Need help with older boats

I need to know what i should be looking for when buying an old ski boat. I was told by someone that the stringers were something to look at and make sure they were good. Problem is i don't know what to look for, should i see a rotted out board and that means they're bad or is it complicated. Also what year did they start puting fiberglass in instead of wood. Were looking at 80's-early 90's mastercraft and supra. I just want to somewhat insure that i don't have to make a repair over $1000 to a boat a buy right off the bat.

Usually the first thing that goes is the floors. You can spot that by looking for soft spots in the floor, excessive give or movement. Pop up the engine box and look around. Look around the engine mounts, and the stringers. if you can see any rot, I'd stay away, or atleast have the boat checked by a professional.

Mastercraft was the first to use all glass. Most ski boats went to fiberglass stringers by the mid 90's, but many still used wood in the interior and floors. The one's I'd be real careful with is Malibu skiers, most of them rotted. Older Mastercrafts and Correct Crafts seemed to hold up really well if they were care for. My neighbor had a MC that was older than dirt, and had a bunch of hours. He left it outside, and didn't really take care of it. I helped him pull out his old interior, and it had very little rot.

not calling jeff out by no means, and for granted i'm no boat wizz.. however my 87 Ski Supreme (to my amazement) has glass stringers, so does the floor. Don't know when MC and Supra went to all glass, but I would suspect MC before Supra. I also know my buds 92 ps190 has glass, so does my 94 ps205.. Hope this helps... Like Jeff stated, check for any soft spots,, and if you see rot, RUN... or be prepared to repair and spend some $$$ --good luck..

If the owner will let you and you can't physically see any rot, check the large bolts that mount the engine cradle to the floor (I am not sure what size the bolt is but it is large). I would also do a compression check on any older boat, this can tell you a good bit about the condition of the motor. If the keel has any water in it, you can pull the drain plug and look at the water that comes out and see if any wood that looks rotten comes out in the water (not the best test, but will give you an idea about places you can't see). Best of luck.

On another note, I missed the part about you looking at Supra's. I looked at several when I was shopping for boats, and every one I looked at from the late 80s had soft floor (about 4 total). I am not sure when they went to fiberglass, but I did some homework on one of the supra owners on late 80s Supras and apparently they are notorious for having floor rot (under the rear seat if memory serves).

Here is a pretty good sum of the things you should check. Some are a repeat of above, but its all in one place. Granted it is for CC boats but it pretty much applies to all older boats

http://www.planetnautique.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=PostWrap&file=index&pa ge=http://www.planetnautique.com/CorrectCraftManuals/2001.htm

AFAIK, Mastercraft was the first to go all glass in the mid-late 80s. CC was next in the early 90's (pretty sure mid 93) and I think Supra switched in 95, but don't quote me on that.