First Inboard 1986 Supra Sunsport Skier starting the rebuild process

[zroe]

Hello to all!

I am newer to the forum but love the information and comradery here. I grew up with boats but spent most of my time skiing behind a fishing boat. We even went as far as to make our own ski pylon out of SS tubing. Of course once I moved 12hrs away from home dad finally bought a ski boat... I then started my boat ownership with a 1979 Viking Deck boat for $500 which actually could pull me skiing with the 85hp Evinrude it came with but before long I had dropped a 115 Mariner on it that really made that 800lb tri-hull move!

A friend of mine was boat shopping after getting the bug while out skiing with me :^) and he stumbled on this Supra for $1,995. I couldn't resist and brought it home. Little did I know what I was getting into. Had I read the forums before going to look at it I would have know it would need stringers but it did run and drive smooth. The first red flag should have been the exposed wet foam around the exhaust log and the soft spots in the floor. Having done floors in Aluminum fishing boats before I wasn't too worried but I didn't understand the mechanism of water intrusion in these boats, I had never had an inboard before, not even an I/O. Well I have had it out a few times and LOVE the real inboard concept. I can't believe that they ever made I/O boats when inboards are this good!

Now the real work starts as I noticed a bolt was loose on the ski platform and I wanted to pull the gas tank anyway to fix the fuel gauge sender. I couldn't help myself and starting pulling the floor and the wet foam. So far the stringers are wet but not rotten and my motor mounts are still solid. I have checked what I have exposed and there is minimal to no de-laminating so my plan is to get as much as I can out and put in a temp floor so that I can get a feel for what the boat would be like after a rebuild (without the 300lbs+ of ballast) before I jump in to a full rebuild. Feel free to post responses to my temporary floor concept below. I know it isn't the right way of doing things but the budget doesn't allow a full rebuild right now and if I can't use it I might as well sell it until I can afford to either buy a boat that is done/composite or find a deal on a boat that needs some love....
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