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willie
08-08-2002, 07:45 PM
I have a 1989 sunsport with a soft floor on the observer side of the engine. I suspect the floor is three piece. I was looking for some advice an floor replacement. Is this a do it yourself project or do I need to look for a profesional. I hope my question is done right this is my first time.

thanks and keep boating

09-27-2002, 02:25 PM
I am interested in this as well. My floor is a little soft in the rear corner - Supra Comp TS6M.

SupraNut
09-27-2002, 03:07 PM
I'd be interested in any replies as well. It sounds like your problem area is in the same spot as on my boat. I am considering hauling it to Maryville and letting a professional do the floors.

Salty87
09-27-2002, 04:12 PM
unfortunately, i think it all depends on what you find under there. it may be a small fix or a big job.

dmgx
10-02-2002, 10:56 AM
Salty is right. It can be a big job for sure, especially if you don't have much fiberglass experience. It is a nasty job as well. You guys can contact [email protected] or call him at 800-320-2779, he can give you an idea of what it will cost. thanks,

Jay Warren
Marketing Manager

dmgx
10-02-2002, 10:59 AM
Salty is right. It can be a big job for sure, especially if you don't have much fiberglass experience. It is a nasty job as well. You guys can contact [email protected] or call him at 800-320-2779, he can give you an idea of what it will cost. thanks,

Jay Warren
Marketing Manager

Andrew_Jet_Mitchell
10-03-2002, 05:08 PM
WOW! I also have a 89' with a soft floor in that same area. I also have a back seat, that the backing(made of wood also) is coming apart. Does anyone know if you can get a template from Supra to make a new one. Or any other ideas would be great!! Thanks

SupraNut
10-04-2002, 07:09 PM
Andrew - I replaced the wood on the sundeck of my '90 Sunsport. I removed the vinyl and foam and used the old sundeck for a template. I used exterior plywood (3/4 inch) and soaked it in water repellant ($3/gallon on Home Depot bargain shelf). I drilled some 3/4 inch hiles about every six inches to equalize pressure under the vinyl. It is a bit heavy so I installed some short gas lifters. It works great!

willie
11-20-2002, 09:38 PM
hey guys just thought i would give an update.

I ended up going with a profesional. after pulling up the floor we found rotten stringers on the port side. I have no idea what caused the rot to start. no leaks were found. There was less foam on the port side than the starboard side. I checked the exhaust pipe and could find no leaks. So i don't know what else it might have been. The stringers literally crumbled in my hands. The repair man told me the only thing that kept my hull from cracking was the kevlar.
By the way the starboard side of the boat looked like it was brand new. I got out of the shop for about 2,500. don't know if I got out ok or not. still love the boat though can't wait for warm weather.

Kelly Owens
11-21-2002, 03:09 AM
I also have a 90 supra with root on the left rear one third of the stringer. I cut the floor back, woods great but stringer is toast. I'm scabbing onto the good part of the striner from just ahead of the rear mount to the back of the boat with Mohogany glued to the floor and glued screwed and lag bolted to the good wood of the stringer then covered with new floor wood which I had cut back about a foot. I'm also pulling the engine to check for any other cracks in the fiberglass before refiberglassing the floor. I think I'll be using Mohogany on the stringer but am also looking into a resin- plastic type of material which is super strong and won't root.

willie
11-22-2002, 12:00 AM
kelly
just wandering my boat has mufflers under the floor in the back of the boat. I am wandering if this is the source of the water that started the rot. My boat is an 89. My dads boat is a 91 and his muffler is on the back of the motor between the exaust down tubes. I just wandered how your 90 is made.
P.S. one of my mufflers could be rotated on the exaust pipe before we loosend the clamps.
let me know what you think, and good luck. the guys at the shop used plywood and built up the stringers then glassed them in on my repair.
hope this helps
willie

