1978 Supersport 18

[24Robm]

Good morning!!! New to the forum and looking forward to learning what y'all have to offer. We were just given my father-in-law's 1978 supersport 18. It was last in the water in 2009 and has been kept in a climate controlled basement/garage since. It has a 1980 mercury 800. He also has new captain's chairs, new carpet, new trolling motor and new radio (with auto reverse cassette player ) all new and in the box waiting to be installed. We won't have the boat in hand until the 11th as it's in Tennessee and we're in Mississippi. Plus we have to dig it out of the garage lol. I've had a few boats in my lifetime but never an aluminum. Other than taking my time lubing the internals on the engine and cleaning the carbs (injectors?) And checking the rivets is there anything else I should be looking at? I've NEVER gotten a boat from a climate controlled environment lol. Also... while I'm concerning myself with will it run and float, my wife is concerned with the color. Is there a site where I can get new hull stripe decals? So far searching has turned up nothing. More pictures will come when I have the boat in hand

 

[Michigan Lakes]

Welcome! I'd strongly recommend changing the impeller, new gear case oil, flushing old fuel out of the system, and a basic visual inspection of the hull (i.e. no missing/damaged rivets etc). Aside from that, I'd say it's really up to you how far you'd like to go before taking it out on the water.
Maybe avoid the Gulf for the first few trips

 

[24Robm]

Thank you for the quick reply. Definatly changing the gear oil, flushing the gas lines, and doing a thorough inspection. I didn't even think of the impeller!!! As far as the gulf I could've taken it out on the road last night lol. We're going to keep it in a few local lakes for a little bit and plan on using it mostly in the Pascagoula River. There might be a few inland waterways for the fireworks and the air show at Keesler AFB. My last boat (over thirty years ago) was a 72 fleetcraft fiberglass tri-hull which was also 18'. I've got to get used to the aluminum "v" lol.

 

[SHSU]

Man climate controlled, you won the lottery there.

Most of us almost had to hack foliage away to get ours out let alone being ready for the water!!

SHSU

 

[24Robm]

Haha!!! It's not often my bread lands buttered side up but when it does..... it's nice getting something that's "basically" ready for the water but I won't have that satisfaction of "look what I did" that I've been seeing on the rebuild posts here. I restored that fleetcraft and vowed never to touch glass again lol. Besides.. I've already got a bunch of mods that I've seen on here that need doing

 

[classiccat]

Welcome! Congrats on what appears to be a turn-key boat...with the desirable "swoosh" stripe!

Did your FIL do a restoration on it? If not, be sure to have a working bilge pump since she may take on some water; often times these old tinnies have a few leaky rivets, corrosion and/or fatigue cracks that get addressed after being gutted.

 

[24Robm]

Thank you!!! As far as I know the boat has never been restored. My FIL got the boat in 1981 in trade for a motorcycle. The motor was gone so he added the 80 mercury 800. The only thing that raises questions in my mind is that he said when he got it the seats (the ones in the pic) are van seats on boxes. He isn't sure why they did that but bought the pedestal seats and never got them in. I haven't been able to find a pic of an original interior so I don't know if those seats are standard. I plan on removing the floor so I can put some back up plates on the new seats and put in the new carpet so I plan on going over the whole thing with a fine tooth comb. Bilge pump is a must no matter what lol

 

[24Robm]

Here's a picture from the trade....

 

[SHSU]

The only thing that raises questions in my mind is that he said when he got it the seats (the ones in the pic) are van seats on boxes. He isn't sure why they did that but bought the pedestal seats and never got them in. I haven't been able to find a pic of an original interior so I don't know if those seats are standard.

Man, that is some out of the "boat" thinking (couldn't resist Dad joke). lol

That being said, that isn't a bad idea, you probably can get a used van seat cheap and it would be sturdier then low end seating.

SHSU

 

[24Robm]

Plans are set to pick up the boat in Tennessee next Thursday. We're going to take a couple days to dig her out and go over the trailer to make sure it's road worthy before heading back to Mississippi. I'll post up to date pictures sometime next weekend!!!

 

[SHSU]

Make sure to check your bearings and that the grease is still good. Also tire life, while they may look good anything over 5 years would be something to consider replacing.

SHSU

 

[24Robm]

Thanks for the heads up. I've already got new tires and will use some of the time up there to check/ replace and repack the bearings

 

[24Robm]

We're in Tennessee!!! Boat's dug out, bearings are packed, and trailer lights are working. All the extra goodies are loaded and we'll have her home tomorrow!!!!

 

[24Robm]

Well we got her home!!! No major issues. Tomorrow I'm going to start cleaning it out and going through the many boxes of parts and extras. I'll fog the motor and let it sit. After that I'll get a game plan together. I think once i figure out the homemade wiring harness and get the motor up and running I'll put it in the water and see if we're taking on any water. If it looks OK I'm going to run her as is for the end of the season. After that I'll start the teardown. I already have a growing list including seats, complete rewire, carpet (the deck is solid), mounting the new trolling motor and bracket, and a repaint. I'll add pictures and I'm sure a few questions tomorrow.

 

[24Robm]

Started going through stuff and it's going to take awhile to figure out what's what. I've got two wiring harnesses, three trolling motors, two brackets (plus the homemade one mounted on the bow), various lights, trim pieces, and extra bits (tape player, horn, switch blocks, etc) and three coolers packed with other assorted pieces. The transom was replaced with marine grade plywood right before she got put up and looks solid except for some varnish peeling. I started today with organizing some of the stuff, fogging the motor, and getting the batteries charging. All before the lightning started lol. I guess I'm in it now!!! Here's some better pics.

 

[24Robm]

Evidently I messed up somewhere and I'll try to delete the pictures in my last post... sorry... never ask the infantry to do something with technology lol...

 

[classiccat]

Evidently I messed up somewhere and I'll try to delete the pictures in my last post... sorry... never ask the infantry to do something with technology lol...

I'm sure if you were posed with the same dangers when posting attachments as you would when rappelling into a hot LZ, the pics would've loaded on the 1st attempt

 

[24Robm]

*note to self... have neighbor provide live fire when I'm posting on iboats lol

 

[SHSU]

What is your plan of attack? Are you going to do a couple lake runs to get a feel of what is needed or just going to rip into it?

SHSU

 

[24Robm]

I know it needs a new wiring harness. FIL added the switch block to the dash but nothing is hooked up to it. Everything electrical (except the bilge pump) has to plugged in to use. Included with it was new pedestal seating and new carpet, new trolling motor and bracket (which I'll have to rig up a way to mount it due to the angle of the bow deck), and a bunch of other stuff. I think once I make sure everything is safe as is we're going to run it as is for the rest of the season (one of the few good things about Mississippi is a really short winter lol). Then I'll get it in the barn and start pulling the interior out. I'll pull the decking up and check the structure then. That'll give me time to talk with the four star (wife.. no admirals here lol) and let her pick what she wants done as far as color and throw pillows. I'D like a newer motor. We're also going to take it off the trailer and redo the paint and overhaul the trailer. Unless it takes in half the lake when we put her in I think that's the plan.