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Just finished pulling all of the thru hulls from the transom, 7 total.... bilge, 2-motor well, 2 rear seat box compartments, and 2 large (1 1/2") drains for leaning post bait tank. Conditions are about the same in all holes. Wet, punky on the immediate surface, (this may be a mixture of degraded wood with caulk, dirt and water) consistant with peanut butter, and then realatively solid. Kind of disappointed in the materials used in the construction of this boat. I'm guessing that a new 1997 Outrage 20' ran around $20-30K back in the day. The quality of the thru hulls in my opinion are questionable at best. Plastic friction fit, with a sealing surface of approximately an 1/8". With the history of problems, and the likely hood of the "average" owner really paying attention to their thru hulls, maybe a threaded Perko brass thru hull with a larger contact surface and the ability to tighten it with a nut would have been a better choice, but nothing lasts forever. On other "sites" it seems that the verdict is, once a transom is wet, it's junk. Time for a complete rebuild or Seacast etc etc. I know that the Whalers of all vintages are unique what are the collective thoughts to....trying to get it as dry as possible, button it up, try to keep it as dry as possible, and use it like you're trading it in !! Is the consensus, that most Whalers have some level of water intrusion ?