85 Sunsport - "The Destroyer"

[WakeSurfCanada]

Hey Guys!

Here's a few pic's and a brief rundown on the 85 Sunsport me and a buddy purchased about a month ago for 3k.

The story from the seller:
85 Sunsport that "Runs", but it just needs a starter.

Engine completely rebuilt in 06 w/ receipts and bored 30 over

New Rudder + Prop

Looks a little rough around the edges, but what can you expect for 3k with a trailer.

Interior shows well, but has a few imperfections that can be worked on

The actual story:
Seller had the WRONG starter in there, not even close to the proper alignment to engage.

Once the starter situation was figured out, we quickly realized that the engine was seized! Would not turn over!

Pulled the plugs to find a few a little rusty. Started with a concoction of WD-40 and SeaFoam "Deep Creep" penetrating oil. After about a week I was able to get the motor turning over with a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt.

After that new plugs and everything hooked up, it would still not fire! After much reading and some basic mechanical/electrical knowledge, it came down to a timing/firing order issue, that I believe to have inherited from the previous owner. After figuring that out, the motor runs like a champ! Changed the fluids and put it in the water!

Got it out on the water for the first time this past weekend and absolutely love the boat and the way it handles. Although the lake I am on is quite big, and does get some serious chop on it the boat held its own quite well!

As its the end of the summer, the plan is to suck as much fun out if this thing as possible before tis to cold to be out there in even wet suits, and then a full on rebuild (cash flow permitting) over the winter.

To come out with something that we can enjoy for many year out on the lake from here on in! A serious wakesurf/wakeboard boat in the making!

In the future:



-Stringers + exterior fix up!
-Tower
-Stereo
-Fat Sacs

Thanks for looking and keep your eyes out as I will post some pics as we start some work on it over the winter.

I posted up some pics of the boat as purchased and the last one is of it in the boat slip a block from my house, FINALLY!

Cheers,

WSC

[87SunSportMikeyD]

She looks great! New interior and you will be so happy! Glad to hear the motor issues have been resolved. To think they thought it was seized when they just messed up the plug order. What a great find!!! I wish many years of happiness.

I put in my budget stereo for under $500. In case you want to chat.. :)

[Okie Boarder]

Congrats. Looks like you have a great foundation to build upon to make it what you want it to be.

[DAFF]

I was looking at that one too. In fact, the binimi cover was stolen over the winter right. Soft floor in spots too..... Great deal on the boat, even though you were making the deal as I called .

[WakeSurfCanada]

I was looking at that one too. In fact, the binimi cover was stolen over the winter right. Soft floor in spots too..... Great deal on the boat, even though you were making the deal as I called .

You got it DAFF!

Has been a little bit more work than originally anticipated (for this season at least) and a stringer job is definatly in order.

Hope all goes well with finding a new boat yourself!

Cheers,

[WakeSurfCanada]

Hey Guys,

Finally towed the boat in out of the frozen cold and started ripping it apart.

As suspected stringers are pooched, to the point where I could probably kick a few of the out, now that the foam is gone.

With that being said, got a sold 2 days work on the boat and have it stripped right down to the bones at this point, much further that I would have anticipated for 2 days work.

Here are a few pics of the progress made thus far, and will keep posting as we continue on.

[Okie Boarder]

Looks like you're off to a nice start. Keeping posting pictures and updates.

[sybrmike]

Another one torn apart - congratulations & great progress outta the gate. Looks like you've got plenty of room to work, but I built a similar cradle for the top cap and put some cheap Harbor Freight furniture dollies underneath - makes moving it around easy.

[Ptownkid]

haha, that's funny...I thought about going to look at this one too! Glad someone got their hands on here and is going to treat her right.

Where are you located?

[WakeSurfCanada]

You know it! Feels good to make some headway on this project while there is still snow on the ground. Hoping to have it back in the water when things start to warm up, but my wallet and work schedule will be the deciding factor.

