1976 Hydrostream Viper

[Kobie]

I just purchased my first real boat. It's a 1976 Viper with a '73 Mercury 115. I'm going to sell the Merc for parts and find a good Johnyrude to put on their. I bought it knowing that it will need some help on the interior and floor, but for $400 I can sell the trailer for that much. Don't mind my teenager chicken legs in the pictures, my dad was taking them.

To replace the floor, and quite possibly the core, am I looking at the bottom of the boat or is there something more that I am missing?

[Sonik]

Welcome to S&F Kobie,

Great choice for your first hotrod...even though you wanna hang a johnnyrude on it:D . You sir, are about to learn everything you didn't want to know about our beloved hydrostreams! You have removed a part of the plywood floor exposing the stringers and pad core. My boat is also a 1976 so the construction should be similar. Your boat has stringers on the bottom as opposed to on top of the core like some newer hulls. The raised areas outside the stringers are core material. Between the stringers there is also core material. The outer part of the hull outside the floor register, as its called (where the plywood sits in the strakes) also has core material that starts under the gunnels and continues inward to overlap the floor ply by an inch or so....if you study it a bit and spend some time reading some viper resto threads ( mine, Rivermans, and Oldskiers to name only a few) you'll see how they are put together.

Your boat is definitely going to need a core to be safe with any kind of power on it. Spend a day reading as I did when I first got mine and you'll be enlightened beyond your wildest dreams. If, after that you still want to spend the blood, sweat, and tears to fix it, then you my friend, will fit right in here just fine with the rest of us crazies. :thumbsup:

Jeff

[RONNIE]

sarg you hit the nail right on the head with that one for sure!!!!

[Kobie]

When I removed the floor in the first few pictures, there was hardly any material between the stringers. Basically those pics were taken just after I cut it open; So did my boat miss the balsa core step or did it just rot so much that it dissapeared? Sorry for asking so many questions, I'm still trying to understand what I am working with. Before I bought the boat, I read your thread Sonik, and parts of the other people you listed, trying to get a feel for what I am getting myself into.

[Sonik]

Oh, and by the way, if you really want to see a Viper in the hands of an experienced pilot (or maybe just crazy...you decide) then you need to check this video out....the brown viper throughout the video belongs/belonged ( sorry Ronnie!:D) to the previous poster.

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[RONNIE]

how do you post one of those sarg???

[Sonik]

When I removed the floor in the first few pictures, there was hardly any material between the stringers. Basically those pics were taken just after I cut it open; So did my boat miss the balsa core step or did it just rot so much that it dissapeared? Sorry for asking so many questions, I'm still trying to understand what I am working with. Before I bought the boat, I read your thread Sonik, and parts of the other people you listed, trying to get a feel for what I am getting myself into.

Typically what happens Kobie with these boats is that when they were built, SOME of these hulls were laid up extraordinarily dry (resin deprived on the inner skin of 'glass), and as a result, moisture gets in between the laminate and deteriorates the core material. The outer and inner skin usually survive but the balsa material turns to mush, which compromises the integrity of the hull.....and contributes to delamination...which is bad

The way the boats are built is that the outer gel/flake is sprayed into a mold and the boat is built on top of it. Thin layer of mat on top of the outer gel/flake, then the balsa core, stringers, inner core, floor etc..then the cap is fitted and bonded to the hull. Think of the laminate as a sandwich of wood and fiberglass all held together by resin and core bond.

[Kobie]

Typically what happens Kobie with these boats is that when they were built, SOME of these hulls were laid up extraordinarily dry (resin deprived on the inner skin of 'glass), and as a result, moisture gets in between the laminate and deteriorates the core material. The outer and inner skin usually survive but the balsa material turns to mush, which compromises the integrity of the hull.....and contributes to delamination...which is bad

The way the boats are built is that the outer gel/flake is sprayed into a mold and the boat is built on top of it. Thin layer of mat on top of the outer gel/flake, then the balsa core, stringers, inner core, floor etc..then the cap is fitted and bonded to the hull. Think of the laminate as a sandwich of wood and fiberglass all held together by resin and core bond.

