1977 Ventura build

Been lurking on this forum for a few years now and finally became a member. I grew up on a lake here in southern Wisconsin.Back in the 1980’s I spent many summers going around and around that lake with my beater boat sunup to sundown along with a few other kids on the lake and there beater boats. It must’ve been the summer of 1988, I was 14yrs old when it happened...... it was a busy weekend on the lake, boats everywhere, we were out bombing around like we always did and out of the boat launch comes this boat... a hydrostream. I was 14yrs old and was no stranger to cool looking boats coming on and of the lake but this was not your ordinary 1980’s cool looking speed boat, this thing was bad a$$ and from that day forward I’ve always wanted one. Fast forward to 2017, I’m laying in bed one night checking out craigslist, scrolling thru the boat section and come across a 1987 hydrostream Valero for sale 20 miles from my house, I called the guy and met up with him the next day and bought the boat immediately, the boat is immaculate everything is original with less than 100hrs on the whole package, I take it out about 4 times a summer otherwise it sits under a cover nicely protected in my garage. After visiting this forum the last few years my interest started shifting to finding another boat and restoring it just how I want it, I started searching and found a Ventura 2, gave the guy $300 for the boat and trailer and brought it home last weekend. I didn’t wast any time, I ripped out all the old rigging, Transom and core. The core was so rotten that if I would’ve just flipped the boat over I think the core stringers and seats would’ve just fell to the ground. Today I got just about the whole hull ground down, I’ve got about a half day of grinding then I’ll be ready to start giving it a new lease on life. I think I’m leaning towards using coosa board for the core, knees, stringers and transom. I also cut out the splashwell, I think it looks way better without one. The boat is a 1977 by the way. I’ve been a rough and finish carpenter for 27 years but never worked with fiberglass so I hope you guys that have can help me with any?’s I have along the way. My plan is to make my maiden voyage with this rocket a year from today. My thoughts are to use coosa for the core,stringers, knees and transom and also a piece to fill in the splashwell, then use marine plywood for the floor, what do you guys think? Sound like a good plan? Sorry for making this such along post, from here on I’ll try and get right to the point. I’m taking pictures of this whole build but I’m an idiot when it comes to figuring out how to post them. I’ll bet my 13yr old son can figure it out before I can.

Welcome to the forum! Get that kid of yours onto posting up some pictures of the project. ;)

There's lots of knowledgable people around here that are willing to help. Read a few rebuild threads to get an idea of what you're after. I'm no expert, I'm about finished with my first restoration. But I don't think you want Coosa board as a core material. If you're looking for a composite core Divinycell seems to be the ticket. Coosa would be perfect as stringers, transom, etc. Looking forward to following along with your project!

Thanks, yeah I’ll check out the divinycell. I’m definitely no gonna use balsa, being a carpenter Wood is the last thing I want to put in this boat. I spent about 4hrs today grinding, I’m now ready to figure out every thing i need and get it ordered. The core I tore out of the boat covered almost the entire hull, it stopped about 3” Short of the sides and tapered in as it went up into the bow, I’m wondering if I really need to run the new core that far? Most of the core they sell is 2’ wide, I was thinking to go 2’ from the edge of the pad which will put it right at the last strake and then run it right up into the bow and terminate it just like it was. I was also going to put a gusset at each side of the deck down to the hull like I’ve seen guys do on other builds on here. I’ll work on the pictures, I’m a picture guy for sure and never been much of a reader so bear with me, they will come.

One other thing I forgot to ask, there’s foam flotation in the two back corners of the hull, it wasn’t wet at all, is there any reason to get rid of it? I was just gonna leave it be and cover it back up.

JMR 1974,

I had a 1976 Ventura II. I tried 3 different engines and setup on it. There is a a lot of info and experience on available on this. If I remember correctly mine only had foam under the bow deck and seat box

Some of the guys on this site from WI who have owned or currently have Ventura's, will probably chime in. Glass work is a dusty, itchy job. The stuff gets everywhere. Use the right gear, protect your lungs and skin.

Let us know if we can help.