Kelly Owens
11-28-2002, 03:04 AM
Willie, my 90 Supra comp has a muffler like your dads. Are both of yours comps?I think water got in through the front rub strip, the chaulking was not in tact. Also where the screws hold the fuel line in place along the floor the wood was blackend. I'll raise it up a couple inches so it's not sitting in builge water when I replace it. I have now removed the left stringer from the back to about 6 inches from the metal tow bar bracet just ahead of the front motor mount .Only the bottom half of the stringer had rot from the front mount to the middile of the mounts so I have left the top have to scab onto with one solid piece of mohogany right to the back, liqid nailed to the floor, glued and lag bolted to the good wood ,then I'll reinforce the areas around the mounts with plywood before fiberglassing it all in. I obviously took the engine out to do all this. Much easier.!I'm also replaceing the wood backing for the shaft strut due to a couple small cracks in the fiberglass. I think this should work. What do you think?

Kelly Owens
11-28-2002, 03:37 AM
Willie, my 90 supra comp has a muffler like your dad's. Are both of yours Comps? I think water got in through the front rub strip because the chaulking was not intacked. Also along the floor where the screws hold the fuel line in place after cutting back the fiberglass I found water damage there. I have now removed the left stringer from the back of the boat to just behind the front mount. Then only the bottom two inches of the stringer from there upto about 6 inches ahead of the front mount. I am going to use one solid piece of mohogany scabbed on under the front part then liquid nailed to the floor, lag bolted to the good wood and then covered with new flooring where I have cut it back. I am also reinforcing the joined areas with plywood. I am also replacing the wood backing for the shaft strut. Then fiberglassing the entire area. I removed the engine. Much Easier!! I think this should be strong enough if not over kill. What do you think? I would like any imput. I will also be putting the fuel line about two inches off the floor so it is not setting in bildge water having water working at the screw holes.

Captain Nick
11-28-2002, 12:31 PM
I bought a 84 Allegro with a 454 in it , the motor was new , as well as the trans. interior was nice , except for some trim. floor was solid as could be. well a few months went by and I finally picked it up .well in the mean time I learned how to check motor bolts to see if the stringer was bad, well guess what , all that was holding the motor/trans in was gravity.
well I cut a hole in the floor I was gonna put a plate on the back side , well low an behold the floor was a double layer , someone just threw a new piece over the old , then recarpeted it.
So I take the boat back , and the dealer is fixing it with my help I supply some labor , and he supplies all the materials.not a bad deal considering I bought the boat for less than the cost of the motor.
anyhow the right s stringers have been replaced approx 10' forward from the rear, the inside left stringer is completely replace (putting it in on fri) and the outer left will be relpaced approx 10'.
we are using exterior plywood for the new ones, and where the motor sits, he found this laminated plywood that is 1.5" thick so we used 2 of them together.
I can guarantee that the stringers will never rot again.
hell if you saw how supra does it compared to how we are repairing mine you would be scared.
Ive been taking pictures all along
the other interesting thing is , the boat has been inside for 4 years never seen rain etc, yet when I cut that old left side stringer out , it was still wet as well as some of the foam
as for where the water orriginaly came from , we thing it was the "seal " around the pipe at the transom, the previous motor was run without water, so we put a piece of plywood on the inside to have a better sealing area, the approx 12" forward put a devider in , and it drains to the bilge , just incase they would ever leak
hopefully it will be ready ti float in the spring:)

Kelly Owens
11-29-2002, 12:55 PM
Willie I'm having trouble getting to reply, just testing with this

willie
11-29-2002, 01:16 PM
sorry so long for me to reply. Got to duck hunt in the cold weather and all.(ha ha). My father and I both have sunsports (you know with the open bow.)
Kelly sounds like you have all you rot up front. Or am i miss understanding. Sounds to me like Nick has more of the same issues that I have. It is supprising to me that this is such a common thing. keep me posted

