84 Supra Rider Question

[chardway]

I am brand new to this forum as of today and brand new to inboards, although I have owned several I/O's. I looked at an 84 Supra Rider open bow ski boat today that is for sale in Akron, Ohio. It was on eBay but didn't sell. It is for sale by a major car dealer in Akron who used to sell new ski boats also and this boat was taken in on a trade. (Listing #380130857650 if you want to take a look at picsand description). It has ~875 hours on the 351 PCM engine. The floors are very solid (no soft spots) and the boat is in very good shape for its age. The seller is firm on a price of $5000 which seemed reasonable to me, and I left him a deposit today. But after reading numerous threads on this forum I am concerned about "hidden" damage to stringers and water logged foam. The question I have is "is there any way to tell the condition of the foam and stringers without cutting out a section of floor?" I am especially concerned about possible water leakage into the boat through the Supertrapp exhaust. (I do recall seeing water come out of the exhaust when we pulled the boat out of the water. Is that normal? What's the chances that a 25 year old boat doesn't have foam or stringer damage? If the foam is wet, what happens if i don't do anything to it.

We test drove the boat today in the water... it ran good and everything seemed to check out all right. The only defects that I saw are small stress cracks around the lower swim platform screws plus a gash the owner put in the hull when he put it back on the trailer today (and "missed"). He is going to have the gelcoat professionally repaired. Also, a little water appeared to come into the bilge area while in the water, probably through the propeller shaft packing??

Any guidance would be appreciated. Is the price decent? I just don't want to turn around and have spend a bunch of money on it.

THANKS!

[87SunSportMikeyD]

The motor uses water to cool itself, so when it is running water is suppossed to come out the exhaust. If you are worried about the exhaust leaking, it is only one bolt to remove the SupraTraps, takes 2 mins.

As long as the motor mount bolts are solid and you visually examine the 4-5 feet of stringers that are visable, that is a common thing to check.

Ask him straight up if it has ever been left outside and how it was stored in summer and winter. The condition of the vinyl is a good indicator. I will check out the listing asap. good luck

[csuggs]

Good advice from Mikey. I paid a little more than 5K for mine last summer and it has stringer damage and soft spots in the floor but is still good for a couple years without any major work. Mine has less hours. But if the boat runs out good and feels solid, and if the motor mounts look good like Mikey said, then I think 5K is definately reasonable and I probably wouldn't be afraid of it. At least your going into this being informed so that if you know what you've got, you can deal with it. I was unaware of these problems when I bought mine!

[chardway]

Thanks for the info.

Csuggs - I lived in Belpre, OH (just across river from Parkersburg) from 1998-2003 so boated on the Ohio River when we lived there.

Got a question about the Supertrapps... can I make the boat louder by removing some of the plates? Any harm? Also, is there an easy way to check if water is leaking into the boat through the Supertrapps? I don't have the boat yet so I haven't looked closely to see how they are installed.

Thanks!

[rludtke]

Hi Chardway,

I paid $5000 for my 87 comp several years ago. It was a little rough around the edges, but had less than 50 hours on an overhauled engine. In my area, at the time (not so much now though), most tow boats were starting around $10K and going up from there. I actually ran an add in craigslist seeking any tournement skiers for $5000 or less. I recieved a number of responses, but all the boats had some kind of issue or another. So I picked the boat that seemed to be in the best mechanical condition, even if it was nearly the worst of the bunch to look at.

The boat has proven to be pretty good mechanically, only a few old boat issues. Most of the issues that I had to deal with were the result of "following" others. The stringers seem to be holding up, and check good (knock on wood).

The exhaust pipes are buried in the foam, and run from the riser connection back to and through the transom were they are sealed to the transon with ukumpucky. The likleyhood of the exhaust tubes leaking mid length is very low in my estimate. I do think water can get into the boat were the exhaust penetreates the transom, and I have read here that the the seal (ukumpucky) needs to be replaced occasionally. I just redid mine.

The Supertrapp will get louder and increase flow when you add plates, not removing them. In theory, adding or removing plates tunes the engines powerband up or down, and changes the way the engine behaves. I used to do this with the four stroke motocross bikes I used to ride, but I haven't done this with my boat. Generally speaking, the less back pressure the better.

I think $5000 is the bottom of the market, but I also think that good boats can be found for this kind of money. It is important to know what you are getting into, as others have adviced. Also, pay attention to the trailer. When I purchased my boat, I was thinking boat, and never even considered the trailer. I lost three of four sets of wheel bearings on the trip home. I ended up replacing both axles, and equiping it with disk brakes, a new actuator, new bunks, new wiring, new brake lines etc etc. I had far more trailer problems than I have had boat problems. I probably dropped another $1500 into the trailer.

If this is the first boat you have looked at, my advice is to seek out some others to compare it to. Get to know the market and what is availible at or near that price. If you can't find any others, try running a Craigslist ad.

Good luck!

[knoble]

take a 9/16" sock with extensions and a 9/16" wrench. Take out a couple of the lag bolts that hold the motor mounts and that will tell you the condition of the stringers. They usually go bad around the engine. Look a the bolts if they are rooted aeay and have rotten wood on them that is a bad sign! Look at the fiberglass on the stringers. If it is fairly straight and not caved in then you are good. I think $5000.00 is a little pricey for that age of boat. i wouldn't pay more than $4000.00! I only paid $1200.00 for mine but i got a deal and knew the marina owner personally. It also need a lot of work!!

[ngavchris]

I owned a 83' Rider for 12 years. Sold it to my brother and bought 97' Sunsport. You wont have to do anything to make it louder. There is no muffler at all on that setup and it will be plenty loud. They really sound great. I always made my wife make a long pass down the lake to see how long I could hear that engine purr.

[chautauquasun]

Not sure if I am too late here. That boat has been for sale for well over a year. I have been watching the price come down each time I look at it. He started out asking $11,000 for it last year....if you can believe that. Not sure what he was thinking. I bought my 1984 Supra Rider...it is the identical boat...altough the interior in the one you are looking at is better than mine.

I paid $2,100 for mine. Mine does have stringer rot and I would assume that one does too. Most pressing issue for that boat and mine is the stringers around the engine. On mine the stringers are going bad but was able to find some good wood on the bottom bolt holes which also moved the top bolts over and found some decent wood there too.

You should ask if you can take one or two of the engine mount bolts out and then check the threads....if you find wet dark pulp the stingers are rotting and you will need to replace them. On mine I knew it when I bought it but figured for 2100 I could afford to put some money into it.

[chardway]

Thanks for the advice! I have put down a deposit but haven't paid in full or signed any papers. I will see if I can pull a couple of engine mount bolts out before I fully commit.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Obviously bad stringer affects the value so if they are bad you could still get the boat, but much cheaper assuming you were okay with seeking repairs of about $2500 which hopefully would be discounted from the selling price.