Scott

Scott, out of the 3 motors And setups you had which did you like the best? I’m planning on Something in the 175-200hp range, I might just put the 175 Mariner that’s on my Valero now onto the Ventura, it already has a coned lower and low water pickup plus it has low hours. As far as the jack plate goes I’m kinda undecided on manual vs hydro, I have a hydraulic jack plate on my Valero, it’s nice but there’s really only 2 sweet spots with it, one for fast runs and one for pulling the kid on a tube or waterski, some guys mention not much setback is needed on the Ventura and that a bobs convertible manual jack works real good. If I can get away with a manual jack that I can adjust fairly easy by hand I might go that route. I want to keep the boat fairly simple, minimal needed gauges etc.

Anyone have any suggestions on who I should order my core materials from? Jamestown distributors has a lot of offerings, anyone use them? I open to all suggestions. I’m probably going to use core cell for the core and Coosa for transom, stringers and knees. Thanks.

Great story! I can relate to the memories of seeing streams sparking dreams of eventual ownership. These are special boats and I look forward to seeing your build progress. Welcome to scream and fly

Boat had full factory interior

1. 15" Merc 2.5 mild mod 225 promax with a sporty. Not for the timid. Lots of Boat weight setup and Specific rigging. 100+ easy. Never took it as fast as it could go. Dangerous for the inexperienced. Lots of bow lift. Fun!

2. 20" Merc stock 2.4 200 Carb Bobs case. Low to mid eighties

3. 20" OMC Modded 140 Cross flow. 70 ish

Scott, option #2 on your last post is exactly what I’m shooting for.

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Here’s some pics shortly after I got it home, you can see I had started getting the transom out. I need to snap some more pics, I am a lot further along now, core and transom are gone and everything is ground down ready for new stuff, I just need to get it ordered. I would say it took me about 16hrs to get to this point.

Just snapped more pics of how far along I am, I still need to do some work cleaning up the pad. Somebody cut the transom down for whatever reason�� that will be fixed back to normal when I do the transom.Attachment 466598Attachment 466599Attachment 466600Attachment 466601Attachment 466602

I actually think I might keep the seats that were in the boat, their a fiberglass shell bucket style, I’ll have them painted and reupholstered, also you can see in the pics how far the old core went to the sides, do I need to go that far or can I go from the edge of the pad 2’ wide the run it all the way up under the bow till it terminates, seems the pad material comes in 2’x4’ pieces. Anybody have an idea of how much fiberglass cloth I’ll need? I’m going to put a new layer of cloth on the hull then sandwich the core with another layer on top, then I need enough for the transom and splashwell delete.

That is a rare hull you have there, that is a comp racing hull, and those are the original Hydrostream seats, so worth saving....

Setup correctly that speed will be easy. Ask around about setup and weight placement. You are in for a rush! You will feel like your flying. Be carefull

Express Composites is based in Minneapolis. Very knowledgeable people there. Carries many core varieties. This is where I've bought all my supplies, easy for me as its a 20min drive. 15 yards of 1708 and 5gal of resin would be a good starting point. Probably want 5 yards or more of 1.5oz CSM also.

Thanks Tnelsmn, I ended up ordering A bunch of stuff from Jamestown distributors about 2hrs ago. 35yrds of 1708, 7 gallons of resin some cell core and coosa board, I didn’t get any csm... where exactly is the csm used? I see guys mention it all the time in their builds but for what and where?

Yep, that’s a comp hull. I had a 1976 ventura II comp hull. I ran about 80 with a 150 in-line short shaft and upgraded to a 2 L 175 and moved up to about 87. Both with stock lower units. Boat was set up for ski racing. I glassed a plywood floor between the seat box and the bow compartment to make it more comfortable to drive.

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Originally Posted by Jmr1974

Thanks Tnelsmn, I ended up ordering A bunch of stuff from Jamestown distributors about 2hrs ago. 35yrds of 1708, 7 gallons of resin some cell core and coosa board, I didn’t get any csm... where exactly is the csm used? I see guys mention it all the time in their builds but for what and where?