Here's some more pics of our progress so far nothing new from last week, but finally got some pics off the camera.

Live just north of Toronto (innisfill area) but work in North York.

Where are you Ptown?

[WakeSurfCanada]

More pics of the progress thus far.

Gotta love the Canadian winters, where all of you are chipping out wet foam and water, I'm doing so with ice and frozen foam.

Enjoy!

[Ptownkid]

Hey, at least you have a place you can pull it into to work on it...I have to stare at it on the driveway and wait for spring.

I'm in Ajax, cottage is just north of Apsley.

[WakeSurfCanada]

So, after a few weeks hiatus , finally got back to work this weekend.

Outside stringers are out, new ones cut and shaped and ready to be glassed in.

Looking to have them glassed in, and inside stringers cut and hopefully in by the end of the coming weekend as well. Feeling pretty confident about how fast we can get them out and back in based on some things we learned with the outside ones.

Man were they rotten, basically fell apart as soon as I cut away the fiberglass.

I was a little bit itchy from the sanding and cutting on Sunday night, will be more diligent about my attire this week.

Bottom line, fastest method is, go at them with the sawsall, clean up bigger edges with a cutting wheel, and then take em flush with a die grinder.

Ice just came off the lake by my house within the last 2 days, so it looks like its going to be a race to the finish at this point


Here's a few pic's:

[sybrmike]

Glad you're making progress. The inner stringers might take a little longer due to the engine bump out, but they're not that bad. Man, I don't miss the fiberglass grinding itchies.

I'm a warm water wimp - if the ice just melted, I sure wouldn't be in a rush to get in. Good luck with continued progress.

[Okie Boarder]

Looks like some good progress is being made. Like sybr, I don't miss the itching. He's right that the mains will take a little longer. Not only will you have some extra time in building out the engine bump, but shaping the stringers and glassing them is a bit more work.

[Okie Boarder]

Also, something to think about. Much of the reason these boats had rot had to do with wood having the ability to be exposed. You might consider completely glassing the main stringer prior to building the engine bump. This allows the stringer itself to be protected and isolated if the other pieces started having any issues instead of their rot being like a cancer that starts to impact the main stringers.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

Okie - I like that idea of isolating the inner stringer, anything I can do to "1-up" the construction that was done at the factory is ok in my books.

Picked up 10gal of poly resin, cab-o-sil, milled fibers, and some mixing cups, yesterday so its looks like were going for bust this weekend!

Should have more pics after the weekend.

A few question for you guys:

Filleting - I am going to router the top edge of the stringer to ease the laying of the glass over the top, is it suggested to do the same on the bottom to allow more of the resin/cab-sil "putty" to make contact with both the stringer and the hull? Or do I just keel the 90 degree angle and fill in accordingly?

CPES - I was originally planning on coating my stringers with the as a preventative measure from future rot, although was advised otherwise by the rep @ Canada Composites. He mentioned that It would "dilute" the adhesion quality of my fiberglass to the wood. Any thought on this?

Inner Stringers - I was wondering about the "engine bump". It appears currently on mine, that aside from the actual inner most stringer (adjacent to the bilge area, and the outer most support, the is actually a "void" or airspace underneath where the motor mounts were placed. Is this normal? or an oversight from the factory?? I know SYBRMIKE had mentioned some airspace under his stringers. Is this what you were talking about mike? My plan is to bed in the adjacent "engine bump" pieces of wood the same way I do the other stringers. With the resin/cabosil bedding material, up against the hull. Surely this is more structurally sound than that of the previous way. Any thoughts on this??

Lastly, anyone who is in Canada, and moreso the Toronto area who are considering this job, contact the guys @ Canada Composites, extremely knowledgeable, friendly and reasonably priced fibreglass products and accessories.

Stay tuned, more updates and pics to come. . .

[sybrmike]

Good luck this weekend!

