New Owner -89 Sunsport

[Knully]

Hi all, new to the forum. Went on an adventure to Revelstoke the other day to buy a boat. 1989 Sunsport with a Roswell tower. Another highlight is a custom aluminum ballast under the rear seat with pump plumbed in. Can't wait to get it on the water, I think it will be a big step up from my old 67 Larson All-American.

http://i377.photobucket.com/albums/oo213/tayboo24/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg (http://s377.photobucket.com/user/tayboo24/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg.html)

[michael hunter]

Welcome to the forum . You have a great boat I should know I have owned my 89 Sunsport since 89.

[Knully]

Hey, good to know there are some guys that still like these old boats! I think the boat looks modern still today with the new graphics and gelcoat. It's in overall good condition, one soft spot near the engine bay that I'll have to investigate. If I'm pulling the floor I think I'll wait until fall and tackle installing ballasts under the floor. I see a couple guys on here have done it - I think doing that would make this a great boat for us to keep.

[scottschmitt]

Great boat. Congrats. I've enjoyed my 89 Sunsport as well.
BTW, anticipate if you are pulling up the floor, you will likely have some wood stringers to replace while you are in there.

[Knully]

Yeah, I am aware of the potential for rotten stringers. We really debated about going newer and getting into all glass, but qfter obsessively scouring the internet for months, and doing a little surfing this last month we thought we might be happier with a bigger, taller boat for our price point. I am fine with an off-season project, it looks like there are a couple people that have documented their restorations very well, so I won't be flying totally blind! I haven't seen anybody uprade to some kind of sea-deck type flooring yet though ...

We had a wheel bearing pile up on the way home from buying the boat (after an hour drive in pouring rain), needed a bearing and hub/brake assembly. Ended up leaving it at a heavy eauipment shop as I had to be back for work (only got 2 hours sleep). Today a friend of mine is going to pick it up - hopefully the boat puts enough smiles on my face to be worth the hassle!

[Southerngrounds]

I plan on putting seadek in mine. I just haven't found the time. Congrats on the new boat.

[Moor]

Congrats on the new boat, and welcome to the forum. I own a 1988 sunsport, they are great boats and im sure your will put lots of smiles on your face. I really like the modern graphics, Now you have me thinking about giving mine the same treatment.

[Knully]

I really like the look of the boat too, looks like a much newer boat than it is. We did get it out the other day for a test and cruise, noticed that the bilge seems to pump more often than I'd like to see. It seemed to pump close to a gallon every 15-20 minutes, so I'll have to trace the cause of that. I don't believe it to be coming from the hull, as the hull looks new. Found a few other glitches and small things to get it to where I'd like it, but I sure am glad I went with a deep boat - very comfortable.

[scottschmitt]

These are great boats. I'm sure you'll have many happy days.

You may know, common places for leaks on these boats are the drive shaft nut, the rudder, and the transom at the swim deck and the wake plate stays. Mine leaked pretty bad from the drive shaft nut until I repacked it with goretex. The transom had a little crack at the wake plate stay that we fixed last year. This year, there's only a little water at the end of a session. Starting to feel like I'm on top of that problem.

[SquamInboards]

Congrats on the boat. You'll have lots of little stuff to look after, but it's good you're aware of the likely work in your future with the stringers.

This guy used Gator Step - although not on the entire floor - but I thought the stuff looked awesome, and they made custom pieces based on templates he sent them. Not crazy expensive either. Anyway, his rebuild thread is a good place to get inspired. https://forum.supraboats.com/showthread.php?17909-Saltare-Revamp

And, not to nitpick already, but if you're towing with that truck a lot, the hitch looks too high for the trailer. Just an observation. Great pic, though, what a beautiful spot!

Cheers.

[Knully]

Got out tonight finally to do some boarding. I believe the water to be coming from the shaft seal packing. Has anybody done this without pulling the floor up?

Another thing I noticed is that when engaging into gear the transmission chatters a little until you idle it up a hair. I wonder if my idle is set too low and it is having trouble engaging? The tach is not working, but it seems to take less than 50 rpm to quiet the chatter.

That spot just happened to be where I bought the boat. I couldn't believe that a 4" drop didn't get me low enough, you are right I will need to buy a 6". Man does it pull nice though, I guess because the engine weight is on top of the axles.

I will probably post a couple more pics in the next day or two because I'm a dorky, enthusiastic new boat owner. It's nothing fancy, but I like it and it's mine!

[SquamInboards]

I think I know what you're talking about with the transmission "chatter" and yeah, bumping up the idle just a hair might do the trick.

The shaft seal packing is accessible via the panel in the rear floor behind the engine cover. That single piece should be removable easily and you'll have full access. I've posted this link many times before and I'll post it again, some "light reading" on shaft seal packing. More than you ever wanted to know: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/stuffing_box

[scottschmitt]

If you lift off the engine cover, including the carpeted base it sits on, you'll see there is a carpeted board that runs from the back of the engine to the middle seat on the back bench. This should slide forward and out, giving you access to the shaft seal (it may need a good tug or you may need to pull up the base of the middle seat and encourage the floor board forward with a rubber mallet). The Pbase write-up is brilliant. Repacking the packing nut is not too hard. My lock nut was stuck and that took some effort to release. After that, it wasn't bad. Obviously, this is easier if you are not on the water.

[SquamInboards]

Obviously, this is easier if you are not on the water.

Ha! I've done it in the water, and it's a nice test of your bilge pump. Yeah, better done on land.