was right would this cause you guys to walk? I did not feel any give or softness while walking the boat and it appeared to be well taken care of.

I am going to sea trial it this weekend and get a full report from the surveyor

Pictures:

 

[Fishtales]

Water and boats go together. The deck would not bother me. The vinyl can either be on the outside (fairly easy to clean) or the inside working out. I've never see black from the inside, only pink due to bad vinyl which allowed a fungus to turn the fabric pink like you see there. Did you try to clean off? I'd use the info to see if you can get a lower price if it were me.

 

[JLK225]

What I mean is there appears to be moisture in the core of the deck in some places, according to the moisture meter ,but dry in others. Not sure if its major cause for alarm or something that can be lived with in a 15 year old boat.

I for sure plan to bring it up in negotiations

 

[Fishtales]

If you have the meter, check some boats at any marina. My guess is a lot will show something. Personally I would look for other evidence to support damage in addition to a meter reading before walking away. As you say, certainly a negotiation point.

 

[seasick]

My initial reaction that I am a bit skeptical about the readings. That meter is designed for building materials like wood and drywall, not fiberglass. So the readings could be inaccurate but I can't say if the relative readings from one spot to the next do tell you something. Marine moisture meters are fairly expensive and that meter is not.
Did the surveyor run over the whole hull and if so, what did those readings look like.
. Did you get readings for the locker hatches, area neat transducers, drain plug etc You would typically expect to see more moisture there. I also see footprints and if they are from your or the surveyor's shoes, then that could explain the moisture. I suspect your shoes may have been wet. To get accurate readings, the material has to be dry. That may require wiping with a soft dry towel and not walking over the wiped area.

The number read on a moisture meter are not as important as the differences between larger areas. A very low reading does not always mean no water either. If for example the core is completely gone (for a cored panel) the reading can be low or even zero

In summary, there could be issues but at this point I think additional info or testing would be advised.

 

[Greyduk]

I have that same meter. I bought it at Lowe's. Very inexpensive. I have used it on several boats that I have looked at. I know that it is not very sophisticated or extremely accurate. I just used it as a comparative tool. I bought it after I saw a certified surveyor use one. It has 3 or 4 levels of penetration depending on the density of the wood being examined. I suppose it is possible that it was used on the lowest setting and that resulted in the very high numbers. I have not had mine register a reading that high but I use it on the highest setting. Maybe it would be good to know what % reading he was getting on the surrounding area.

 

[JLK225]

Thank you guys for your responses. I am not very pleased with this "surveyor". He came highly recommended by a buddy of mine, contacted him and sounded professional.

Last minute told me he could not make it the time we were supposed to meet at the boat and that he would get by there asap. Sends me those pictures 2 days later, i finally got him on the phone to get an explanation and he proceeds to tell me he had his brother go by there and check for moisture........

Needless to say looking for a different surveyor

 

[seasick]

Wise move I think.

 

[DennisG01]

Seen this a few times. A moisture meter does not a surveyor make. Good thinking to move on to another guy.

 

[seasick]

After I posted, I did some additional reading about moisture meters in the marine areas and I learned some interesting info. I won't go into it all but as Dennis said and as I have noted many times on this forum, a knowledgeable surveyor is critical to interpreting the meter's readings. The meter can and will often show no moisture when there is a water issue and even a bilge full of water.

I would have failed this piece of boating trivia: If you use a moisture meter up against a block of ice, it will read zero!
Who wudda thunk?

 

[Mr.crab]

My surveyor though 5% was to much until he learned boat was wash that morning, but he did have
a marine meter.

 

[Fishtales]

I'm guessing that boat hasn't been aired out and has some mold and wetness. It wouldn't stop me.

Get it in a warm spot and clean her up. You can use boat soap to start and clean the whole thing. Then Zep mold and mildew cleaner, barkeepers, softscrub and magic erasers. I'm sure she'll clean right up. Then protect all fabric with 3M protectant.

 

[JLK225]

Update... so my actual surveyor, not his brother, met me out at the boat yesterday and we went over the hull.

Turns out when the mechanic installed the new batteries he forgot to reconnect the bilge pump and it rained the day before the initial moisture test hence the high readings around the aft of the deck.

Bilge was drained and we percussion tested the entire hull and decks- all rock solid. Moisture reading had gone down and he made the same suggestions about letting it air out.

I felt the undersides of the decks everywhere I could reach and it was dry as a bone. Transom was dry and solid.

 

[seasick]

That deck self bails so in theory the bilge should be pretty dry even after rain. Some water may enter through the anchor locker though.
If the deck material and coring is not wet, a moisture meter will nor read moisture even if the bilge is full of water. The meter can not detect moisture through a dry core.
It is more likely that the deck itself was moist, not necessarily a bad thing. Had the survey been able to and did use the meter on the underside of the deck , a high reading would absolutely indicate a wet coring issue.

The fact that the tapping tested OK does not preclude moisture. It detects delamination.
It would be helpful to know what the hull was doing before the testing and for how long. Was it out of the water in storage or had it recently been pulled? Did it rain very recently and is the boat stored in an area that is subjected to freezing temps.

Did the surveyor test the locker covers for moisture? They almost always have excessive moisture near the edges.