The '85

[Albin]

A lot of you saw THIS (https://forum.supraboats.com/showthread.php?16343-Help-Identify-Boat-Model) post I started when I was looking for a boat. Long story short, I found one!

I am going to use this post as a sort of a build/restoration/modification log. To get started here is a photo taken after A LOT of cleaning:

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/2014-06-21%2017.55.42.jpg

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/6-21-14-it-Floats!.jpg

Here is what I plan to accomplish this summer:
> Thorough cleaning inside and out
> Remove ski pylon for some extra room
> Setup ballast for surfing
> Try reinforcing the wood under engine mounts*
> Work on trailer and replace the bunks

And my plans for this winter include:
> Replace floor and Stringers
> Replace rub rail
> rebuild back seat for extra ballast
> re-due parts of the interior

* The bolts on the engine mounts spin but I really want to use it this summer, so I am going to try out the Rot Dr Stuff. I know this isn't going to fix the problem, but I hope it prevents anything catastrophic from happening till I can fix it properly this winter. I will keep a close eye on things this summer and hope for the best :P

[gogger]

When I first go my 89 one side of the engine mounts would spin. I used Git Rot. Got me through the first summer with no problems.

[wotan2525]

Nice looking boat. I like that color scheme. ;)

Put a bigger roller on the front of that trailer ASAP. That one has disaster written all over it when you miss by an inch.

[Albin]

Gogger: Thanks for the input! That makes me fill better about doing a temporary patch job. I drilled a bunch of holes around the mounts and have been letting them dry out in the sun for a week. I am going to fill up the holes with a penetrating epoxy mix and then glass over the holes. Hopefully this will get me through the summer with no problems.

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/06-26-14-stringer-rot-prep.jpg

EDIT: I finished patching the holes I don't think anything is going anywhere now. If the bolts aren't enough I spilled enough epoxy around the mounts to glue them in pretty solid :P.

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/06-26-14-stringer-rot-after.jpg


Wotan: Yea a bigger roller is on the to do list for sure. Not only is the old roller small the rubber on the sides is dried out and cracked pretty badly.

[Zim]

Looks good!!! Enjoy the summer!

[Albin]

I have been working on cleaning up the teak, there is a lot of it on the '85s, and it is starting to look much better. The piece on the top is what they looked like before:

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/6-29-14-Teak.jpg

[Albin]

I also got some decals on the sides. I am still debating if I want to wrap it all, I think I might eventually but I haven't decided. Since I own a sign company it is pretty quick and easy for me to change things up but this is what I have on it now:

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/6-24-14-SupraDecals.jpg

[Albin]

When I got the boat villain threw in a bunch of stuff, including some old wakeboard racks with blistered/peeling chrome. I went to work cleaning them up and here is a before and after.

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/6-29-14-Wakeboard-Rack-Before.jpg

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/6-29-14-Wakeboard-Rack-After.jpg

For the next rack I am going to use a thinner cord for sure. This cord is thick enough that I really have to squeeze the boards in.

[TitanTn]

Looking great! Did you paint those racks? It looks like more than just polishing.

[Albin]

Thanks! Yea, racks are painted. The chrome had peeled so badly that I just sanded it off and painted them the same off white color as the boats hull.

[SUPRA_ALLEGRO_LANE]

I have been working on cleaning up the teak, there is a lot of it on the '85s, and it is starting to look much better. The piece on the top is what they looked like before:

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/6-29-14-Teak.jpg

What did you use on your teak?

[TitanTn]

What did you use on your teak?

Just a good quality teak oil, but the secret is in how you apply it. After cleaning the teak, mix 25% oil, 75% turpentine and apply. Let it dry. Then mix 50% oil and 50% turpentine, apply, and let dry. When you apply, just gently wipe it on with a brush - leave it thick. Then 75% oil and 25% turpentine, apply and let dry. Then 100% oil. The first application will dry in an hour. The last of 100% oil might take a week to dry. The turpentine thins out the oil and allows it to penetrate the teak which is obviously a thick, dense wood. Looks great and lasts much longer.

[cadunkle]

I also got some decals on the sides. I am still debating if I want to wrap it all, I think I might eventually but I haven't decided. Since I own a sign company it is pretty quick and easy for me to change things up

No wrap, nothing says cheap/gaudy quite like a wrap. The big SUPRA is a little big for my tastes but looks fine. I'd do some sort of stripe along the bottom kind of like the original rainbow stripe. Maybe just a thin stripe or double stripe (thick below, thin above?) the same color as the top. That huge white hull looks too plain to me, a stripe would break it up nicely to define the lines of the boat.

