So I sold my dad's boat to a fellow a bit North of me, told him " hey, should run fine, etc"...if it has engine issues, just bring it back and I'll give you your money back...no harm, no foul.

I told to take a week, to check it out.

So, he drops it off at a "boat shop"., and after the shop looks it over/etc, they say might need a carb rebuild/cleaning...he emails me to tell me he'll "NOT BE RETURNING THE BOAT"

Cool, I tell mom to dump the money on Dad's old loan..she does...

So today (after the "I won't be retruning the boat" email" ( 8 days later), he emails me again and tells me the shop called him and the "transom" needs repair...I don't even know what a transom is...and it'll be about 5grand to fix.

"SO...looks like I'll have to give the boat back to you"...he emails me...

Hold on Hoss..I say, I only talked about how it ran, not a nick, scratch/etc repair...

Won't disclose the next few emails (family veiwing ya know), but suffice it to say I said file it in small claims, WTF.

So, anyone know what a "Transom" is? And how you can tell if it's bad?

 

I don't know what the heck a transom is but I'd hold onto and print all the emails if you still have them. Anything that you could use against him in court. Gotta love the fact that most people today have no integrity. That's exactly why we can't do business on a handshake anymore. I had a fella pull something similar on me a few years back after I sold him a car. We settled out of court but it cost me in the wallet. It's a sad state of affairs. Good luck Mike, hope ya corner'em.

 

Thanks to Wikipedia...

In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward (known as retroussé), or raked aft.[1][2] The bottom tip of the transom can be approximately on the waterline, in which case the stern of the vessel is referred to as a "transom stern", or the hull can continue so that the centreline is well above the waterline before terminating in a transom, in which case it is referred to as a "counter stern".[3]

On smaller vessels where an outboard motor is the source of propulsion, the motor is usually mounted on the transom, and held in place either by clamps or metal bolts that go through the transom. In this arrangement, all the power of the motor is transmitted via the transom to the rest of the vessel's structure, making it a very important part of the vessel's construction.[4]



Good luck if he wants to take it to court!

 

Ya...seems "transom" is structural, not mecanical.

No isues, I'm going to the boat place in the morning, gonna make someone sign something

 

Ok boat guy here..

That is all correct, the transom is the flat or curved surface at the rear at the boat. I have an outboard on my boat and I have always been taught that you need to use a transom saver with outboards. A transom saver is a brace that goes from the trailer to the bottom of the motor to support the weight as you bounce down the road. That is the number one cause of transom damage on an outboard is the motor bouncing down the road or to much motor for the transom rating.

If you come by the house this weekend I will show you my transom Mike..

 

The law generally states, in the absence of a sales contract, buyer beware. In other words, it was up to the buyer to make sure that the boat was sound.

I don't know how big of a boat this is. On boats larger than about 25', I usually pay for a professional marine surveyor before I even enter into final negotiations (forget about closing the deal).

 

I have a very long story about a guy I sold a Corvair to years ago. The very short version is that he sued me in small claims court and lost. Judge told him to stop wasting her time. It boiled down to his strange story against my word and it was dismissed. California law is very clear about used vehicle sales. Like OldDog says, "buyer beware". Lord knows I didn't have my eyes open when I bought that car! It did make me much more aware of what to look at when I look at a car.

 

I know about the "as-is" for used vehicle sales, but I told the guy if it didn't run, had engine problems,I'd take it back...

Kind of a grey area though, I called the boat place this morning, apparently it;s the "Transom Shield" that is cracked/broken...this apparently connects the outdrive to the engine bellhousing.

So, even though it doesn't have anything to do with the engine, I'll probably take the boat back and try to find a used sheild and replace it some day...

I'd probably tell the guy to heck with it, had I been using the boat and knew there were no issues with it, or if I knew it didn't affect anything...but I've never even drove it, so I can say for sure...the shop said it would cause the thing to jump out of reverse/etc, and could cause further damage...I dunno, maybe they're just looking for the repair dollars.

What the hell, guess I'll get a cover for it and park it out back.

 

Oh, one other thing, the shop did say that the current steering system.etc would work with an outboard motor, and it might be cheaper to just find a used 130/140HP outboard and install it...maybe I'll do that and just use the damn thing this summer.

 

Maybe this will be of some useful info.

http://islandcoastboatworks.com/News...a3_article.htm