Willie

Captain Nick
11-29-2002, 10:19 PM
After seeing the inside of the boat , I would not buy anothe Supra product , or any other boat , I will keep mine forever.
there are so many places the wood is not even encapsulated in fiberglass, the wood is off of the hull 2-3" in places. fit and finish was 0. where the motor mount sits looks to be an afterthought , and cut out with a sawzall. the drain hole that allowed all the junk water into the cabin from the motor compartment. and on and on.
Kinda dissapointing for a boat that cost 25k + in 1984.
But by the time Me and the shop are done I will know just how it is built.
Nick

Kelly Owens
11-30-2002, 01:00 PM
Willie, my 90 Supra comp has the muffler like your dads, are both of yours comps? I think water got in at the front of the rub strip, the chalking was not in tact,also the screws holding the fuel line in place along the bottom of the buildge were letting water in at the stringer. I'll replace it a couple inches higher out of the buildge water.I've removed the left stringer from the back of the boat to the middle of the moter mounts, then steped it down and removed the bottom half of the stringer for about another foot. Only good wood is lelft. I'm going to scab onto this with a mohogany stringer liqidnailed to the floor, glued and lag bolted to the good wood, and reinforced with plywood then glass it all in. What do you think? My floor wood is like new as is the other stringer, but I'v pulled the engine to go over it all and reglass any minnor cracks and screw hols that could let water in

Salty87
12-02-2002, 07:12 PM
i haven't pulled my floor up but i can tell that water is getting into the starboard muffler. after i run it in the driveway on the hose, i can see water seeping into the bilge from the muffler area. that area of flooring seems kinda bouncy, too.

cap'n nick....good to hear from you. you sent me some pics of your supra about 6 months ago. at that time, your boat was in 2 large pieces...the top was hanging from the cieling and the bottom was gettin' scraped out. almost done?

Captain Nick
12-02-2002, 11:32 PM
Salty87
I have lots of pictures of the rebuild, Im gonna try to set up a webshots account to post them all.
and have been working on it.
infact we just set the left inner stringer tonight.
we are hoping to have the floor etc done by new years , and the top back on in jan.
hopefully ready to run in the spring.
Nick

Kelly Owens
12-14-2002, 04:06 PM
Willy, my reply's came up only in the printable verson,please look there and get back to me.
Thanks. Kelly

cshepard
12-17-2002, 05:58 PM
Anthony at the Supra factory has a wealth of background on the issue of floors gone bad. As for whether or not it is a do-it-yourself project, if its just the floor (and carpet), it is something a reasonably handy person with tools a West System epoxy can undertake. On the other hand, if the engine mounting bolts are stripped out and there is moisture in the stringers (very common), you may well be in over your head. The floor work is relatively easy; stringers are a real challenge which I would leave to the factory to undertake.

Good luck either way.

GOGO
02-07-2003, 04:17 PM
See my reply to jwskelton .

GOGO
02-09-2003, 03:27 PM
see my post to jwskelton .

azcummins
06-03-2003, 10:09 AM
My 89 Comp's floor was so soft that I couldn't stand anywhere in the boat without caving in the floor. I lived in Nashville, TN at the time, so I took it back to Supra and they put new stringers in it, new flooring and new carpet. I think the new floor is plastic too and not wood. I was very happy with the work, just be ready to get it out of there ASAP as they won't store the boat for you!

It wasn't cheap $7000 total bill, but I have a brand new boat now that is still way less than a $40-50k new one.

dba4life
06-03-2003, 04:22 PM
$7k!!!!! WOW!!!

ilenechris
06-11-2003, 10:59 AM
I have a 1990 Supra Comp. It had bad stringer's when I purchased it. I took it to a local marine shop for repairs. They redid the whole flooring, carpet, stringer, foam etc. The stringers were rotted. All was completely redone. When we put the boat in the water the propeller shaft appeared to wobble. We did not notice any problems with this last year. The marine dealer tells me that the 14 degree strut is bent. The propeller did not wobble last season. He tells me the strut will need to be replaced. The propeller shows no damage and the propeller shaft is straight. Could the strut have been damaged during the repair? If the engine wasn't lined up properly would that have caused it - we did use the boat for 2 days before returning to shop. My total bill was $4000, that included a depth finder purchase and installation.