[cadunkle]

Oh, and your epoxy fix will probably hold fine. I've done that with previous boats where the lags wouldn't bite but the wood wasn't totally rotten. Got me through a couple seasons and was still holding solid without any alignment issues what I got rid of it. After you get your lags back in check and adjust engine alignment. Enjoy the rest of the season and do the stringers when time and money permits. If it hasn't got out of alignment after a few days on the water it's holding fine for now.

[Albin]

It's been a while since I updated this but I have been busy!
SUPRA_ALLEGRO_LANE: I just used sun bright teak oil. I didn't add a thinner like TitanTn suggested, but i think that would be a good Idea. I have been adding oil every few weeks when it starts to look dry.
Cadunkle: I have had 15 or so days on the water with the patch job and it seem to be holding great. I keep checking alignment periodically and I am pretty confident I will make it through the rest of the year.

One of the things I mentioned in the first post was that I wanted to remove the ski pylon. It was one of the first things I did and I love it without it! It creates a lot of extra room in the front. Unfortunately, it ended up being a big project since the pylon was rusted to the mount. After removing the bolts and messing with it for hours I ended up having to cut the whole thing out.

After removing the pylon I went to work on the rest of the interior:
The existing speakers were blown and I really didn't like how they were mounted so I decided to re-due the gunwales and add some extra storage. In the following photo you can see what it looked like before. You can see where the speakers used to be and also the square where the fire extinguisher used to be. Also notice the area where the top half screws into the floor, one goal was to cover this up since I didn't like how it looked. In this photo I was planning the cutout for the storage.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/Gunwale-Storage.jpg

Here I am test fitting the new sides:
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/Gunwale-Test-Fit.jpg

And here is the finished product:
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/Gunwale-Storage-Final.jpg

When I re-due the stringers and floors this winter the new carpet will match the grey used.

[Albin]

After adding the gunwale storage I had to re-design the bumpers with the added benefit of getting rid of some of the interior teak.

Before:
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/LH-Gunwale-Before.jpg

After: (sorry this picture is so bad... my camea struggles in my dark garage)
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/LH-Gunwale-after.jpg

I also added some storage on the left hand side: This storage compartment is almost 7" deep, the box inbetween the speakers is closer to 4.5" deep.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/LH-side-Storage.jpg

[Albin]

I have also been reupholstering the interior:
These are the first 2 cushions I did (the old cushions had really big rips down the center)
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/First-cushion.jpg

Then a little later I did the backrest as well:
before: notice tears in corners
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/Backrest-Before.jpg

After:
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/backrest-after.jpg

[Albin]

The back seat was particularly bad. The wood under the seats was rotted so when you stood on the cushion you would fall through. So I had to rebuild the back seat, seat base, and all 3 cushions.

Seat Cushion rot:
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/seat-cushion-rot.jpg

This shows a little of the backrest rot. I had already removed the bottom plate that the seats sat on, it was so bad it just crumbled apart.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/Backrest-Rot.jpg

And here is the completed seat. Since I am upholstery newb I wasn't able to get the corners stretched tight enough, but it was so much work I am going to live with the wrinkles.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/back-Seat-After.jpg

The best part is you can stand on the seats now and not fall through!

[Albin]

In between all the reupholstering I whipped up a abs FAE based on some posts I found on the forum here:

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/FAE.jpg

It works beautifully! We have had it on the water for 3 full sessions and couldn't be more pleased!
When surfing we can no longer smell the exhaust which was really potent before. The boat is also MUCH quieter, when my wife started it the first time after the install she kept on cranking it since it didn't roar to life so loudly.
It doesn't change the wakeboard or surf wake at all, but there is a small splash.
The only down side is the boat seems to need roughly 200 more rpm at speed.

-what you can't see in this photo is the stainless steel bolt used to hold the fae in place. It is runs through the inside of the T joint and into the vertical support on the custom wake plate. It hasn't moved since it was installed and I have had several full throttle runs without a hiccup.

[TitanTn]

Dude, you HAVE been busy! It's all looking good, especially the upholstery - even with the wrinkles. It's hard to believe that you're actually a newb at it.

