87 TS6M Floor Prep

[cjennTS6M]

I purchased an '87 Supra TS6M Comp towards the end of the summer. The boat was 1 owner, he was in declining health and sold it to me for a great price. We ran it 4-5 times this summer in MS w/ no issues. Rebuilt 351 ran great and the reupholstered interior looks great for a 25+ yr old tournament boat. I noticed a couple of soft spots in the floor, but the stringers seem ok. I'll know more as I continue to dig into it. My questions/concerns are as follows:

How do I remove the passenger seat to continue pulling up carpet? I removed all visible screws, but something is still holding it to the hull..

Go w/ marine grade plywood? 1/2" thickness? Resin & fiberglass sheets? 20oz quality carpet?

Also, water pump impeller replace every yr? I haven't checked it yet.

Hr meter quit at 1184 hours, replace it? Any suggestions on where to get gauges & other OEM parts?

The hull is in need of some cleaning before waxing. I've had success with barkeepers friend, continue w/that and then wet sand w/several grit increases, then wax? What about Zep commercial floor wax? I know it's a controversial subject, yet it's results are undeniable in my opinion.

Other than the floor/carpet over the winter & getting the hull back to a mirror finish with elbow grease & recommended products....this boat is awesome! Great hull, great interior, practically new motor..Im around 5k and I can't complain. I don't mind investing in this baby b/c I know it's the boat that I wanted and look forward to many yrs of fun on the water with the family & friends!

Any advice from all of you wise Supra boat owners is much appreciated!!

I'll get pics up soon & continue to document the re flooring, carpeting, and hull cleaning waxing process over the off months.

Chad.

[cjennTS6M]

Anyone??? Need some direction on which way to go w/ this floor project. First, I need to know how to remove the passenger seat from the boat.
Second, which flooring is best IF I cannot find marine grade ply locally? What is the best way to get the decking out all the way to the edges of the hull w/o damaging the hull?
Also, any advice on products to use or application process on shining up this old boat hull? Any help is appreciated. Thanks! :)

[cjennTS6M]

The honeymoon with this ts6m is officially over! Today we had our first big fight & I found out what she was hiding from me. The dreaded stringer rot! So, now I'm looking at a complete restoration vs a quick fix patch job. As I have discovered from reading on this forum & online, this is consistent w/pre 90's Supra's I want to do this project the right way (cap off) the first time, but honestly do not think that I can tackle this at the time for several reasons. No hoist, no saws, no work shop. I'm going to get some estimates locally, but I know that I'm not going to like the #'s that I hear. Ideally, I'd like to find someone that has done several boat stringer restorations & let me help them as a side job. Paying them & purchasing all materials of course. I really want to do the entire deal b/c otherwise it's a great boat. Skins, hull, fresh 351. I just can't see doing a patch job or even thinking of attempting it myself & ever finishing the job, must less in a timely fashion. Any thoughts or suggestions on where to go from here before I get to far in? Right now just pulled carpet and probed around soft spots to find her dirty little secrets. Still a lot of deconstruction & rebuilding to be done, yet I know that it's been done many times before. Thanks.

[cjennTS6M]

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Here are some pics of the boat that I'm describing, hopefully this will spark some interest and/or produce some advice &/ or direction. It's basically the same story of an older Supra needing a cap off & new floor structure. Just not too sure yet I have the resources on hand or time to DIY this project. I got myself into a bind quick on this boat!

Also, does this upholstery/ seat structures look factory to you all? I was told that it was original & just the motor cover has been recovered, but I have troublle believing that it would be in this good of shape after 27 yrs.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks.

[James]

How could the floor and stringers be so bad but the upholstery be that good? I recently did a floor job on my Sanger. Just start pulling up all the floor and foam. Once you get everything out of the way I assume you lift the motor out and get all stringers out. From what I've read it's not the most fun job. If your taking it's somewhere to have it done I would get everything out of the boat and all of the rotten stringers out to help cut down the cost.

[chris young]

Yup, you gotta think that upholstery is a bit new. As for the floor and the stringers...

In your case especially, taking the cap off probably isn't the best way to go. I think you can do a pretty good patch only job to get you boating without a full restoration.

Here's my .02.

