Crossing of two Streams (1974 Hydrostream Vector restore)

[zstyle]

A lot of back ground (Just keep scrolling for pictures).

I grew up boating on the Saginaw River and many lakes throughout Michigan. My dad owned a 1986 Bayliner Cobra 18' ski boat with a 125 Force. It was a great boat and I loved riding in the bow growing up, along with kneeboarding and tubing behind it; however his buddy owned a 1970s Hydrostream Viper with a 115 Tower of Power in copper that was the most wicked ride that I ever experienced as a child. My years were still in the single digits when I remember my first solo ride along with him in the boat. He told me to grab under the seat and hold on tight; when he hit it the only thing I remember was seeing sky then we were soon off like a ballistic missile. I was hooked at the mere age of 8 or so. A few years after high school I asked him three straight years to sell it to me but he always would come up with an excuse to try to get me to lose interest. Things like, "I think the compression is down in one of the cylinders again." or "The seats are rotted and need to be replaced." The one year I didn't ask him he sold it. This fell in the years from the age of 19 to 26 and every summer I was on and off for the search of my own Hydrostream. I fell in love with Vector because I hated the nose of the Viper and just always liked how the Vector looked over all the other models, but Japanese sports cars and then bikes kept me busy for several years.

Finally in April of 2012 when I was at the ripe old age of 26 the garage manager at the car and boat stereo shop that I managed said that a Hydrostream Vector popped up on Craigslist in my home city of Saginaw, MI. He knew my love for them after talking boats many times. In my mind I already knew it was sold without there even being a picture attached to the ad. It actually was about 30 miles north at a small marina in Gladwin.



After researching the boats for 7 years I knew this thing needed to be fully restored, but the old Merc that I loved ran and the trailer was decent. For $1,800 I towed the sucker home with the thought that I would putts it around for the rest of the year and restore it that winter.



My roommate had to tow it home for me because the parts for my towing package for my Nissan Pathfinder didn't arrive in time, but we both agreed this looked like one fast package.



When you first get a boat you tow it around town for no reason at all to show it off.



One of the first things I did was take it to my work to install a stereo because that was the only real thing that it was lacking. My service manager was also kind enough to go through the motor harness and replace a bunch of bare wires.


Then the bad happened the first day I took it out. It was just going to be a nice little Saginaw River trip with my dad and sister reliving the times of our childhood with him. Everything was going good until I really opened her up and trimmed her up on pad. I was not aware that the prop was way too low of a pitch for the boat and when the tach bottomed out at 6k it was really spinning close to 7k with the 15 pitch prop on her. When I backed off the throttle after a little run she started knocking and soon shut off.

Pulling the plugs I found that #3 cylinder was blown. Now I needed another motor or a rebuild. I soon learned another lesson of boat ownership, motor are cheaper when they are attached to boats.

[zstyle]

I walk into work one day a couple months later and my store manager tells me there is a Hydrostream on craigslist for sale. Of course this sounds like a repeat of a couple months ago, but I search to find it and call the number. It is a Vking with a rebuilt "200" on a 150 lower carbed Merc. I presume it to be a 2.4 based on the Black Max cowl in the picture and what I was told. The guy says he is looking for $2,200 and the boat is whomped out, but he felt the motor held the value of the price he was asking. I said I wanted to check it out and he was going to get back to me when we could figure out a date to meet up. Two weeks go bye without hearing from the guy when I get a call out of the blue. He explained that the buddy that was storing the boat was getting evicted and he offered it to me for the reduced price of $1,800 if I could come get it the next day. I replied saying that I didn't have a day off for a few days and we planned to meet up then.

I made the couple hour drive to meet up with him. I arrived at his buddy's before he did and looked over the boat, it was rough. He arrives, goes to fetch the keys and finds out his buddy has lost them. I bought a compression gauge with me and we figure out we can jump the start to at least get the compression numbers, they all read the same. He apologizes to me for driving all that way without being able to take the boat. I say I have cash and cut his asking price in half shooting him $900; he came back with $1,100. I towed the sucker home.