So for my next step after cutting out the floor and sanding like crazy; Do I put in new balsa between the stringers, put down some marine ply, then fiberglass all over that? Your thread was really helpful except when you shipped off the boat to get someone else to do the rest of the work, then I just get lost on what to do.

[transomstand]

For your first step, make sure the hull is properly supported. When you remove all the rotted laminate, the outer skin is only about 1/8" thick, and is a rigid as overcooked spagetti. It's very easy to punch a hole through the outer skin, or step through it.

You need to carefully remove the inner skin and all the rotted balsa, and yes, it can go away entirely.

[RONNIE]

wow i just saw the pic of the seats hope your going to save them!! they are great stuff!!

[transomstand]

So for my next step after cutting out the floor and sanding like crazy; Do I put in new balsa between the stringers, put down some marine ply, then fiberglass all over that? Your thread was really helpful except when you shipped off the boat to get someone else to do the rest of the work, then I just get lost on what to do.

In the photos you've posted so far, I only see removal of the floor, you have not cut through the inner skin yet to expose the balsa.

Your gonna need a much bigger bucket:D

[Sonik]

My thread isn't nearly as detailed as Rivermans or Oldskiers by any stretch...so spend some time on their stuff and you'll get a better understanding of everything.

The reason I decided to have more experienced hands finish was due to the condition of the gelcoat. I didn't want to take a hull that was as well preserved externally as mine, and use it as my introduction to coring/fiberglass work and risk punching holes in it or getting the layup wrong and have to do it again. So to me, it was worth the expense to know it was going to be done right the first time.

I'm sure i'll find a basket case boat somewhere in the next several years that I'll decide to buy and take on the learning process knowing that i'm going to be painting or doing a regel so I don't have to worry so much about screwing up original flake.

[transomstand]

how do you post one of those sarg???

I ain't sarge, but I do know everything:D. You got a you tube account?

[Sonik]

He's wanting to know how to embed and not just link Pete...i'm copying the details out of that thread about setting changes from not too long ago.

[transomstand]

Like this?

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[RONNIE]

yup like that

[BlingKing]

I just purchased my first real boat. It's a 1976 Viper with a '73 Mercury 115. I'm going to sell the Merc for parts and find a good Johnyrude to put on their. I bought it knowing that it will need some help on the interior and floor, but for $400 I can sell the trailer for that much. Don't mind my teenager chicken legs in the pictures, my dad was taking them.

To replace the floor, and quite possibly the core, am I looking at the bottom of the boat or is there something more that I am missing?

Kobie, congratulations on your purchase. I also just bought a Viper and love it...:thumbsup:

Sonik and Transomstand - Cool videos

[Maple Leaf]

Hey Ronnie , Just follows this and it should work.!

First off to embedd a Video you have to go to your your Miscellaneous Options and swtch it to Standard Editor. Then copy and paste the embedded code and the youtube screen, etc, will show! Try it.

Brandon

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/Fieldzy15/b7b335.jpg

[Kobie]

In the photos you've posted so far, I only see removal of the floor, you have not cut through the inner skin yet to expose the balsa.

Your gonna need a much bigger bucket:D

Ok, thanks. With the weather not helping, all I can do is fill the bucket then throw the cover back on before the rain comes.

[michael999]

:thumbsup:sweet ride.looks like it will be less work then my boat.1973 vector

[transomstand]

Ok, thanks. With the weather not helping, all I can do is fill the bucket then throw the cover back on before the rain comes.

Yep, weather has been like that here this year:(

Use great care cutting that inner skin, you don't want to go too deep and break the outer skin. Looks pretty rough, which will make it easier to get out. Sometimes you can just pull it out with your hands.

[michael999]

sweet ride.looks like it will be less work then my boat.1973 vector:thumbsup:

[Kobie]

Well its been a long time since working on the boat. School and track got in the way, but building a Hydrostream probably wouldn't be the best thing to put on my resume for college. I have put part of the core back and the stringers, so I should be done fiberglassing by June. I'm watching a 140 Evinrude on craiglist currently, if I didnt drop a bunch of money on the fiberglassing supplies the motor would be sitting in my garage now. Otherwise this glassing business isnt that bad, except for the itching.