2015 HydroStream Power Tour - Season 7

[Frank Molé]

happy new year guys,great group out there.......................

[FlowMaxx]

Thanks guys

Best way to remove old rotten transom wood without having to remove the splashwell? Much to my surprise, yes, it takes all the wood out and cleans the glass in the process. Blade was pretty dull and that was a good thing.

[FlowMaxx]

My biggest complaints about the original rigging of this boat is the location of the hole in the splashwell where all the wiring comes through as seen above. Water was constantly coming through that opening. Despite numerous attempts to seal it, you never really could and thus, the boat never really dried out after use.

One of my first discussions with Brian was that that hole has to go. We discussed decking over the splashwell, but I ended up deciding to keep it.

[Speed Jr.]

Awesome! Happy 2015 HSPT!

[A-train-97]

Interesting and innovative! That is what I like the most about the hard core Hydrostreamer's & the boats themselves. Not the run of the mill type. Nice work guys. Knowing the history of you boat I'm glad to see its getting the attention that was needed. I know that with you guys restoring this it will be better than new. Cheers to the new Year!!

Best way to remove old rotten transom wood without having to remove the splashwell? Much to my surprise, yes, it takes all the wood out and cleans the glass in the process. Blade was pretty dull and that was a good thing.

[Schramer]

Happy Happy New Year to all. Hope everyone had a great Christmas. We are going to kick off this season with a story. This is a story that has many chapters. Many have transitioned over to Facebook because of the ease of posting and uploading pictures. However, one thing that Facebook is lacking on big time is the ability to look back quickly on old posts. Over the years, we have made many new friends that have just stumbled upon our thread on an internet search for HydroStreams. Through discussions on these threads, guys have given and received much good information about how to fix up and restore some of the most classic muscleboats to ever hit the water.

This year is a special year for me. Many of my good friends learned how to drive a v-bottom on one very special boat. These include my brother, Chad, Scotty, Lenny, Myself and several others that do not visit this site regularly. In fact, if my father had not bought this boat brand new and bought some other brand, I and several others may never have got into performance boating. It is likely that the power tour would have never come about and most importantly, I would have never met many of the best friends that I have ever had.

One of those best friends is a man named Brian Carhart. I met Brian on the very first "official" Power Tour in 2009. From there, a friendship developed and I learned that Brian is one of the nicest and best human beings on the planet. He is motivated, unselfish and very hard working. He has developed his fiberglass skills and has had his hands in over 30 HydroStreams and countless other performance boats.

For most, my 1978 Vandal is nothing special, but to me it is quite the contrary. With all of the history behind it for the last 36 years involving family, friends and the fact that my late father bought this boat brand new with my brothers and I watching dad trailer this boat home out the back window of his '70's Impala, it has been a big part of my life. The time has come and the boat is long overdue for an overhaul. I would trust no one else to handle this project other than Brian at Carhart Glass. The boat was dropped off at Carhart Glass several weeks ago and de-rigging was completed.

On the agenda is new core, floor, transom and finish. Amongst other things, I hope to share with all of you my project. I realize that there have been many HydroStream restoration threads and this one may be no different. Perhaps this one will encourage someone else to dig in and take on a project that they otherwise wouldn't have. These boats are timeless and while they did make a lot of them, they aren't making most of them anymore. The majority of the molds are long gone and much like an old muscle car, the only way for most to have one is to restore an old one.

With that said, please enjoy and share any experiences of your own:

WOW....I miss DICK!!!!!!!!!!!! That boat has been a part of my life for 20 yrs!!! I hope that, besides the usual upgrades, you try to bring it back as close to original as possible.....including the original color scheme!!!! That boat is the benchmark of fun and the memories it has facilitated throughout the years puts it @ #1 on my list....above all 4 of my past and present HSP's!!!!!!!!!!!

[dumbnfun2]

Thanks for inspiring me over the years ... I hav told the story before of how I got into these boats so won't bore anyone with it again but there is a certain kinda person who gets the Hydrostream bug .... Hav recently talked to a few of y'all on Facebook like jeff and jana and brian carhart on the phone and got to know y'all a lil more and great bunch of folks thanks again for all the help and inspiration got my vking project and in next few weeks will b getting started so y'all make sure u make this build thread detailed as possible so I don't hav to bother mr Carhart on the phone too much

and could somebody post a thread with details about making a jig to put the boat in think I remember one last year just couldn't find it ....

Glad y'all are comin to the Suwannee again see y'all soon !!!!

[FlowMaxx]

Larry - Timing is good on the jig. I believe that is the next step for Brian. Maybe Dave F. can post up some pics of the jig he built for his V-king. It was a really nice one.

[dumbnfun2]

Thanks just been a while since I seen it so want to make sure I brace the front the right way .

[Sonik]

Larry,

Joe / Proprider built one for his Viper resto a few years ago. I'm pretty sure this is the one you are referring to. It obviously wouldn't fit a Vking due to the strake and pad differences but do a search here.....it might give you some ideas. Jos is a good guy and would be more than willing to chat with you about what he did. I'm sure he'll swing through here at some point. Look forward to your progress!

[dumbnfun2]

I just was wondering best way to support the bow of the boat .... How necessary is a jig ? I Think Brian was telling me I could do the back half of the boat and then the front with the top hull still on and it would stay in shape ... I think I might actually go that way with it .... Who all has used a jig and who havent ?

[JPEROG]

Thanks guys

Best way to remove old rotten transom wood without having to remove the splashwell? Much to my surprise, yes, it takes all the wood out and cleans the glass in the process. Blade was pretty dull and that was a good thing.

Scott Porta and his fiberglass shop have done a ton of transoms using long bar saws. He has a transom mix that they pour in between the skins after everything is broken loose and shop vac'd and is tough as nails once it kicks off. Randy (Wildman) just did one the same way with Scotts help-makes life a lot easier.

Joe

[WIPolaris]

Here are two quick pictures of my Jig. Nothing too complex. Found a long pallet to use as the base to build off of. After I got the boat settled on it I used the spray foam and put a layer between the jig and the pad (with wax paper barrier. I thought that would help to fill any voids and keep the pad as close as possible to original. I think it turned out good, definitely not as complicated as many guys jigs, but I think it worked. Boat runs straight now.

Let me know during the whole build Mark if you need any pics. I don't get on here much anymore, but you know how to find me.

Thanks

[hydrostreamvking4m]

After a trip to home depot I have all that's needed to build are jig..Here are afew pics of the hull last week..You can see how I took the hull down Half way and will build it in 2 steps..

[hydrostreamvking4m]

Afew more as the week ended..










Save these Pic's Mr.Flowmaxx!