81 Sport Restoration

[h2o-ski]

Hello All,

I picked up an '81 Sport this past March. My son and I are just now in the process of rebuilding this rare old boat. 30 years of rot has left fiberglass shells of what once was the stringers. We already pulled the cap and started demo. Removing the mountain of foam in the bow so far has been the biggest pain.

A couple of questions
1. what was the thickness of the plywood used in the transom? Due to the rot I get varying measurements of 1/2" to 3/4"
2. The ski pylon over time has rust welded itself together. I guessing I would need to cut it out and then replace. Has anyone found an aftermarket ski plyon replacement?

Thanks

[Mischief IV]

Welcome to the club and forum. An ‘81? That is rare...congrats!
Would you mind sending me a private message with your HIN? I would love to take a look at it.

The floor will be 1/2”. If you go 3/4”, top cap may not fit properly upon re-installation. Use marine plywood covering it with CPES epoxy.

The earlier models used aluminum ski pylons with steel frame underneath floor held in by two or three bolts. I would imagine with a little heat, you could separate the two, but I don’t know, maybe your ‘81 is different than my ‘83. Mine came apart with ease.
Occasionally you’ll see pylons pop up for sale on here as more and more boats get parted out.

I’m actually taking my ‘83 Rider to the shop tomorrow to have composite stringers put in. I had a stringer job done 11 years ago and that lasted just 5 years before they rotted again because they were done improperly. (Thanks Donny Bennett!) So, take the time and do them right. Lot of good threads and people on here to help along the way and if done right, will last another lifetime.
I’m just tired of wood so chose different route.

Also, if you use Tapatalk app or a 3rd party host site like Imgur, pics will be much larger and easier to view on here which makes for a better thread.
Look forward to seeing your progress. Good luck!

[michael hunter]

I have a compleat pylon and mounting base out of a 85 comp . I think it was the same as yours.

[h2o-ski]

I guess in 81 they were still figuring out the methods of construction as the flooring in mine is 3/4.

My plan is to use polyester resin due to cost. I did find HDPE structural lumber, but that would require even more expensive epoxy. I have not thrown out laminating 3/4" Coosa as a single 4x8 sheet should make one of the main stringers. So I would be looking at 3 4x8x3/4 sheets (stringers) and 1 4x8x1/2 (transom).

Michael, I may hit you up if I can't get the original pylon out per Mischief's suggestion.

[Mischief IV]

I guess in 81 they were still figuring out the methods of construction as the flooring in mine is 3/4.

My plan is to use polyester resin due to cost. I did find HDPE structural lumber, but that would require even more expensive epoxy. I have not thrown out laminating 3/4" Coosa as a single 4x8 sheet should make one of the main stringers. So I would be looking at 3 4x8x3/4 sheets (stringers) and 1 4x8x1/2 (transom).

Yes, with your boat being built in September of 1981, probably still figuring out the molds at that point. Keep in mind, George Fowler, the founder of Supra, built Mastercrafts first and then started Ski Supreme(?) before venturing into Supra so he wasn't a stranger to fiberglass. However, I can imagine this boat being built in a small garage in TN with help from his friends and family as he worked to get the new business underway.

I would use 3/4" by all means. Mine had 1/2" which was just strong enough but you don't have wide spans where people step so it wasn't a big issue. Not sure what Coosa size the shop is using on mine. Prefer 3/4" if not 5/8" at least.
First thing shop noticed today when I dropped off mine was, "Where does it drain into the bilge from the outside areas? He was unimpressed with the work Donny Bennett did. The floor wasn't even level. Several things he said were just poorly done and agreed I was taken advantage of. More on that later with a thread I will do showing full restoration.

Couple of questions for you:
1. What motor does this have in it?
2a. Where are you located if you don't mind me asking?
2b. If different from your town, where did this boat spend it's life before?
3. Do you have any history of the boat from the previous owner such as paperwork, manufacturer statement of origin, registrations?
4. Trailer is age appropriate, are you up to date on your tetanus shots?

It does have the window rails similar to mine which is a bit surprising.

I went ahead and downloaded your pic to my computer so I could see larger. Also, here are a couple pics from today I took showing my 1983 Supra Rider and forum member RLove30188's 1982 Supra Star side by side at the same shop. Fun fact, both our boats were sold by the same dealer in Marietta, GA and built one year apart. His was built in July of 1982 and mine July of 1983. Also, both had new striping put on in 2002 at same time. Hope to duplicate this side by side photo on lake in the near future. Would be really cool if we could line these three up for a reunion celebrating Supra's 40th anniversary next year.

[h2o-ski]

Couple of questions for you:
1. What motor does this have in it?
2a. Where are you located if you don't mind me asking?
2b. If different from your town, where did this boat spend it's life before?
3. Do you have any history of the boat from the previous owner such as paperwork, manufacturer statement of origin, registrations?
4. Trailer is age appropriate, are you up to date on your tetanus shots?

1. It came with a SBC 350. The original motor spun a bearing and a different rebuilt 350 was put is it's place.
2. I'm in the Texas hill country. Although if I remember the story right it was purchased used by my uncle in the early 90's from the 1st owner in TN. My uncle used it in lakes around Texas. He then moved to Atlanta area before putting in a barn after the steering bracket pulled out of the port stringer in the mid 90's
3. Much of the paperwork had been lost. I'll be trying to see if I can get a replacement title when it was registered 30 years ago in Texas.
4. Not sure why but when my uncle repainted the trailer he painted it rust brown. There is still remenants of the factory pin stripping.

My hope is to get my Sport looking as good as yours. I hopefully uploaded a better photo that what was on my computer.

[h2o-ski]

Being work from home had it's advantages, I get to work on it during lunch breaks. I have pulled out 8 trash bags so far and probably have another 4 left. The foam was almost up to the rub rail.

My plan is to extend the floor into the closed bow for additional storage since there really was not much storage to begin with. As I have pulled foam out the bow had gotten a little flimsy so I'm thinking of glassing in some 1"x2" boards diagonally towards the front for additional strength.

Once the foam is out, I'm going to measure the locations of all the key components to make reassembly easier.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[92Supra]

Another moisture / rot question ? I read about all these Supra owners who have replaced the floor and stringers resulting in quite a drop in hull weight, back to their original weight and they mention of how much water and weight the foam floatation had soaked up over the years.
My question is, even though I have a 92 comp ts6m with the composite floor and stringers, isn't the floatation material the same, and wouldn't a 92 be just as likely to have added weight due to wet floatation. I get that at least the stringers wouldn't need replaced making the repair much easier, but what are some thought on this? Maybe the construction process was different?
Being as I bought this used, and I have no manuals for the boat itself, does anyone have the dry weight of a 92 comp Ts6m, 351, ? I just winterized, then drained the block and hoses, took the fuel tank out and changed the rudder packing so the tank was empty when I reinstalled, so I'm going to weigh it soon. This would be as close to a "new dry weight" as I will get ( ya I will weigh the trailer empty later).
Any thoughts or info would be greatly appreciated.

[michael hunter]

92 Supra Comp TS6M had a dry weight of 2460 lbs.

[92Supra]

I just crossed the scales today and I was 3180 lbs so I feel pretty good about that. I have an original single axle trailer and it will be spring before I get the boat off the trailer to weigh it alone.
I was not able to drop wheel and crank the tongue off the truck which would add a little more weight to the scale reading, due to the weigh cop pulling in to the scales.