[zstyle]

Life happened that year and kept me from the project. On my right knee I had my ACL reconstructed taking me off my feet and from work for a few months. Soon after returning to work I ended up taking a job as a boat salesman for Cabela's in Louisville, KY. I left my boats in different friends' yards and after basically a year I finally moved them down.

As I was calling around for quotes on resin and 1708 I was put in touch by my service manager with a gentleman that redoes boats for a living. Talked with Chris at Performance Fiberglass in Louisville and he put me in touch with his vendor. I placed an order and was able to have it dropped off at Chris' shop to avoid haz mat shipping fees. I got 12 yards of 1708 from Express Composites and had that shipped right to my house.

Chris asked me what I was redoing, once he found out it was a Hydrostream he explained how he always liked them and wanted to redo one himself. I told him I had one for sale, being the Vking. He explained that he was in the process of moving into a new home that was occupying any extra funds he had available at the moment. I told him I wasn't opposed to horse trading. Couple weeks later when my 15 gallons of polyester resin was dropped off at his shop. I hauled the Vking down so he could see it a few day after that. We struck the deal that he would help me lay new wood and glass into my Vector at his shop for the trade of the Vking, under the condition that I had to do all the messy work prepping the haul.



After learning a little more I believe that my 2.4 200 is actually a 2.0 150 do to the 2 piece heads, I doubt it is a 2.4 with 2.0 head. Rookie mistake, but I think I still got it for a fair price and has a 24p Chopper.

[zstyle]

Time to show some progress.






Deleting the splash well and doing a padded deck with a bench like QuarterHorse but going to do it a little larger.

[zstyle]

I also got the transom wood out finally. The boat had a big aluminum plate bolted to the back of the transom that hid a shoty patch job. They cut a big section of the transom out, used wood dowels to hold a new piece of plywood, and then didn't even glass it back up. You can see the section that fell out in the next pic.

[zstyle]

I have been really contemplating my rigging even though I am a far ways off, I guess just trying to make sure everything comes together for the time frame I want. Has anyone ever made a cork gasket for in between jack plate and transom to help seal it? I am talking about the same gasket material used on valve covers and oil pans. Is this a stupid thought or would it effectively keep water from entering into where the transom bolts go through the transom? The guys at my shop just goop the bolts up and area with silicone and I am just not confident in that.

Another thought was to have sleeves cut/ machined for the transom bolts to go through and glass those into the transom.

[rjdubiel]

People have used metal pipe nipples and things but seems like a lot of work compared to a 3m sealant that is practically permanent

[rossi]

Don't use silicon for water tight areas such as jack plate mounting. It's life is a lot less than people think. The best way to go would be 3M 5200 ! Also, consider pricing out your rigging materials and expenses as depending on quality items such as gauges and good SS hardware prices can get up there quite high. Especially if your working with a budget in mind, knowing all your expenses will be a big help.

[pyro]

No mention of core replacement?

[zstyle]

I am going to reuse any gauges I can from either boat. I need to get a tach that reads higher than 6k and a water temp gaug. Otherwise all the other gauges I think are there. I bought a bunch of SS hardware from work when it was on clearance but it was random stuff, I am already finding a lot of screws I want to replace. Thanks for the tip. I will look into the 3M 5200.

Core is already cut out until you get under the bow. Not too much was left. I work until dark after work so my pictures are always a work session short. It has been raining the last couple days. Hope it holds off today for my day off so I can get under the bow to tear some stuff out.

Is it weird that there was no core in the pad area just two really short stringers?

[rjdubiel]

There is gotta be core there. May need to drill a little hole to see it. My thoughts

[roadkill636]

Take a look at where your drain plug tube is located. I bet its 1/2"above the very bottom of the hull.

[JrCRXHF]

Good luck man. Last time i did this to a boat it took me 2 years to finish and i ended up taken the deck of the boat to deal with the bad bulk head up front.

[zstyle]

Well it has been two years. Jusy hope it isn't two more, Doug.

[rjdubiel]

Well it has been two years. Jusy hope it isn't two more, Doug.

Haha. Hell my vking has been down since 2008! Labor of love... Kinda