Winter Modifications (what are your plans)

[trayson]

man, i wish the LSV had that layout at the front where the sun deck comes into the boat.

That's the whole reason I couldn't bring myself to getting an LSV. I am in love with the playpen bow with the front wrap-around seating and the flip-up backrests!

I would rather have more seating and storage than a walkthrough open bow.

[rdlangston13]

That's the whole reason I couldn't bring myself to getting an LSV. I am in love with the playpen bow with the front wrap-around seating and the flip-up backrests!

I would rather have more seating and storage than a walkthrough open bow.

Seems like the majority of the public feels this way which is why i can't seem to figure out why SC stopped doing this in all of their new models.

[trayson]

Seems like the majority of the public feels this way which is why i can't seem to figure out why SC stopped doing this in all of their new models.

I actually read an article from Fowler where he pioneered the idea of the playpen bow with Supra because he wanted more storage/seating. No one had ever done that before him!

George Fowler has been part of the boat business since he and Rob Shirley built the first MasterCraft in a garage. He is also the founder of Ski Supreme, Supra, Moomba, Aztec and now, Backwoods Boats. It's been an interesting ride . . .

L10: What's next on your agenda?

GF: I left and I took my $25,000 and started Supra in February of '80. At that time, when I started Supra, we were going to make a real recreational inboard ski boat. A cross between maybe a Sea Ray and a Ski Supreme or a MasterCraft.

L10: Now where was this at? In Tennessee still?

GF: In Tennessee. Right outside of Maryville, a little town called Greenback. MasterCraft was in Maryville. One of the little communities outside of it was Louisville, that's where Ski Supreme was. And then a little to the south of where MasterCraft was Greenback. I rented an old farmer's co-op warehouse where they stored fertilizer. I started Supra there.

L10: Now you had no partners at that time?

GF: No. I didn't have any partners. In '80 we were in another recession, big time. I liked that because if you try to get in a business when everything's running hard, it's like trying to get on a merry-go-round at full speed. It's hard to grab it and jump fast enough. So I felt that the best time would be to start in a real down economic situation so when the economy got better we could grow with the economy. So we started. We built a wide, high sided, fat looking boat. And it was a closed bow. We made three models of that boat by just changing the windshield style.

L10: What was the first model?

GF: It was Supra. One was called the Sport. One was called the Star. And the other one was called the Beast. In the Beast we put a big 454 in there. The side windows was what we changed on the windshield to make them look different. And of course the graphic name on it. We kind of broke new ground with this fat model. We even advertised it as just a family run-about and ski boat. After the lawsuit with Rob Shirley and MasterCraft I couldn't afford to retain an attorney for somebody coming after me again. So I went off in the southern area where CorrectCraft and MasterCraft and these other guys wouldn't even think at all. I wanted to get established before I did anything to invade their territory. So we started with this fat thing. They all laughed at it. But the people that still have them love them. The old ones.

L10: They're almost reminiscent of the boat that's now known as the Supra Launch, aren't they?

GF: Yeah, they sure are. They were all closed bows. So in '83 we cut the front of the boat out and made a bow rider.

L10: Now that was the first example -

GF: We called it the Supra Rider. And it was the first open bow inboard family ski boat at the time.

L10: The first inboard open bow?

GF: Yes. A friend of mine had a Sea Ray open bow. I sat and watched him and his family for two weekends using their bow ridge. And I thought, "Well, this makes good sense. We can waterski with the rope on the tow line.

Everybody's got to get up in the front, out of the rear seat, so we'll just open the bow up. It'll work and we'll make this open bow and families can still have a ski boat, and high sides will make everyone with kids feel safer. We were all comfortable with that so we went that way.

L10: What was the market response?

GF: Oh, it was real good. The biggest thing that I did different was that I didn't really make it a true walk through like you would see in a Sea Ray or in a lot of the boats today. I made a padded "playpen" area up in the front so that I could use the room that the walkthrough takes up for storage. I built in a cooler and made storage underneath the bow area. My goal was - is still - to make a smoother riding direct drive inboard ski boat with lots of room to put all your towels, pocketbooks and stuff

I love it enough that I narrowed my wishlist for a v-drive to an Axis A22, a Supra 21v, a Supra 24SSV, and a Moomba XLV.

[valleywine]

Will likely work on the following:

1) hydroturf floor & swim step (already have material)
2) remove carpet from rear lockers and paint w/ liner
3) plumbed in fake a lake (completed)
4) new wheels & tires (already replaced tires)
5) front ski locker issue (ordered access plate)
6) 3 bank charger (also need new 3rd battery)
7) 750 's in the rear
replace rear lid shocks with better ones which allow the lid to stay open (may have to use a different size and/or change location). Anybody have some insight on this?

[spyder]

Will likely work on the following:
7) replace rear lid shocks with better ones which allow the lid to stay open (may have to use a different size and/or change location). Anybody have some insight on this?

This is relevant to my interests. Update the thread if you find out anything.

[bergermaister]

Replaced mine earlier this summer. Still only the 24lb push ones, but I moved the brackets on the cushion bottoms about an inch closer so the doors open just a little further, even beyond straight up and down, and hold just fine now.

The next jump up from 24lb push (at least on mine) were 48lb push and I didn't want to risk breaking/straining anything trying to get them to fold down closed. Or be bouncing along and have them decide to pop open on their own from the added pressure like ejector seats...

[trayson]

Or be bouncing along and have them decide to pop open on their own from the added pressure like ejector seats...

I would pay good money to see that!!!

Like your wife says, you've got plenty of kids...

[beat taco]

Berg! Make it a full built in cooler with flip up lid cushion and built in drain. Then come make me one.

[valleywine]

Replaced mine earlier this summer. Still only the 24lb push ones, but I moved the brackets on the cushion bottoms about an inch closer so the doors open just a little further, even beyond straight up and down, and hold just fine now.

The next jump up from 24lb push (at least on mine) were 48lb push and I didn't want to risk breaking/straining anything trying to get them to fold down closed. Or be bouncing along and have them decide to pop open on their own from the added pressure like ejector seats...

Berg.......did you use the same size as stock?

[jstenger]

I plan on adding the following.

FLOW
4 - XM9's
XM30.2
Javelin
ZLD MKII
10" Sub w/ Enclosure

I have already started mocking up a custom ZLD install.