[Albin]

Thanks Titan!
I also blacked out the old shiny aluminum windshield supports, I think it really makes the teak pop.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/Black-Windshield-Pillars.jpg

[trayson]

In between all the reupholstering I whipped up a abs FAE based on some posts I found on the forum here:

http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/FAE.jpg

It works beautifully! We have had it on the water for 3 full sessions and couldn't be more pleased!
When surfing we can no longer smell the exhaust which was really potent before. The boat is also MUCH quieter, when my wife started it the first time after the install she kept on cranking it since it didn't roar to life so loudly.
It doesn't change the wakeboard or surf wake at all, but there is a small splash.
The only down side is the boat seems to need roughly 200 more rpm at speed.

-what you can't see in this photo is the stainless steel bolt used to hold the fae in place. It is runs through the inside of the T joint and into the vertical support on the custom wake plate. It hasn't moved since it was installed and I have had several full throttle runs without a hiccup.

Can I get some pics of the mount on your FAE? My run on mine was good with the exception that the pipe strapping I used to secure it for the test run actually ripped. I wasn't expecting that. So a better and simpler attachment would be EPIC. Also, did you use ABS or PVC?


And I can't believe I've missed this thread. I remember chatting it up with you when you found Villian's boat. You've been doing an amazing job. you're bringing that boat back to life and I'm super impressed. Can I just send some of my upholstery to you over the winter?!??!?! hahahaha.

[Albin]

Trayson,
My fae is all 3" ABS, I was going to use PVC but they didn't have it in the size I needed, plus I liked that the abs was black, so I went that direction. The ABS also has really thick walls around .25" thick and I think that adds to the overall strength. The through bolt has been really strong and I haven't had any problems with it at all. I can shake the whole boat around by pulling on the down pipe.

I was worried about it messing with the wakes but it really hasn't so that's nice. I set my "Z" measurement kind of high at 2.5 inches.

Since the through-bolt attaches on the inside of the T joint I screwed on the down pipe with some SS fasteners. This gives me access to the bolt and would allow me to adjust teh Z measurement if needed.

I looped a rope around it the first time I took it out just in case I had something fail and I left the rope on there. The rope is really loose and not providing any support.

I have some 2.5" exhaust tips that someone put on and I attached the fae right to them with hose clamps. I was worried these would pull off but I haven't had any trouble. I am not an exhaust guy so I can't speak to the "back-pressure" or lack thereof created by the additional tubing but everything still runs great. I do run slightly higher rpm at speed but I suspect this is because of the drag.

Here are some more photos of the FAE: I need to get a better camera, sheesh.. more poor photos in my dark garage... If you would like to see something specific just let me know and I will see what I can do.

Here is a side view:
I put the down pipe at more of an angle than the real fae in an attempt to reduce the force a bit and to get the horizontal pipes a little closer to the transom. I also lifted the horizontal pipes as high as I could to make sure they never touch the water when underway.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/FAE-Side.jpg

And here is a close up of the bolt holding it in place:
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/FAE-Bolt.jpg

[cadunkle]

I like the extra storage you created, I may end up doing similar in my Saltare eventually.

[Albin]

We have loved the extra storage! our normal crew is 4-5 adults and a few kids and with the ballast bags full there just isn't any room for stuff. The gunwale compartments have helped keep stuff out of the way that used to end up on the floor.

[mabbore]

How much quieter is the exhaust now?

[trayson]

How much quieter is the exhaust now?

It's a night and day difference. I prototyped one on my boat for a day and it was amazing. I could easily hear the music at wakeboard speed/distance without the stereo cranked. we could have a conversation in the boat while going 25mph. It was pretty amazing. I'd say a 50% decrease in noise easily.

[Albin]

I would say 50% quieter is a good estimate. Now instead of hearing the engine roar I can hear the water on the hull and the engine belts spinning. I can also talk to surfers and they can actually hear what I am saying. I even turned the stereo down to a lower level.

[Albin]

We got tired of bumping our heads on the old Bimini so we put one on the tower. It is much more comfortable when walking around and even makes the boat feel a little bigger. The only downside is that since it is so high it doesn't shade the driver as well even though it is a foot longer and almost a foot wider. In all we feel it is a good trade and have been very happy with it.
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/BiminiSide.jpg
http://www.turnersignco.com/supra/BiminiBack.jpg

[Blackntan90]

Albin, where did you get those rear vent covers? The ones in the last photo at the bottom? By the way the boat looks great!

[Albin]

Thanks! They were installed when I got the boat so I am not sure where they came from, sorry.