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Chop Strand Mat, it conforms a bit easier than 1708 and has better adhesion, but doesn't have the strength characteristics. I used CSM for bonding the transom boards together, transom to hull, core to hull, and for the final layer over everything to cover any seams of 1708. Also for filling repairs and such.

I'm no expert, I don't do this for a living or anything. Only just completed my first rebuild. I've just spend countless hours researching and reading before and during my build.

Also, very cool factory comp hull!

How did you know that this was a competition hull just from pictures?? Nice catch.

Looking at the interior pictures, that is how Hydrostream did their comp hulls from the factory, by leaving the taller stringers exposed like that with no flat floor.. And that is a set of their race seats. These hull were raced in the FS class with great success, FS stands for family ski, in which you raced with 2 people in the boat, and the need for 2 seats..

Found out Friday that my materials finally shipped so I have not been able to do anything on the boat, maybe I’ll be able to get after it next weekend. Fingers crossed! So I’ve had a lot of time thinking about the motor for it. Is there any reason to not consider a 140hp V4? I think it would be kinda cool. I really want this boat to hit 80mph without a struggle, is 80 possible with a 140? I know it shouldn’t be a problem with a 200hp but how many more mph does 60hp get? I love the way mercs look but there’s something I really like about the big blocky look of an OMC especially the older V6 OMC’s. I know the 140 looper weighs around 365lbs, probably not much less than a V6 Merc, not sure the weight of a OMC V6 but would like to find out in case I go that route. I know I can get a 140 crossflow that’s in good shape for cheep but they are crankshaft rated with smaller gear case vs the 140 looper is propshaft rated and I think came with the V6 gear case. The crossflow is much lighter tho. I read some older threads from a member here named Laker that knows these 140’s inside and out, hopefully he sees this and chimes in.

I loved my cross flow v4 and screamed the hell out of that thing. Premix motor and never had a blip of trouble. Hp was rated at 5200rpm but it spun to 6200 effortlessly. They sound great too

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Originally Posted by LakeFever

I loved my cross flow v4 and screamed the hell out of that thing. Premix motor and never had a blip of trouble. Hp was rated at 5200rpm but it spun to 6200 effortlessly. They sound great too

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I’m still interested in the crossflow I found and for the price it might be a fun motor to mess with, it’s looks very clean from the pictures I seen. Might have to physically go take a peak at it on Monday. Decisions decisions....

Well fellas I guess there’s no turning back now, my stuff finally showed up! Attachment 467965Attachment 467966Attachment 467967I should weigh this pallet before I unpack it, that way I can kinda keep tabs on how much weight I’m adding to the boat.

Alright, I got my transom boards cut ( 2 layers of 3/4” Cosa board) and a layer of csm for in between. Also gonna put a layer Of csm over the inside of the transom to thicken up the skin before I put my new transom in. I’ve got a couple of ?’s tho, what side of the csm goes against the existing boat shell, the shiny side or the strandy side, same question goes for the 1708 when I get to that. When I laminate the transom boards together should I drill a bunch of small holes in it first to let the air escape? I’ve seen builds on here where it’s done with holes drilled and without...I’m gonna get some pics later, right now I’m sweating my bag off. Also what works best for applying the resin on? I would assume just get a bunch of cheep throw away paint brushes...

Attachment 468028 All the materials I had on the pallet weighed 250lbs, so whatever the plastic jugs and cardboard weigh could be deducted from that. I’m not gonna get that crazy tho. Anybody got a guess what the bare bones hull weight is?

CSM looks the same on both sides. 1708 will have the shiny side and the "dull" chop strand side. CSM doesn't matter what way it goes. 1708 think of the chop side as having the better adhesion. When I did my transom I put the chop side to the hull, then scuffed the shiny side after it cured with 36g on a DA, then used CSM to to bond the transom boards to the hull.

Yes drill holes to let air and excess resin escape. I did a 1/8" hole about every inch.

I've been using .99 paint brushes for applying resin. You'll want a finned roller for working out air bubbles in CSM.

