Project VEGAS XT

[AnthonySS]

My good Buddy Sal Gennuso (www.hydrostreamdream.com) purchased this Vegas XT off of Ebay in the spring. Some of you may recall seing it there.

Here is a picture of the boat when it came back from Philly

[AnthonySS]

Sal knew he was in for at least a new floor and brought the boat to John Spaeth at HydroStream Boats in Brechin, Ontario. After review John deemed that the boat needed a new core, transom (with new splash) and floor.

So John started work on cleaning it up and removing the old saturated core and transom.

Picture of old core being removed

[AnthonySS]

Transom clean-up ready for replacement

[AnthonySS]

In the end John also added the new structural stringer/ski locker component and the repair was flawlessly done by he and his coworker Terry Anderson.

We have said it before …these guys are top notch when it comes to any glass boat repair. Nice work John and Terry!

New Core Picture

[AnthonySS]

With the assistance of Donnie Tucker (son of CE founder Jim Tucker) we got project XT together enuff to go for a first run this past weekend.

Here is the setup:

2.4L Bridgeport Carb
SM gearcase (1.87 to 1)
Detwiler HE800 (8”)
14.5” x 28” Chopper II

Engine ht set to ½ - 1” above pad,

Well we did not have any vitals hooked up like a Speedo and tach…but to say the least this thing rocked and felt spot on.

The BP motor had enough power to, power right thru the “stuck / unstuck” done that an XT is prone too. The hull responded instantly to all trim settings and believe it or not the steering torque was minimal with the RE prop and SM case. I was very surprised

I could tell the boat is working really right and I suspected speed well into the 80’s upon its first outing.

The Detwiler HE800 (8”) is an awesome jack plate, very well constructed and fast. This gets my vote for top honour of jack plates.

Also Trim and jack were activated using the Teleflex Turn signal type. Well I personally thought this things were a “gimmick”. Well I have changed my tune on these. They work really well for performance boat operation

I will give much of the credit due too the structural integrity of this boat making it such a sweet lever arm and probably lighter and stronger then it ever was. Even with its 200#+ owner and passenger sitting 2-up, it reacts great to trim and runs very efficient

I have driven several Vegas XTs over the years and this by far is the best driver of the bunch. Congrats Sal on your new ride, it sweet and Hats off to John, Terry and Donnie for their craftsmanship on this project boat too.

We’ll publish some harder numbers when we get more seat time and GPS/tach and speedo set-up.

[Mark C.]

OUTSTANDING!!

Great job, guys.

[pyro]

Excellent! Great to see it all together.

I also have the teleflex switches for trim and jack. they are great!

How much does John get for a re-core/floor/transom job like that?

[AnthonySS]

...about 2700 in US money.

Considering the boat was had with trailer for 1500 US...

...Sal has less then 5 K into this boat and that is very cost effective compared to new and the boat works like new.

Just needs some cosmetic work now...nice buff job and detailing is in order soon!!

A new Black Windshield and interior are coming too

[mxz]

Anthony,
Sals boat looks great! Glad he is back on the water.
Your right, sure is a lot cheaper to rebuild than buy new, especially when you love your boat! I am thinking of getting the Vector done over the winter as I want to keep my Vector for many years to come. Floor has a couple of soft spots , transom seems solid but does have 6 plugs where I had to fill mounting holes for the handmade plate that came on the boat. From what I have read on the board what are the chances of my core being rot free on a 20+ year old boat. I would think pretty slim!

Brent