89 Rotting from the inside

[Ricky D]

I purchased a 1989 23' Saltare and I'm beginning to think I got screwed.
I found a soft spot in the floor so I started removing it. When I got to the foam I found pockets of water. And I mean a lot of water. The floor is rotting from the inside out. I'm looking for suggestions on how to fix it without separating the Top from the Bottom and digging. I sent an email to Supra to get some help on how to do this but you all know how that will turn out. Has anyone had the same problem, and what did you do to fix it?
I don't want to scrap the boat because I just had a new motor and tranny put in it.

[csuggs]

Ricky - you didn't get screwed unless you paid too much up front. Nearly all (and I do mean ALL) 80's Supras and many others will have wet foam and stringers under the floor. Unfortunately, the only way to fix it properly is to split the boat and have everything below the floor replaced. Many folks do it themselves (and there are plenty of threads on here to illustrate) and some, like myself, pay to have it done. I took mine to Viper Customs in Knoxville (7 hours from my home) last winter for the same thing. I will say that Viper did an excellent job on my project, but it took much longer than I had anticipated. If you are handy and don't mind working with fiberglass (and have place to do it), you may consider doing it yourself. Cost, I paid around $5000 for new stringers and floor. There are others that can do it for less, but I went with Viper because I also had them replace all the vinyl and make some other custom modifications. Study the threads and make your decision. Most of us that have had that work done are very happy, and although we ended up spending more on a boat than we had originally planned, the end result is a like-new boat at a fraction of the cost - but with nostalgia.
Good luck!

[sybrmike]

Ouch! - Sorry to hear of your discovery. It's a common problem with these old boats & lots of threads here (mine included) on different methodologies to repair. The only way to know for sure is to split the hull and pull all the floor.

You can try to first just open up the area helm to transom (fairly easy). If the floor is still good out near the hull edges and you've still got good wood up near the helm, you might get by with a partial repair. However, the Saltares had a piss poor design where the fresh air vents enter the floor in the playpen just forward of the ice chest that tended to let water in. Check the floor up there for soft spots too. Another clue - if the structure up there is rotted, the center windshield may not close square since the helm and port storage area will sag together.

Regardless, if the foam is wet - it'll stay wet. I still found standing water after mine had sat in a dry garage for 6 months.

It's a personal decision and a tough call for sure. You might get by with a partial repair good enough to last quite awile (mine still felt solid and ran strong even though I think the saturated foam was the only thing still holding it together). OTOH - you never know when that next hard wave will be the one that does it in. Probably ~$5k to have someone do it. Half that DIY (plus lots of time). Even properly repaired, a 20 year old boat is only woth so much. So it all depends on if it's worth it to you. Good luck!

[Okie Boarder]

I would agree with the comments you've gotten already. You can try pulling up as much floor as possible without seperating the hulls. Remove the foam and see what it looks like. You can drill some pilot holes into the stringers to see how bad they are. From there, you'd need to decide what you want to do. If you look through all the threads on this forum or any other with 80's era boats, you'll find that water is always an issue and usually if it is pooled up somewhere in the foam, it has found a way to penetrate the glass wrapped wood all throughout the boat.

[Salty87]

that sucks to hear. i think most of us had our boats for at least a little while before running into this.

like these guys said, you're gonna have to go exploring. there's no telling how bad it is but it will only get worse. cross your fingers and start at least drilling holes. actually, take the bow seat cushions out and see how soft the front floor is. that will tell you alot. you can't fix the bow area without taking the cap off. well, you can't fix it properly. i'm sure someone has hacked a fix together.

as for getting rid of it...i'd be suspicious about any floor from the 80's. so this is an issue you'll run into again unless you get a boat with no wood (mid-90's).

you're about $2k and a bunch of sweat equity from having a great boat.

almost forgot, the current owners of supra (skier's choice) weren't involved with supra in the 80's.

[DAFF]

It all depends on how much you have invested in the boat... Every ski boat in this era will have issues but IMO the Supras were was ahead of thier time. The bad part is the boat will not be as water ready as you hoped but with some time and money you can tear it apart in time for spring launch.

From what I remember the Saltairs were the worst for rot expecially near the drivers seat. Get ready for some stinky water wet foam and good times with your new best friend.

I had a Comp sit inside for 6 years and the foam was still wet!!!