The only stringers that absolutely need to be good are the ones under the motor, everything else is not so important The main job of the stringers is to add stiffness to the hull. A great deal of this stiffness comes from the floor and the hull forming a box which is tied together by the stringers. If you just pull up the floor and pull out the foam and put down a new floor, it won't be as good as new, but it'll be much more solid than it is now. If you want to go further, you could cut the tops off the stringers, gut the wood and then replace it with Seacast or Nida bond. I've never tried this, I'm only suggesting as on paper at least it looks like a pretty good way to do a solid string repair with the least amount of hassle. The stopping point would be if you can't get the wood out of the existing stringer leaving behind enough fiberglass to act as the mold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CMsjayPACs

[cjennTS6M]

Thanks for the responses and for the options guys, I appreciate the advice. I'm still debating my options and the cost/ time frame/ resources of each option in floor repair/replacement before I tear into any further. I'm going to get an estimate on Sat. & see what the local boat shop says he would do. I do like the seacast idea & like what I'm reading up on it so far, I'll continue to research that vs a full restoration. However, I can see how the hull would be so much more accessible w/ the cap removed. I can't understand how people rebuild &/or re-carpet small areas like battery compartment, fire extinguisher area, etc. without removing the cap for access.

Rookie Q's for you guys..
Would I need to remove the motor/tranny prior to removing the old decking and foam to inspect the floor structure and see exactly how bad off the stringers are?
What if I decided to use a pour in such as Seacast or Nida bond, would the motor need to be removed first?
When removing the old decking is it best to cut around the perimeter of the deck then remove floor and saturated foam?
What is your opinion on adding foam back in under the floor during reassembly?
How would I replace the carpet in the bow area if I decided NOT to do a cap off restoration or would spraying/rolling the existing wood with a paint or Bedliner spray in these areas be an option?

Obviously I'm still trying to figure it all out. Thanks for your help so far guys.

[James]

First off am I by no means a pro. Just my opinion.
1) I would only remove the motor/trany when I had to. If your still unsure of what your gonna do i would get everything else out first and go from there.
2) honestly if your gonna be that deep down in a project especially if your pulling the engine, just replace them all and do it right. There's tons of threads on here and almost all of them were people's first times and they came out sucsessfull. I have no experience with seacast
3) yeah cutting it out my be your only option. Cut pretty far up against the sides and all across to the motor. I would be sure not to cut to deep and hit a stringer. You could use them later to cut out the new ones also, or if your only spot repairing them you don't want to cut them just yet
4) my Sanger didn't have foam under the factory floor so I didn't add any back. But if mine would have had it I would have added it for sure
5) the carpet should be the least of your worries right now. I had a closed bow before and I just had to crawl into there sometimes when working stuff. Don't know of that's an option. But for a full repair you will have to remove the cap and I would do carpet right before I put it back together
6) people have used the bed liner before. I personally don't like it but if you didn't take the cap off and only spot fixed the stringers you could roll the bed liner up in the bow since it's just a storage compartment.

[colindawson]

Hi, I have just started this job. I wrote previously under neglected supra. I have taken up some of the floor just by cracking the fibre glass and lifting it out using a wrecking bar. It's pretty weak when you get at it. The stringers seem fine. I have drilled a few holes and light coloured sawdust comes out. I need to check all the mounting bolts.
If you screw the floor to the stringers is there any need to fibre glass the floor? I did a patch repair 7 years ago and just painted the wood both sides, It's the only part that's ok!

[James]

I would atleast get fiberglass resin, the liquid stuff and paint a few coats on it. It will nearly completely waterproof it if you put it on thick enough.

[chris young]

I would say that if you find all the stringers to be good, (and the foam is dry) Putting down a new floor, glassed both sides would be best, but good marine ply sealed with resin would be a pretty close second. It would be best practice not to fasten the floor with screws. Any hole into the wood is always a way for water to get in, and then the rot begins. I would be inclined to glue the floor down.

