87 Sunsport Skier...Project Feedback Wanted

Hi Folks,
I was fortunate enough to pick up an 87 SSS this summer and I'm going to be diving into it soon. Its my first ski boat and is definitely a project boat for sure. She is a good project candidate though and I picked her up at a good price.
The stringers are crap, motor (351W PMC) needs to be freshened up. The rest is all minor-moderate cosmetic/mech stuff.

I want to do this project right, so before I even start, I want to get some feed back from any of you that have tackled this before.  I've been scouring the forums/search engines for a few months now and have a fairly decent idea of what I'd like to get accomplished this winter and then on. I'm going to be realistic and say this is going to take me until at least the summer of '18 to get back on the water. That said, here's my projected order of operations and some questions I do have.

I'm going to start by pulling the engine and doing a basic (not high performance) complete rebuild on it. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see the need to spend all the money there when I need to do a complete stringer job on it and I'd like to re-do the interior and put in a new gauge cluster as well.

I don't have any large garage access as of now, but I do have plenty of space for a block on an engine stand. I also just picked up a nice cover so the boat can sit outside for at least one more NJ winter. Its not really going to hurt anything anyway.

My hope is to have the engine completely done by late spring and I also hope to have some space procured to start work on the hull by then. If anyone has any suggestions about upgrades/changes that I should definitely make to the stock engine, then please let me know soon. I'm pulling it this weekend or next and will be ordering kits/parts shortly thereafter.

I know I have plenty of time, but just for the sake of conversation...I'm thinking about the stringer job on this boat. I am going to do it myself, but I am wondering about composite/wood/poured stringer materials.
From what I gathered "wood is good" but I am still trying to convince myself to use a composite material for some reason. I saw a few vids of guys using a poured material which looked intriguing. They cut the top of the stringer shell off and dug out the old material and poured in a seacast like substance. I have no clue if I can use something like that on these boats, but time and ease of operation, might outweigh the cost…if the structural integrity is still there. Any thoughts on the most viable options are welcome and appreciated. This will be my first crack at a job like this. However, I am a skilled carpenter, but a novice at glass work. I'm also smart enough to know that I can really screw that job up, but I am confident enough in myself to take on a challenge of that difficulty level. The positive being, if I totally botch the job...I would still be able to recoup my losses by selling the drive train and parting out the boat! :)
I also picked up a Heritage trailer that I need to modify to fit this hull. I believe it was originally for a 90's Baja I/O. Its not an inboard trailer, but it will work fine with a few bunk modifications and cutting the rear cross member to clear the prop/rudder for the Supra. If anyone out there has the same boat as I do and/or an original 87 Supra Sunsport trailer, I'd greatly appreciate some dimension info on the bunk widths and the layout of the bunks. Pictures would be GREATLY appreciated.
I will also be working on that a little over the winter…on nicer days.
I suppose that’s enough to get started on for now. I will start posting the pics I do have and more as I move forward. Thank you in advance for any help/pointers you can give. Again, it’s all appreciated.
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I'm curious about the poured solution as well, but a lot of guys who've done their own stringer jobs have said the existing ones are so flimsy that you won't be able to dig out the rotted wood and keep the glass intact.

I wonder if they can be strengthened by adding a few layers of glass prior to removal. That or building support forms/frames, similar to pouring a concrete foundation.

I would stay away from the seacast idea. I had a 1988 Supra Mariah with bad stringers, took it to a professional and he said he has seen some seacast projects gone horribly wrong. Not to mention the stuff isn't cheap. I ended up redoing my stringers from scratch and sealing them in marine epoxy to make sure that they were water tight. There is a guy on YouTube that goes by the name of frisco boater. He does a stringer job on a Sea Ray and goes through it step by step. He was learning as he went and it turned out really good. I rewired my entire dash through a bus panel that I purchased off of amazon. These older boats are a wiring nightmare and I wanted a clean fuse panel utilizing modern fuses. Finally I would recommend doing a compression check on the motor you may be surprised that it is ok. You should do them when the engine is hot but a cold one will at least give you an idea. A Carb, Impellor, and some fresh plugs/wires may do the trick Skidim.com is a savior for all of the parts that you may need down the road such as cutlass bearing and shaft packings. They have all the OEM parts and not the china knockoffs. Hope some of the info helps and good luck!