Filleting - good call rounding over the tops of the stringers. No need to round the bottom edges. Just make sure to lay down a thick enough bead of filler that the stringers don't directly contact the hull. I beveled the bottom edge to more closely follow the contours of the hull, but just rounded the corners slightly with a sander to take the edge off.

CPES - questionable since you're using poly resin. Epoxy will bond to poly, but not too good the other way around. I used poly resin & so did not use CPES on the stringers for this reason - just liberally coated the wood with resin prior to laying cloth. I like CPES & am using it on seat bases and anything else not coated in poly.

Engine bump - I thought I recognized that familiar hollow space under your mounts in previous pics. Yes, that's exactly what I was describing on mine. By all means, go back solid under your mounts - added meat for engine mount bolts, added surface area for adhesion in critical area, added mass for vibration dampening, etc.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Thanks for the thoughts info Mike. Much apreciated!

Just picked up my 2x10x20 pieces of Douglas fir for the inner stringers and awaiting arrival of my marine plywood.

Should be a fun and productive weekend!

[Okie Boarder]

sybr got you covered on the answers and he's right on the money. If you were using epoxy resin, CPES is the way to go.

I'd recommend the following on the engine bump, after installing and glassing the main stringer. Do a build up of two 2x4's and then one piece of plywood for the platform the engine mounts will set on. Then wrap it in the plywood that takes it up to the deck height as the final pieces. I used thickened epoxy and clamps and did each piece one at a time. I made sure there was a gap between the board and the floor that I filled with the thickened epoxy as well. Once they were all "glued" in, I glassed over them. I think I did an extra layer of thickness on the surfaces the engine mounts were bolted to, if I remember correctly.

I've attached a pretty good picture for a visual. On the left you see the stacked wood all "glued" in place. On the right, you see the same thing, but already glassed.

Another point about putting things in. The entire build of the stringers, support ribs, and deck have absolutely no fasteners on my rebuild. I did that in an attempt to minimize areas for water penetration to occur, especially from one piece to the other at joints, etc.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Wow, Okie, that stringer pic is a thing of beauty!

I agree 100% on not attaching anything with screws in order to maintain the "waterproof" seal created by the fiberglass. I plan to do something very similar, although I'm not sure if mine will come out as ncie as yours lol.

So this weekend went pretty much as planned in terms of getting the outer stringers glassed in, although wasn't able to make any headway on the inner's. Looks like that will be next weekend, or the following weekends project.

Managed to go through 3/4's of a 5 Gal pail of resin in the process.

[Okie Boarder]

Managed to go through 3/4's of a 5 Gal pail of resin in the process.

Yeah, the resin goes quick.

[rlhahn]

Looks like your doing great. I was making great progress also, and then got slammed at work. I have desided to just do what I can, when I can now. It seems like it's taking a long time, but if I look back a month, I've made progress. Keep the pics comming. Every new idea or solution to a problem helps all of us "project junkies".

[WakeSurfCanada]

Well, another solid weekend working on this beast resulted in all 4 stringers getting in!! Also replaced the 3 pieces of plywood the swim platform mounts into because they were quite soft.

Got a chance to do some work on the top cap as well, it is completely stripped get ready for paint.

All the "Jewelry" is going out for powdercoated, and I'm looking into do something a little bit different with the windshield. Stay Tuned!

All of the teak is GONE!!!, well accept for the swim platform. I know some of you will hate on me for it, but it's just not my style.

Have filled in all of the various holes from the teak, as well as some other misc holes from being 25 years old. Getting a little bit of glass work done to it and then a fresh coat of paint!

Check out this pics

Cheers,

WSC

[WakeSurfCanada]

Here are some more pics of the progress from the last weekend.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Well progress is being made, floors are done, topcap is back on.

Hopefully going in for paint within the next week, and install of the motor and interior soon after that.

Here are some pics

Engine Bump,

Tower test fit for bracing on top cap

[WakeSurfCanada]

So far so good.

Hoping to have it in the water for the start of july!

[Okie Boarder]

Looking good...you're getting there. In the home stretch now.

