Moisture meter ????

[northeastcat]

Moisture meter to check your hull with ? How do they work , how do you use them , where can I get one , what is the average cost for a good one I can rely on ?
Thanks, NE Cat

[Tantrum]

They work by measuring electrical current. Water is a conductor, dry fiberglass is not.
I havent gotten around to buying one yet, but this is the one Im going to get. About $450 if I remember correctly.
http://www.tramexltd.com/page/skipper.html
Carbon Fibre is a problem, it will peg the meter.

[inspectorlance]

oh, this is a big topic, here is a link to a past post. sure is nice to have one in my truck, so when I see a cool boat for sale on the side of the road, I can check it out. I have found that most older boats have elevated reading in at least one section of the transom, but these boats can last some time till they show signs of stress in the glass., depending on power. a fishing boat can run for ever with a rotten transom , depending on the power.http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86620&highlight=moisture+meter

Lance

[Over-Easy]

It would seem that you could use a multi meter as a moist meter. Set your probes at a given distance apart, use a known good piece of wood and take a reading, then test unknown wood, compare the two readings and go from there. Just a thought, never needed to try it, most boats I buy have trees growing out of them.:o

[chynewalkr]

i saw a moisture meter in the flooring section at Home depot about a month ago, i dont see why it wouldnt work in a boat. I think it was under $100


yep, here it is
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@2014662040.1147818375@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccddaddhkkkdmmicgelceffdfgidgnj.0&MID=9876

[inspectorlance]

Those are the invasive pin type. They have two metal spikes that you have to stab into the wood. Not practable for a boat. What you want is the non invasive type $500 oat uses radio waves to penitrate about 3/4", and gets to the coring without damaging the boat. I use the Protimeter Surveymaster.
Lance

[northeastcat]

Seems they are a little pricey to buy for me to use one time. I think I need to find someone in my area that has one and pay to have my boat checked.

[NNT]

I just use my finger :confused:

[Alan Power]

Seems they are a little pricey to buy for me to use one time. I think I need to find someone in my area that has one and pay to have my boat checked.

That's called a survey:p and they can be expensive. That's my plan for when the glue gets too much, become a surveyor, those guys know how to charge!
Anyway, maybe you could get a guy to stop by just to beep out the hull or bring the boat to any boat shop that does osmosis treatment. We have one, but that's no use to you, we use the Tramex one.

Alan

[northeastcat]

Survey... the word alone sounds expensive. If they get anywhere near what those bastards get for surveying land I'm in trouble !;)
I'm gonna start searching for someone who has a meter and try to get just the area I am concerned about checked.
Thanks for all the replies everybody.

[inspectorlance]

Most good home inspectors have them.

[northeastcat]

Most good home inspectors have them.

Good idea, I'll start their first. I have a friend that does home inspections and I never thought to ask him. :cool: Thanks !

[Mark1]

I am in that business, anything by Tramex or Dri-Ease is fine. I use the Surveymaster Protimiter as well. we use them for all different kinds of applications.

[tunnelwood]

electrophysics ct 100 pinless. with electronic species settings. $ 200. www.electrophysics.on.ca. they design and manufacture. I have ued them and they seem to be good value. greg

[Terrence Gilhuly]

For about $12 per foot you can keep from pissing a lot of money away on a worthless and therefore unsafe pile of fibreglass. I was a boat broker for many years and it really is the only way to protect your investment.

Terrence

[mousamlakespeedster]

I am in the water damage restoration business. Here is my GE Protimeter Surveymaster meter. Comes in very handy when looking at boats!

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b202/aaleland/Boat%20Stuff/meter.jpg