New Guy!! Have a ? About a possible purchase

[CTXxRoss]

Hello everyone!!
Names Ross, I'm a noob to the site so hello for the first time. I did some searching around here and seems like this is a good place to go with my questions. I am looking at a 1986 Supra Comp ts6 with 550 hours on it. Boat looks to Be in very good condition from pictures (haven't seen it in person yet)
He said it needs new carpet and new upholstery before to long and that is has no motor problems. He is asking $4,000 for the boat.. What do y'all think?!?!

[sydneyACE]

Hey Ross!
Welcome!
What are your plans for the boat? (Skiing, Wakeboarding, just cruising, etc.)
Where do you live? (Can make a difference on price and options.)

One of the most important things to look-out for on older Supras is rotten wood in the stringers and floor.
You should ask the guy if the floor or stringers have ever been replaced.
Has he owned the boat a long time? How did he store-it? These questions will give you clues as to the condition of the floor and stringers.

When you go to look at the boat try to arrange a test-drive. No better proof of a good-running boat than seeing it in action.
Also check the lag-bolts that hold the motor-mounts to the boat's stringers. Bring a wrench and make-sure they are tight. If they just spin and never tighten, that means the wooden stringers have gotten wet and are rotten.
If the stringers are bad, it will mean a TON of work and $ to fix them propperly.

Anyway, if you have any more questions just ask, the people on this forum are super helpful and very knowlegable.

Good-luck, have fun and take pics!
Boat-porn pics are very popular on this forum.

[supra790]

I am also looking at an old Supra. Is there any other way to test or find out the condition of the stringers? The person I am looking to buy from said he doesn't know and he is not the one who restored the floor?

[bens250ex]

Take a wrench to the engine motor mounts. Tap on the stringers. If a hollow sound run away. If floor was replaced stringers more than likely have some rot.

[CornRickey]

Take a icepick with you and poke around. Pull up all of the floor panels and look for delaminated fiberglass around the stringers. If the guy gets pissed about poking around then he knows your going to find something. Do a search on stringers replacement to get a better idea of wheat to look for.

[DAFF]

On the comp version you can always pull the foot tray just infront of the drivers seat. Just a few bolts and from here you can access the foam. The drier the foam the better. If it is stinky then its stringer time!!! Also look for water marks sometimes brown streaks oosing from cracks near the main stringers, this is a bad sign.

[csuggs]

For $4K and only 550hrs that tells me the boat is probably original, meaning the foams probably wet and stringers are probably soft. If the guy is the original owner, ask him what maintenance he has done. See if he says anything about maintaining the seal on the Supertrapp exhaust. If no, then you most likely have water under the floor. If he says stringers are new, ask for receipts.

That said, it's a good deal for $4K as long as it floats and runs. Comps are not the best wake boarding boats unless you do a lot of extra work to them, but I love the way way they drive and they are soooooooo sexy on the water!

[CTXxRoss]

The boat will be used for wakeboarding/wake skating. I figured with some fatsacs it would be a good wakeboarding boat. It has a nice tower on it as well! And I agree... Those boats looks very sexy in the water, I love the low profile they hold! Thanks for all the great
Info guys!!! I still deciding if right now is a good time for me to take this on so I'll keep y'all posted! Thanks again!

[crystal waters]

check your engine compression as well! A must!

[kvand347]

All great advice here. Take lots of pics and post them up. Lots of people will help tell you what they see wrong with it.

I agree with CornRickey on the ice pick...I used the sharp end of a test light on an '86 SN 2001 stringers before I found my Sunsport. The pick went 3/4 of the way though the stringers near the transom. Owner was asking $4,000 and once I told him about his stringers he dropped the price to $1,500. It was tempting, but not the kind of work I was interested in doing. I'd ask the owner if they mind though. If he/she says no, then I'd walk away.

[sydneyACE]

The boat will be used for wakeboarding/wake skating. I figured with some fatsacs it would be a good wakeboarding boat. It has a nice tower on it as well! And I agree... Those boats looks very sexy in the water, I love the low profile they hold! Thanks for all the great
Info guys!!! I still deciding if right now is a good time for me to take this on so I'll keep y'all posted! Thanks again!

If wakeboarding is your plan, you might want to consider something other than a Comp.
That same sexy low-profile look they have is the same thing that will limit the amount of ballast you can run.
Don't get me wrong, there are a few guys on here who have made some nice wakes with Comps, but in the end, there is a limit as to how big you can get-it.

If you live in an area where there aren't a bunch of old Supras for sale (like I do), that may be your only option.
If there does seem to be a lot of them for sale, keep your eye-out for a Sunsport, Rider, or a Saltare.
They have a higher freeboard (hight of deck above the water-line) and can hold more ballast/people.

Take everything I'm saying with a grain of salt, I have never boarded behind a Comp. Hell, I've barely had a chance to board behind my Rider. Jet and Jetlink both run Comps, and from what I've seen, they can throw-down nice tricks.

Anyway, good luck! Just get a boat! I debated forever. My pocketbook is HATING me for it, but every time you get out on the water with some friends, some beer and strap that board to your feet, you could care less about how much $ you have left-over in the bank. :)

[Jetlink]

What Sydney said above is spot on. You can weight a comp and get a decent wake to wakeboard behind but you might out grow the boat really fast. I am very happy with my purchase of the comp as I have been able to dial in my wake for wake boarding when I want however, my real fun and passion is slalom skiing and there is no boat that comes close to the comp wake in my opinion. To each their own though, these are questions that you will need to ask yourself...do you see yourself more as a wakeboarder who might ski occasionally or the other way around?

[kriley]

Bought a 90 comp 1 1/2 months ago - checked stringers, compression, all okay (one small section of floor had to be replaced) - had 426 hours - $5000.00. I am almost finished rewiring - Biggest issue I have found! putting new switches in, new stereo, amp, subwoofer, auto bilge, and buffing.

[supra790]

How do you check the engine compression ?

[sydneyACE]

How do you check the engine compression ?

You can get a compression test kit from pretty-much any auto parts store.

Basically you take the spark-plugs out.
There is a hose with a threaded end that screws into the place of the spark plug. The other end of the hose attaches to a gauge.
You crank the engine-over several revolutions (couple of seconds) then check the reading on the gauge.
Can't remember what the compression is supossed to be ATM...

[CornRickey]

With WOT. Crank till the needle doesn't go up anymore. 3 or 4 revolutions.

[DAFF]

In the boating world it is all about baby steps. I don't think there are many Supra owners who bought brand new without at least having one other boat. Sure there might be someone with tons of desposible cash but not most of us. As long as the vessile is sound and priced well there is not much to think about. Buy it and learn, just be frugal in your search and be PATIENT !!! Just because there isn't your dream boat out there today doesn't mean it does not exist.

Learn and learn before you buy and don't be afraid to look beyond all the sparkle...

[crystal waters]

a friend of mine owns a large and very successful new/used car dealership.
He once told me "never fall in love with a car today for you will always find a nicer one tomorrow."\
Over the years I have found this addage to be so true!
Same applies to looking for the "right " boat .
Don't buy a less than ideal boat (in your eyes) just to get a boat.
Be patient ---there is a nice one out there to fit your needs and budget!
good luck!

[mabbore]

With WOT. Crank till the needle doesn't go up anymore. 3 or 4 revolutions.

Rick you are absolutely right, if you do not have the throttle all the way open, you will get a very distorted number. It is equally important to warm up the engine before compression testing.

[DAFF]

Here is a nice one.... Composite too

http://austin.craigslist.org/boa/3078734622.html