[sybrmike]

Great progress! That's some beefy lookin' substructure - outta make for a solid ride.

[doc 1]

Looks like your doing a great job on the project. I hope to build either a sunsport or saltare in the coming years. I am from southern Ontario. I am 19 and in college currently.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Looks like the boat will be going for paint sometime next week, so I will be putting new seals in the tranny in meantime in anticipation of getting the motor in as soon as its back from paint!

Here's hoping it will be making the trip north with me for a houseboating adventure on the Canada Day Long weekend!

@ Doc 1 - lol I do not envy anyone who wants to take this job on, so many hours of work, take how long you think it will take you, then double it and add a few more hrs on top, then your in the ballpark. Although it will be very satisfying at the end of the day. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. I can also point you in the direction of were to find some of the necessities for the rebuild at a reasonable price.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Oh yea, one more update! All my hardware has been dropped off at the powdercoater! Should be ready Tuesday! :D

[doc 1]

Hey, I was talking to Justin last night. That tower looks siick! Apparently there's going to be a kickass stereo too?

[WakeSurfCanada]

Just got my hardware, and windshield frame back from the powdercoater. Looks awesome, also got my glass tinted, Can't wait to get it back together and see how it looks.

Looks like the painting process is going to take a little bit longer than anticipated, after consulting with my paint guy, looks like I need to sand this beast top to bottom, down to the gelcoat. The worst part is it looks like there are upwards of 2-3 layers of paint on the boat already. fun stuff haha.

Oh well, thats the way she goes, still anticipating having it in the water for Canada Day if everything goes as planned.

Heading to a friends shop to replace the output shaft seal on my tranny tomorrow evening, and then the motor will be ready to go back in!

[Ptownkid]

Where is the shop that you are working on your boat located and is it yours?

[WakeSurfCanada]

The shop that I did the stringers at is actually the "install bay" at my work. Located in Toronto.

Not mine by any means, but hasn't been used for much but storage as of lately. So I used it to do the main part of the restoration. Now that the top cap is back on, the boat in in my driveway at home, where I will be doing most of the prep work before paint.

Might bring it back down on a few weekends to use some of the necessary tools, but for the most part its full steam ahead to get it paint, drive-train installed and back in the water by Canada Day!

[WakeSurfCanada]

No real good pic's or updates as of yet, just a whole lot of sanding to get this thing ready for paint.

Amidst the sanding I have found some questionable patch work done by the previous owner, that looks extrememly suspect, so I will be sanding/ripping out out and doing it properly.

I just want to be back on the water. . . .

[doc 1]

Who is painting the boat?

[WakeSurfCanada]

A buddy of mine, I worked out a little contra deal with him, some stereo equipment for paint on the boat.

FYI, prepping a boat for paint is a damn tedious job! Been sanding and sanding and some more sanding so that the new paint will look good and do so for years to come.

Can't wait to get it done and get out on the lake!

[WakeSurfCanada]

Well, Canada day has some and past, and sure enought my d-day has passed as we have seen on many other boat rebuilds, but as the title says. . "thats the way she goes".

I was away and on vacation on a houseboating adventure over the Canada day weekend and it was awesome, consequently the only thing missing was a wakeboat to go for some pull's behind

With that being said, I have been chomping at the bit ton get this boat coated and continue my progress with this project. After much debate or paint vs gel coat, we finally pulled the trigger and gel coated the boat all black vs painting.

I know that black is going to be smoking hot on the water, but it's something I'm willing to deal with for the look I am going for.

I am very pleased with the outcome so far, although I have not yet started wetsanding and polishing it out. . . that will be the real fun part. . .

So we re gel coated the top cap down to the waterline, and I will be using a epoxy based Teflon bottom coat that will be rolled on in the days to come.

Here's some pic's, let me know what you think.

[dshaff24]

That is going to look sick!!

[Okie Boarder]

Looking good!

[wotan2525]

Murdered out!!

