I took my boat into the shop this week to have some annual servicing done. My mechanic noticed some dark colored liquid leaking from the back of the transom. He pulled the motor to investigate and it was rot pouring from the mounting bolt holes

The thought of rot in my boat never crossed my mind until now. It's a 1997 Champion 191 that my dad purchased brand new, I bought it off him 2 years ago. It's always been meticulously cared for and garage kept it's entire life, it almost looks and runs like the day it was bought. I guess these things just happen when something has been in and out of the water for almost 20 years

Im not sure how bad the rot is yet, but my mechanic installed a new mounting plate for the bolts to have extra support, its already starting to flex and crack a little around it on the inside of the hull. But other than that, you wouldnt know whats happening inside there.

Any insight from you guys that have had to deal with this before? Just knowing whats going on back there makes me feel uneasy about even operating my boat. Is it worth investing all the $$$ to have it torn down and fixed? or would it be smarter to just cut my losses and save up for a newer boat? Any thoughts / info would be appreciated, thanks