[Supra_Comp]

I would do a full review of Titan's build thread, very well done. https://forum.supraboats.com/showthread.php?7839-Restoration-progress-(with-pics)

I am just about finished my '85 Comp and my honest opinion is to test the stringers first before you get too far into the build. We ended up cutting out the outer stringers and leaving the mains as they were in ok shape. We re-build the frame that helps support the engine as it was rotten but sistered 3/4" ply to the existing stringers to reinforce. Having said that, this was a band-aid on the mains but we built the rest of the stringers super strong and boxed the frame in to tie it all together. Make sure you invest in a crap load of resin. Coat every piece of wood so that the rot never starts...or has a very hard time doing so.

http://i678.photobucket.com/albums/vv142/GT40_Sally/IMG_00000114_zpsd0eeaade.jpg

[colindawson]

Day two of the floor replacement. It's taken me all day to hack it out and my back knows about it! It's correct about screws the only places where the stringers are rotten is where fitments have been screwed to them I.e. The rear bench and fuel tank. I have hacked out all the foam as it was full of water. I don't intend to replace it as it seems to me to be the source of the rot! It looks like the stapleled the floor to the stringers then cut some holes in it to inject expanding foam. They then put a thin fibreglass finish on it. As soon as any waters got in its delaminates the fibreglass and ply. The foam expanded to the underside of the floor and therefore the unprotected wood was in constant contact with the water. I think my source of water is from where the exhaust exits the hull. I better have a look at that!

[cjennTS6M]

I'm going to start cutting out my old floor/deck this wknd with a circular saw set at 1/2" from the dash/ front seat back to the tank area to inspect the rot damage/ stringers/ etc. My Q is..when I get to the main stringers ( motor/tranny still in) do I cut up to the stringers or do I cut at an angle & try to leave the existing main stringers untouched when detaching the floor? The mains are just ok, not perfect, but I know I just want to remove saturated foam & soft decking then re carpet at this point...I want to use the boat this next summer & w/ a job relocation in Jan a full restore/cap off is not an option at this time. My plan is to deconstruct the floor/ foam & let it dry out, then tear into the floor structure & see how much needs removed/ repaired/ etc. My next Q is..can I safely trailer my boat safely once I remove the floor/ factory foam w/o compromising the hull w/ the cap on? Seems like it'll be ok considering the floor is weak, yet intact & the foam is soaked. Thanks.

[cjennTS6M]

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Once I cut out all of the bad decking & bulkheads, replace, & reglass do I replace foam or leave it empty under the floor? Also what is the best method for removing the old foam. A hammer & pry bar is a very slow go! Saw it out, then sand? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[TitanTn]

There's lots of way to approach this, but whether you remove the cap or not, I do recommend remove the engine and transmission. Honestly, it's not a big deal at all and even with a patch job you should be making some repairs in the engine cradle. I have a heavier engine and higher freeboard but can still have mine out in start to finish in about 45 minutes.

Definitely glue the deck down, don't screw it. And yes you need to fiberglass the deck. I wish I had done mine thicker, but it should last me a while.

The best way to remove the foam is a pry bar. It's slow go, but try to break out as many big chunks as you can. To finish it off there's scraper, sanding, and grinding. Messy and back breaking, but just think about summer time!

[cjennTS6M]

Great response! Glad you chimed in. At this point I'm looking at not removing the cap. I would prefer not to remove the motor/tranny even though I know that I prob should. 2 reasons, lining it back up properly & getting the measurements right in the engine cradle. I'm not even sure that I may not just punt & let a guru do it right for the right price at this point. I have a buddy that's willing to help replace the deck if that's the route I go. I will def glass thick on all repairs & sand smooth. No screws! What about foam? Replace or leave empty hull w/ glassed in drain hulls to bilge compartment? If it sinks, insurance. If it it drops 400-600 lbs of wet foam then the wake should be beautiful for the stick this summer?!?

[TitanTn]

I know it seems daunting, but it's really not that tough. Just take it one step at a time and you'll figure it out as you go. Especially if you have a friend helping you.

Foam or no foam is a matter that is heavily debated. I advise reading and making your own decision. It's legally required on boats under 20'. Some feel that it helps with strengthening the hull, some feel that it helps with sound deadening. Some on this site have gone back with and some haven't. I think to date, most are happy with their decision.

[cjennTS6M]

I haven't posted anything on this thread in a while, but time to post an update. I decided to punt this time & pay a guy to replace the floor/stringers. His price was just right & I would've never had the time for this project during the offseason. His work is very good & he has 15 yrs marine experience. He started pulling up the floor/foam today, so I should have some pics coming soon. He said the cap off vs cap on would depend on the condition of the stringers, bulkheads, etc. I'll post pics asap. Thanks.

[TitanTn]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the pics.