I am looking for a pretty good used boat that I can take offshore as well as fish in the lakes and bays. I have found a few that fill the bill, but I am having trouble finding out which ones do not have wood in the stringers and transom. I would really like to avoid this if possible. Can anyone help with info of any kind? Please

I think you'll be somewhat hard pressed to find an all composit boat unless your looking at fairly new boats. I'm not really in the cc scene but that's how it is with bass boats.

Sailfish boats, like the one I have, are all-composite. They use no wood in the stringers or transom. The 188CCs like mine are relatively affordable. I think the Houston Boating Center in Conroe is the only Sailfish dealer in Texas for new boats ... there should be a few floating around on the used market.

www.houstonboatingcenter.com

http://www.sailfishboats.com/

Get your list of prospects(year,model,etc.),find builder(www.boatownersworld) or ask dealer for customer support # and go to tech support.They may only be able to help with later models(2000 or newer)

Thanks a lot for the info. I will look into sailfish and boat owners world. Wish me luck.

I am curious as to why everyone has such a fear of wood. Dont get me wrong, my duck/skinny water boat is aluminum and my fishing boat is all composite, but some of the nicest boats on the water are made with wood stringers. I think it is all about how the boat is taken care of and the quality of the boat builder. Wood is incredibly good in boats due to its weight to strength ratio. If wood is good enough for all of the big guns who put their boats to the test by taking them in rough ocean seas, then it is good enough for me! Grady White and Boston Whaler use wood. Just my opinion though. I am sure someone will disagree with me

Wood by itself is not a culprit, it's just a material. Bare uncoated wood is what you should fear.

Some of the "new" composites can rot just as quick as wood can, it's a different sort of rot, but fail just the same if not done right, so no wood by itself is no guarantee of quality.

Believe it or not ,there are a handful of manufacturers that have gone back to wood at least in transom areas.I have seen composite break like a brick.Try to chisel that out!

Well, I am going to look at a '89 wellcraft tomorrow. So it has wood, I'll deal with it. I am taking a boat shop guy with me and hopefully we will be able to tell if there are problems.

Pat Goff is right, it is not the fact that there is wood in the boat that bothers me. It is the fact that I do not know how the boat has been treated, stored and etc. If there have been no leaks into the wood and the boat has been well kept, then there should be no problems.

No wood in these

http://www.xpressboats.com/view/82