Check out this build.... http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/showthread.php?15020-murdered-out-nautique...-SO-SICK

[WakeSurfCanada]

Murdered out!!

Check out this build.... http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/showthread.php?15020-murdered-out-nautique...-SO-SICK

lol, wow, good thing I didn't say "murdered out"

Can't see this pic's as I'm blocked @ work, so I will have to check them when I get home.

**Edit: Found the pic's of the boat on N3 Boatworks website, that thing is unreal. That is defiantly taking it to the next level with the black interior, I'm making due with my previous interior for now (White) and will have to re-evaluate once I have some more cashflow lol**

All the banter about a black boat is pretty funny though. Yes I know its gonna be hot, but it's also not going to be like any other boat on the water!

Thanks for the replies guys, hoping to have it in for a water test within the next couple of weeks.

WSC

[mapleleaf]

Unreal, love the blk cleats.....can't wait to see more...

[WakeSurfCanada]

Well as we have seen many times before on rebuilds seem to take longer than you ever would have expected. Mine seems to fit right into place with the rest of them.

That being said, motor is in, most wiring has been done, I just finished putting some epoxy bottom paint on and I can see the end in sight!

Don't have any pic's but will get some up tomorrow, made a cool switch and gauge panel to replace the outdated vinyl wrapped on that was in previous.

Also made a polished aluminum plat to mount the throttle as I did not want to use the interior panel it was origionally mounted to.

Just received a giant box of goodies from SKIDIM, seemingly the last pieces of the puzzle to get this beast on the lake.

My biggest nemesis lately is that I live a block from the lake and all my neighbors and friends are consistently inviting me out on their boats. As many of you can understand I would much rather be out on the lake than baking in my own boat in the driveway. So the next due date to have it in the water is this coming weekend. Will it happen? I sure hope so, I need to expend some energy behind a boat not just bake in the sun all day lol

Stay tuned for more pic's tomorrow

Cheers,

WSC

[doc 1]

Wow, Looks awesome! Can't wait to see the finished product! Been riding a bunch, would love to come for a rip when you get it on the water!

[WakeSurfCanada]

Well as boat was in the water briefly (all of 15 minutes) before I realized I had no drive line functionality.
But man does it look AWESOME!

Found out in indexed the pump on the transmission for the wrong engine rotation, so a quick re and re on the tranny (about 1.5 hrs total) and I'm back in action. Just working on wiring up the stereo and some other electrical things. Should be boarding and surfing this weekend (weather permitting)

Here's some pics more to come. . .

[Okie Boarder]

Very cool! Looks good...great to see her on the water!

[WakeSurfCanada]

Sorry guys, no pic's as of lately. Have been to busy out boarding and surfing behind this beauty!

I can say that I am really happy with how everything has turned out, stereo rocks! Perko switch and Surpower have yet to leave me with a dead battery and I am slowly but surely getting the wake dialed!

Just finished rebuilding my rear seat base to accommodate a 550lb fat sac, I will update with some pic's once in!

will defiantly be looking into some upgrades over the winter when it is back out of the water.

In the meantime, I'm hoping I can get out of work a little bit early this morning and get a good session in the evening!

Cheers,

WSC

[chrisk]

WakeSurfCanada, looks awesome so far! I'm real interested to see your modified rear seat base. I had quite a few problems with mine holding a sac this summer so I'm considering rebuilding it completely.

[srtorius]

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[srtorius]

Hey Guys,

I'm the other owner of the destroyer. Here are some pictures from the summer so far. We're extremely happy with the outcome and the new tower and speaker/light combo that we got for the vessel. The LED's are amazing and offer so much candle power out on the open water when the suns down. I'd personally love to get some facing the back as well.

Its taken a number of passes to get the fat sac positioning tuned in but I think we've dialed in a pretty amazing surf wake. I'm going to try and make some weight placement diagrams when I have a second but maybe we could share with other sunsport owners and see what they're doing.

