Helpful Tips???

[mapleleaf]

Looks pretty good to me. You'll want to hear from the experts here, but That bilge area looked undisturbed for the most part. There really shouldn't be any water in there, so you'd wanna know where it was coming from pretty quick. Rain, wet swimmers, leaky shaft packing.....
The piece of wood that the wiring harness is passing through looked slightly water damaged and unprotected, wonder why?
With the conversion to Can. currency I'd be tempted to pay 10k, that might put you in around the 8k mark or so... That's a tough one....

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Wow that gash is huge I didn't know it went all the way though the hull! Thought it was just a scratch. I would be wary of that swim platform bracket. It's not a deal breaker unless water has gotten in..

[z51spdr]

Well, the guy said he took it to a fiberglass guy and said he could fix it for around $300 - $400 so I am not so concerned with that cause it will be a fairly simple repair considering some things.

What worries me is just what you said about the water getting in around the swim platform. The guy that has it now has no idea what happened to it since it was like that when he got it. Looks like someone probably caught the edge of a dock with the platform and yanked it loose. From what I could see there didn't appear to be any signs of fiberglass repair so I dont think the platform bracket was pulled through but maybe just loose enough to let it leak some thus the mounds of silicone.

Like I had said previously there was a little water in the bilge. Maybe a cups worth or so scattered throughout the whole area. Not sure if it is coming in through the gash in the bow or if like mapleleaf said it could be the shaft packing (have no idea what that is). One of the pictures I took towards the shaft area looks like it had water on the bottom side of the floor. I am thinking maybe it could have came in around the shaft and spun up onto the floor???

I am really wanting someone to say thats a great deal and there is nothing majorly wrong with it so I can buy it without worry. But I really appreciate all the honest info that everyone has given me cause it is stuff I would have never known to look for.

[mapleleaf]

The backets on the swim platform certainly give way to some concern, my platform quick releases off of the transom, I haven't seen one bolted directly like that. I'd be worried about damage to the transom more than anything.
The shaft packing is the gasket style sleeve that stops water entering around the drive shaft. Salty knows more about this, but when they are old can let a bit of water in, only way to know is out on the water.
I'd be interested in having all the fiberglass fixed at once, I'm no pro when it comes to this. I'll be doing some on the inside of my boat, but for the exterior might be good to ahve a shop do it.....

[87SunSportMikeyD]

I'm really not sure where the platform brackets would leak to. If it is the bilge, great. Fix the issue, get on the lake. If it is into the stringer/foam then you're in trouble.

Here is a pic inside the ski locker with the gas tank pulled maybe it shows something useful? I would call Supra.

Also maybe if you could get under the bench seat or under the ski locker compartment you could see something..

[z51spdr]

Well I called Skiers Choice and they were very helpful and knowledgeable. If any one has any difficult questions I would definitely give them a buzz. Anyhow, I asked them about the swim platform and luckily enough they said all I would have to do to fix it is to take the plastic bin above the gas tank out. From there I should be able to get to the brackets on the backside of the platform. And basically unbolt it, clean up all the silicone and gunk, put a new bead of silicone down, and tighten it back up. Looks if it leaked much it should have leaked into the bilge area as well and not into any of the foam.

Now I just have to get in touch with the guys that did his floor and check on the stringers and get an estimate for the gash in the hull.

[mapleleaf]

Could there not be some fiberglass damage behind that one bracket?????

[z51spdr]

Potentially yes but it just depends on why it was repaired. If it were caught on the edge of a dock and ripped out I would expect there to be signs of fiberglass repair both inside and out but the original supra logo is still on that section of it even though its been removed from the rest of the boat. Not to mention that if someone was capable of fixing that fiberglass without leaving any signs of repair, I doubt they would leave that cruddy of a silicone job behind.

I suspect maybe they just had too much weight on that one side from people standing on it or using it as a diving board or something and it just made the area start to leak some on that one side and rather than putting the effort into fixing it correctly, they just threw some silicone on it. Again, just my theory since the guy that has it now has no idea what happened to it since it was like that when he got it.

[z51spdr]

Also on that small amount of water that leaked in the bilge when we took it out on the water. The pic below is underneath the floor looking towards the rear of the boat around the driveshaft and all. It looks to me like the underside of the floor is wet. Since the boat obviously didn't get flooded while we were out and no one was swimming, is it possible that if the shaft packing is leaking that the water could have been spun up on the floor and get everything wet? I am pretty sure the water is either coming from there or from the gash in the bow but not sure which and I dont know that I will get a chance to take the boat out on the water again since the guy lives a decent drive from the lake and is having transmission problems with his truck.

[mapleleaf]

You should know I'm no expert on this yet, but learning from my own 20 year old Supra quickly!
The more I look at those photo's the more I can't understand why there's unfiberglassed wood beneath the floor in the bilge. I can't say anything about the restoration already done on that boat, but I'd be skeptical. 10k definitely too much. I paid 3k Canadian for a slightly newer, slightly smaller conbrio last august that with a doubt needed an interior and some tlc, compression test was good and away I went.
All told before a tower and some bells and whistles, in the water with a new interior this summer I should be in around $6500- 7k range, oh and that's Canadian. Bigger boats do cost more, but I'd be trying to negotiate or I hate to say it, low ball... see where it gets ya. Keep looking and let him sit on it a while longer......