^
I've been doing quite a lot of research into stringer repairs as well and I've yet to see 1 supra thread/video/picture, etc where the existing stringers were in a decent enough shape to go with the seacast idea...even if you were to glass over them first.

IMO anyone who cares enough about their boat to split the cap and tackle this themselves could just about use big box store ply and poly and achieve a result as good or better than the factory job of ~ 25+ years ago.

I used Carbon Core when I rebuilt my Brendella Super Comp. It has strong points to it for sure. The only weak point I can think of is that it is so strong and dense that it makes the hull resonate vibrations more. The boat is louder inside now.

Looks like a 'fun' project...at least the boat will be lots of fun once you're done. Great feeling of accomplishment, too.

If time and cost weren't much of an issue then composite stringers would be the way to go. But, they aren't cheap or simple to install. Possibly next in line would be Seacast. But, digging out the old stringers will take 50x longer than using a sawzall to pull them out (save the fiberglass skins, they make a wonderful template or reference once you start putting new stringers in). Seacast would also cost significantly more than lumber. The exact amount depends on what type of lumber being used. Marine grade isn't required but stay away from Home Depot or similar. Their wood is usually very wet. It needs to be dry for bedding to the hull and fiberglassing.

Resin needs to be considered too...poly or epoxy. Lots of people have used CDX plywood with epoxy. Another way to go is marine lumber with poly. You could also do CDX with poly for the most budget friendly method. The hull was made out of poly so it's plenty strong. Epoxy will bond poly a little easily but with the right prep poly bonds to poly just as well. US Composites website has lots of good info.

The factory churned and burned out boats and they've lasted 20+ years. With a little more thought and attention to detail you can do better w/o busting the bank. Read up on drainage & the pros and cons of poured flotation foam. Those 2 issues are what caused these boats to need stringer jobs at pretty much the same time.

Sorry, can't help with the engine. I had a shop refresh mine. With all of the work you're doing don't skimp on repainting the bilge!

Good luck!

Just started my own project on almost the same boat. Damage to my 89 Sunsport looks to be localized to near the driver seat.
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I would lean away from the composite and seacast type ideas...seems like much more work and cost and could easily be messed up. Starting from scratch with wood and glass ensures you're building on a strong foundation. I used doug fir, coated with CPES and used epoxy resin with DBM 1708 biaxial cloth from US Composites for all my main structural stringer work. I agree with Salty's recommendations on researching foam and drainage. I went foamless and made sure all the areas underneath the deck could drain to the bottom of the bilge with limber holes.

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Originally Posted by Okie Boarder

I would lean away from the composite and seacast type ideas...seems like much more work and cost and could easily be messed up. Starting from scratch with wood and glass ensures you're building on a strong foundation. I used doug fir, coated with CPES and used epoxy resin with DBM 1708 biaxial cloth from US Composites for all my main structural stringer work. I agree with Salty's recommendations on researching foam and drainage. I went foamless and made sure all the areas underneath the deck could drain to the bottom of the bilge with limber holes.

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Okie - did you observe any difference in sound going back with no foam vs with foam?

I am curious about going foamless as well - any drawbacks? I would imagine more vibrations?


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i went without foam and its really no difference , just install limber holes to allow drainage back into bilge if ever water is in hull .. you can also plum ballast without foam

The foam serves no structural purpose - added support/rigidity for the stringers? Hmm


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with engine, wind and water sounds at speed you'll never notice any add'l sounds from having no foam....if there are any. at rest you won't hear anything else either.

foam probably does add structural support to rotten stringers and floors but adds none to solid stringers/floors.

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Originally Posted by Cooose

Okie - did you observe any difference in sound going back with no foam vs with foam?

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Not really...as Salty said, it usually isn't quiet enough to hear the subtle sound difference.