87 Sunsport Skier...Project Feedback Wanted

[johnnymat]

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.
20160805_120424_resized.jpg20160820_200515_resized.jpg20160805_120309_resized.jpg20160805_120347_resized.jpg20160805_115339_resized.jpg