There will be lots of little additions to the boat for next year but we're really happy Supra owners and the overhaul has been a challenging and rewarding experience. Thanks to guys like you on Supraboats we were even able to get the knowledge and know how to pull off the rebuild. It was definitely an experience and nothing beats the joy of surfing and wakeboarding on your custom boat with your best friends on a hot summer day.

We've got lots of surf action footage and will try to share it when we have time! This thing looks unreal on the water.

Till next year! Destroyin' since '85!

[WakeSurfCanada]

A little wakesurf edit one of my buddies threw together
Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB42gBK2q_c&feature=youtu.be

Pulled the boat out of storage yesterday, wont be long till were out on the lake now!!!

[Sdc77]

Cool video, cool playlist and cool boat. Is there only the 550lbs fat sac in the boat or other extra weight ?

[WakeSurfCanada]

Thanks SDC77

good questions I believe its about 1800lbs (Mostly hidden)

550 Under Rear Bench
370 Tube sac in ski locker
400 Beside Doghouse
400 Under Playpen

Works pretty good! Planning on adding a Wake Plate before she goes in the water, hoping this will clean up the prop wash and make the pocket a bit bigger!

[Sdc77]

That's heavy load ! Thanks for the information ;)

[WakeSurfCanada]

That's heavy load ! ;)

That's what she said! haha

[mapleleaf]

looks like I wanna be on Simcoe this summer....

[WakeSurfCanada]

@ Maple

Once the sun is shining let me know, would be happy to have you out on the boat!

[mapleleaf]

no prob, what you've done looks amazing.......

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Lookin great, your weighting is pretty much same as ours. I find its easier to drop off the swim platform at near idle speed :p Nice vid and editing

[WakeSurfCanada]

Lookin great, your weighting is pretty much same as ours. I find its easier to drop off the swim platform at near idle speed :p Nice vid and editing

Thanks Mikey!

Do you find you you trim-tab/wake plate make a sizable difference to the wave? Pocket longer? Thoughts?
I think that's my next purchase!

Launching off the swim platform defiantly is a bit tricky. I found on friends boats with larger swim platform much easier. I'm sure it will come with time

[Ptownkid]

@ Maple

Once the sun is shining let me know, would be happy to have you out on the boat!

If he comes...I'm coming with!

[87SunSportMikeyD]

The trim tab does help a little, but its tough to describe how. If your wave is too steep you can trim down and it makes the pocket longer and vice versa. Sometimes if the face of your wave if washy, minor trim adjustments can clean it up. It's also fun for driving, it REALLY makes the boat plan different. Mine came with an aftermarket Bennett brand hydrolic trim tab :)

Do you keep your bow weight centered or do you move it to the side your wave is on?? I find that helps too.

[WakeSurfCanada]

Well now that I have been out on the water a few times, I figured it was time to add some pics of the upgrades that have happened so far this year!

New Grant GT Steeringwheel free from a good friend
New Floor! Used the 1/2" interlocking foam, 2 packs from costco about $30, easily the best mode thus far, and its damn comfy on the feet!
2 X transom remotes - 1 Facing down for control from the water, 1 - facing up for control while sitting on the boat getting your board on!
BoardRacks - for my Roswell tower, found em at a local dealer that was blwoing em out for $50 for 2 sets!!
New 20" Wheels on the tow rig! Love the stance it gives the jeep, haven't towed with them yet, so waiting to see how that goes.


Upcoming:
ACME 913 (13 x 10.5) - en route, this should help getting out of the hole with a bunch of ballast!
Trim tabs/Wake Plate - going to pick up a used set tonight, hopefully will get installed at the same time as the new prop!
Digital Tach - Will hopefully help dial in out speed/wake a bit better GPS speedo on the portable nav leaves a bit to be desired!
iPod dock - Have on that needs to be mounted, hanging it behind the deck is getting a little tiresome

Looking forward to the rest of the summer!!

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[WakeSurfCanada]

more pics

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