86 supra sunsport $4000

[sitdownsteve]

should i pass or would it be worth it even if i had to replace all the stringers, doing all the work myself.



1986 supra sunsport skier with wakeboard tower. 20 ft rated for 10 people. It has a 351 big block motor with a velvet drive transmission. Teak swim platform and teak wood trim. It's a very nice boat, the only thing it needs is a new floor, the plywood under the carpet is starting to get soft in places.

[michael hunter]

It has a 351 small block. With soft floors it will probably need stringers too . You can figure about 3k if you do the work yourself. Check the engine mount bolts and alignment maybe you can get a couple seasons before the rebuild.

[sitdownsteve]

really 3k, thought i read it was only like $1100 in material, anyway what needs to be aligned motor and trans? where do i look under the motor cover? but you never really answered my question if the price is good

[cavilry]

You can look at a few of my recent posts to see my comments on floors and stringers. Basically, I just bought a well cared for boat for 5,500. It had ONE very SMALL soft spot that I figured was not a big deal. The boat ran great on the water and was well cared for. Unfortunately, the one soft spot is actually a few different rot spots on the stringers.

To your question about the price, it seems like a decent deal. To be honest, I think I overpaid but the hull, engine, drive, and exhaust were all in great shape so I went for it. How are the seats?

As stated, I paid $5,500 but will be needing to replace the floors, repair the stringers, recover the seats at the back and bow, get a tower, etc. I am looking at about $8500 for what should be a good, solid, clean boat. From my searching (for MONTHS), that is about what can be expected to be paid. I expect you will be able to do your work and repairs for under $4,500 but that is assuming nothing else pops up like the engine or drive.

Just know that I am only doing some basic repairs and with 3 very mechanically inclined individuals working non-stop (okay, a few beers in there) and we still have about 11 hours of work in just to take up the floor. To be honest we are even half-arsing it a little, the cap SHOULD be pulled up to remove the floor but we are...making it work.

[sitdownsteve]

the guy selling it said floor is bad under drivers seat not a big area but needs to be replaced and that the engine mounts are solid and trans is in good alignment

[cavilry]

Underneath my drivers seat was bad also. the horizontal supports that had rotted below it unfortunately caused rotting in the main stringers as well. Again, if you are planning to do a stringer job this is not a bad price but you have to A) take that price into account if you have someone else do it or B) know that you are going to have a lot of headaches.

We were quoted $1500 to finish the job from where we are but I think that quote would quickly climb...

[sitdownsteve]

What makes it so expensive to replace the stringers, can you some what break that down

[cavilry]

There are people who know better than I, but let me tell you what I understand the process to be from my reading and from my efforts thus-far.



Strip the interior. (seats, trim, dash, radio, engine, etc.)
Lift the cap (I skipped this, it resulted in a major PITA for removing the carpet and I simply don't have the ability to remove the whole floor. Not to mention I can not access forward of the windshield.)
Cut the floors out. The more rotted, the easier but it still is no easy task. This involved grinding, grunting, and hemorrhoids (sounds like sex for old people).
Cut the foam out. This is a messy, nasty job.
Cut the stringers out. This involves dealing with lots of wood and fiberglass.
.....
kinda need to have someone else chyme in here.

[TitanTn]

There are dozens of threads here on stringer rebuilds. Do some searching and you'll find lots of info.

That price doesn't seem bad at all. If it were me I would try to find any possible example of stringer issues and use that to drive the price down a little. But even at $4k, you can do the stringer work yourself and have a perfect boat for $7k. It'll then be worth more than that.

[sitdownsteve]

ive done some research but im trying to find what the cost is, total floor and stringer in material

[TitanTn]

Depends on many variables. Polyester vs Epoxy. Fir vs marine ply vs ?. 1708 vs CSM. Etc., etc. I would guess an average for a full stringer replacement is $3,000. It can be done for less, or more.

[holmberg4500]

I looked at this boat...the motor is touching the front of the engine box...there is a crack in one of the stringers so I decided to pass on it.

[Jetlink]

I looked at this boat...the motor is touching the front of the engine box...there is a crack in one of the stringers so I decided to pass on it.That happens, my dog house had marks from the pulley rubbing. I redid my whole dog house this past summer...then had my sister place her feet on the front and push it into the pully again!!! Luckily the damage was minimal but that is the danger when leaving it as a "floating house." The dog house issue wouldn't concern me as much as stringer damage such as a crack.

[Okie Boarder]

I was around $3500 doing it myself. I went over and above in some areas coating every piece of wood with CPES and using epoxy, which are both items that drive cost up. I also put in more ribs (cross-braces), vertically all the way to the hull, then might have been necessary which resulted in a bit more epoxy and cloth use.

[FULL-THROTTLE]

I am waiting for warmer weather and I will be doing a full stringer and floor replacement, This is a breakdown of my expexted cost
5 peices of 1/2" marine plywood at 60$ a sheet====350$
5 gallons of epoxy resin======================350$
4 16'x8"x2" douglas fir boards====================60$
Fiberglass cloth============================150$
working materials, tool screws ext===============250$
------
Total $1100

am I missing anything?

Oh ya all the medicine for my sore back (lol)

[TitanTn]

I think you're going to need more resin and fiberglass. It seems like I remember full stringer/floor jobs taking closer to 15 gallons. You're also going to need to need some carpet.

[Salty87]

15 gal is closer to what i remember too. esp if you're going to use it for bedding the stringers. prob need some additional lumber or ply for the cross supports but not much. don't forget you'll be glassing both sides of the marine ply.

new rub rail?
you'll prob want to paint your nice new bilge and might as well paint the engine while you can.