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Originally Posted by tnelsmn

CSM looks the same on both sides. 1708 will have the shiny side and the "dull" chop strand side. CSM doesn't matter what way it goes. 1708 think of the chop side as having the better adhesion. When I did my transom I put the chop side to the hull, then scuffed the shiny side after it cured with 36g on a DA, then used CSM to to bond the transom boards to the hull.

Yes drill holes to let air and excess resin escape. I did a 1/8" hole about every inch.

I've been using .99 paint brushes for applying resin. You'll want a finned roller for working out air bubbles in CSM.

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I’m gonna drill the holes like you did, just got back from buying a pile of cheep brushes, wish I would’ve thought of the roller while I was there. What’s a finned roller look like anyway? Do you have a pic of it? I’ll have to run and get one in the morning. Thanks.

Attachment 468031Got the transom laminated this morning, hopefully I can get the damn weights off after this sets up... if you look closely you can see the resin oozing out of all the holes.

Looks good! Here are the finned rollers I'm talking about. Can also be found on Amazon and such.
https://www.expresscomposites.com/laminating-rollers

Attachment 468272Attachment 468273 Just got done installing my transom, just needs to cure now. I used a layer of 1708 against the transom skin first then put the laminated coosa boards against it. I was debating to just do the 1708 skin tonight, let it cure, then tomorrow rough it up and then put in the coosa but decided to go for broke and do it all in one shot. Saves me the roughing up step, hope it works....

Made a little progress today, got some 1708 laid up on the hull under the deck and patched some thin spots on the hull. Pulled my clamps from the transom and filled the voids between it and the hull with thickened epoxy. Some roughing up tomorrow then continue laying 1708.Attachment 468457Attachment 468458Attachment 468459Attachment 468460

Got some more 1708 down today. Working my way back to the transom. Next I’ll work on the inside of the transom, over lapping it onto the hull, then my last strip of the 1708 can go in locking it all together. Hoping next weekend is core time! If I had a solid weekend to work on this boat without any interruptions I’d be able to make some serious hay, Kids baseball and all that other good stuff trumps it tho.Attachment 468484Attachment 468485

I need to figure out what I’m going buy for a permanent fuel tank so I can space my knees correctly... looks like I’m gonna have to settle for a 19 gallon in order to fit it under my splashwell. The one I was looking at is 26”x16”x14.25, in will stick out further than I want but I can build a back seat to hide it. The tank I’m describing is a plastic Moeller tank. I think I can get an aluminum tank with the same configuration, what’s better aluminum or plastic? I think aluminum is about $100 more but don’t care about the price if it’s better.

Attachment 468703Attachment 468704Got the transom and the last section of Hull glassed in tonight. How do you guys avoid air pockets. Im using a finned roller and working them out as much as I can before the resin kicks off but can’t seem to get all of them.... Maybe it is what it is since I’m not a professional shop with all the right tools and tricks...

a plastic bondo spreader helps, I have just used my hands as well, but you may need a bubble buster roller. You really need to work this thicker glass. Smaller sections of glass are easier to work with just over lap them and you will end up with 2 layers of it in one application. I still have issues with it as well but I am a novice as well.

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Originally Posted by Jmr1974

I need to figure out what I’m going buy for a permanent fuel tank so I can space my knees correctly... looks like I’m gonna have to settle for a 19 gallon in order to fit it under my splashwell. The one I was looking at is 26”x16”x14.25, in will stick out further than I want but I can build a back seat to hide it. The tank I’m describing is a plastic Moeller tank. I think I can get an aluminum tank with the same configuration, what’s better aluminum or plastic? I think aluminum is about $100 more but don’t care about the price if it’s better.

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I went with the triangle plastic moeller tank, i think this one is 17 or 19 gallons, cant remember now.
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Originally Posted by rjdubiel

I went with the triangle plastic moeller tank, i think this one is 17 or 19 gallons, cant remember now.
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thanks, where did you get the rigging sleeves for the top of your splashwell? I just ordered a RDS 18 gallon aluminum tank, it’s about 13.5”tall so I shouldn’t have to modify the front of my splashwell.