1986 Supra Beast Project 460 Ford Motor

Continued from my previous post on the repair forum. After doing some more homework I did the exact what users told me not to do, and I bought the 1986 jerry rigged Supra Beast. I ended up picking the boat up for just $1500, after pointing out the rotten stringers and multiple other issues. I have a budget of around $9,000 to invest in this restoration project. My uncle is owns a wood working company, and has all the tools and equipment necessary to do just about anything. He also is very familiar with boats and his good friend owns a marine shop in NE. This boat has a strong running 460 ford big block engine, that has been properly marinized according to my mechanic. What I would like to know is what else should be done for this boat restoration besides the stringers? The floor has no soft spots and appears to be in good shape.

Do you have to take the boats cap off to do the stringers? (from what I've learned the boat cap is the top of the boat?)
Do you have to take the bottom of the boat off as I've seen from pictures and videos?
My uncle has a 92 mastercraft, which he says has aluminum stringers. He said he was thinking maybe we could put aluminum stringers in instead of wood? Is that possible?
What is the transom? Does the transom need to be replaced? What other specific parts may need to be replaced to restore this boat?
The home made tower is actually more sturdy than my dad's 2003 sea ray 220's, and the weld job is solid.
In my previous post some users said to run away from this boat, because it has custom jerry rigged aluminum ballast tanks, both in the front and the back of the boat. I plan on redoing the ballast system and using sacks if the aluminum ballast tanks are not recommended, although I never got an explanation why.

Any and all information is greatly appreciated, and thanks again to those that have replied in the past! I look fwd to this project and will post photos throughout the process. (This is a 5-7 month project) I am fully confident that my uncle can do a great job on this boat, and anything I can't find on here he will be able to find out through the local marina, but I would love to have some knowledge going into this from here. Thanks guys!

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460 motor in a beast? That will be the first one I've heard with that motor in it. I thought they only came with 454's as the big block. Pics of the engine?

To answer your questions:

1) Yes you have to take the cap off to do stringers. It's not difficult to get off, in fact that's the easy part.
2)Take the bottom of the boat off? Once you pull the top cap, all that is left is the lower hull, and the floor and stringers. The lower hull can sit on a trailer the whole time you pull the floor and old stringers out.
3)Transom will be fiberglass just like the rest of the boat. As long as there are no stress cracks near the exhaust outlets you should be good to go. If there are, just a simple patch job.


Looks to be a nice hull. With some work she could be a great boat.

There are many threads on stringers use the search box in the upper right corner. If you are going to do a complete stringer restoration you will need to remove the cap. I don't know what you mean by bottom of the boat? There are many ways to do the stringers I have never seen aluminum used are you sure he is not talking about a aluminum cage to support the engine? After you see how the factory did it and it still lasted 20 plus years Im sure anything you do will be better.

1. What i meant by removing the bottom of the boat; Some pictures on this forum when people are redoing their stringers, the hull of the boat is actually off too as well as the cap. Maybe they were just fixing the hull as well? Not sure.
2. I'm not sure if he meant an aluminum cage, he just said he thought his mastercraft stringers were aluminum and said maybe we could do aluminum stringers on the restore???(since he owns a wood working company I assume he will end up just doing it like it was originally)
3. It is not the stock engine. Here is a picture of the engine. As i said before this engine runs great and starts right up. I'm guessing this engine is worth a quarter of what I even paid for this boat? This engine is FREAKING HUGE! http://s4.postimg.org/hefxg2n3h/image.jpg
4. So besides the stringers, floor boards, and checking the transom is anything else ever rotten of in need of restoration?? You are sure right about the hull, it is in excellent shape especially for the age of the boat.
5. How about when redoing the ballast system? Why are aluminum tanks so unfavorable? The guy always put anti freeze in the tanks in the winter just in case any water was left in there. Should i switch to sacks? I can't wait to see how these tanks are even jerry rigged in there, as they are under the floor in the back of the boat, and under the front of the closed bow. (Impressively the pump system works well for them, and they can be controlled by custom switches on the dash like a newer supra or malibu, the drains are in the rear of the boat and they drain just like your bildge pump would do)

Thanks for all the responses!

I'm pretty sure mastercraft just uses glass stringers just like 92 and above supras. They have been using a metal frame to hold the engine in place. Make the stringers out of wood and glass them in. You'll never have a problem again. The transom is the back of the boat. The problem with metal ballast tanks is they leak. Get sacks and be done with it

So now I'm in a huge debacle with my buddy on whether or not this boat needs stringers. Only ONE of the motor mount screws is stripped. The rest tightened up just fine. He also used a moisture meter, and claims that the wood was not moist, and that it looks as if the stringers were done within the last few years because the floor boards are also in good shape and seem to have no rot or damage. I don't think anyone put any resin down on the new floor boards though.

1.What kind of resin or stain should we use to create the fiberglass look/protection over the wood floors? I've seen videos of people using like resin or something that they use a roller on over the boards. Any ideas or is this even necessary? As far as the aluminum tanks go, if we test them and there are no leaks at all whats the problem with using them?

2. How do you fix a fiberglass hole in the boat? We accidentally backed the boat into something some patio furniture.:rolleyes: The hole is the size of a quarter on the back of the boat. I wanna patch it the correct way. Please include where and what to buy.

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I thought Mastercraft used composit stringers with an aluminum engine cradle lag bolted into the stringers?

Update! Turns out the stringers have been replaced. Replaced the bolts on the motor mounts and they tighten right down. The motor is solid and is not going anywhere. The floor seems has been coated and is also new with no moisture or soft spots. The stringers seem to be solid as well and the rotten wood I thought I was pulling out was foam according to two neighbors! Had the boat out last night and it ran GREAT with the 460. I can't believe it. I now have all the money to reupholster the entire boat as well as a great sound system. Another note. ALL the custom alluminum ballast tanks fill and drain and it seems to be a professional with no leaks and custom ports on the front of the boat to drain.

So we started ripping the carpet out and wanted to check how the aluminum ballast tanks. I can't decide if this is ghetto or actually well done. Let me tell you that there are ZERO leaks, all pumps drain and fill, and it looks as if someone spent some time on this, BUT the ballast are actually the wood cubbys! Someone used epoxy and fiberglass it looks like to fill and seal the wood. No wood is rotten and it seems to actually be okay. My question is what is the downfall of this? It's honestly completely sealed and holds water without a single leak. Check it out.

You sir, have an awesome boat! I'm a Ford guy so it pains me that my Saltare has a 454. If it ever dies (it'll be a while, was rebuilt not long before I got it) I plan to do a 460, as the 385 series is capable of ridiculous power quite cheaply. Interestingly the owners manuals mention 460 engines, but I've never heard of a Supra (or any inboard ski boat) with one so I'm guessing someone swapped it in.