Hydrostream folks

[Jeff Day]

Boy am I glad I asked questions.Without the advice given on this thread and others,I most likely wouy have ended up with an expensive learning curve.As far as driving one,my fastest boat was near 54-55 in my old Baja.I enjoy quick as much as fast.There is a very solid Wreidt locally,455 olds/jet.. but without substantial work, the olds just does not like to be revved over 5 grand. Iran Mondello prepped Oldsmobiles for years, I paid dearly for that learning curve. As I stated before, I think I'm going to be better off spending money on a finished rig.And definitely a thank you for the valuable input from all. I keep my toys long-term, I want a good boat to start with.

[Jeff Day]

Captain insane... I only run High test simply because I do not know how to read a 2-stroke plug. Obviously signs of detonation will show, but tuning off of a 2-stroke plug looks like it could be a challenge. The only two stroke on this property was my weed eater.

[Jeff Day]

And as far as the hydrostreams go, dang they all look good. Another thing that worries me is that Vector that I am looking at has already had the floor replaced. It was a friend of a friend lead on that boat. I hope to be receiving some pictures tonight.

[LakeFever]

Use a ball peen hammer and test the transom and the core. Use your eyes to inspect for obvious damage or shoddy repair work. Look for cracks around the transom and splashwell. That recipe goes for any glass boat

Theres a super mint V-King for sale on this board in the for sale section

[VooDooChild 1267]

Use a ball peen hammer and test the transom and the core. Use your eyes to inspect for obvious damage or shoddy repair work. Look for cracks around the transom and splashwell. That recipe goes for any glass boat

Theres a super mint V-King for sale on this board in the for sale section

As long as it's not the YT,i am scooping that up in October......Shhhhhhhhhhh ; )

[Capt.Insane-o]

The beauty of stock fishing engines....and spending money on important things, like propellers.

[Jeff Day]

After absorbing this thread, it appears the "safe" way to purchase one is to buy one with a documented rebuild, or buy one and send it to someone that knows what they're doing. If I purchase a boat with a documented rebuild, I know what I am getting and if happy with the finished results ,bring it home. But if I buy a rotted wreck, I have to rely on someone to produce results that I am happy with (OMG, I've got a truck going to the paint shop now.. thank goodness it's flat military green). If I purchase a complete rig, I will steer towards a stock engine, and since most folks are going to expend a lot of time rebuilding one will also probably have the learning curve sorted out on the rigging and motor. Time to free up another garage stall. That's going to force me to change this Powerstroke motor out and get that debris out of my garage.ugh..

[LakeFever]

Sensible plan imo

[David - WI]

They aren't all rotten... especially up north where a lot of them are either inside 8 months or 12 months out of the year.
A dry 20' Vegas, Venus, or HST should run in the high 60's or low 70's with 150hp; if you don't load them down with a bunch of extra crap. (Probably not the Vegas "Skier" with the heavy deck and front fuel tank.)

Examples: https://www.screamandfly.com/showthr...150hp-how-fast

[LakeFever]

No they are not all rotten I found one thats solid. Solid enough to run for now but thats not to say re-coring and a new transom are not in the works because safety is the issue and no matter what moisture readings or whatever you get until you tear it all up you really dont know and any wooden anything that has been exposed even briefly to water after 30 years? Is going to show some signs of degradation. Plus as many mention the QC was all over the place from new and that you can easily see now with age. Trust the hammer test, its a good one and look for damage by eye. That will get you most of the way to a good one. Then plan on a core at minimum, and far as Im concerned a transom with knees is worth doing as well. Then you can power it to the moon and have a very sellable hull when times comes. Document the process and date for proof. Good to go

[Rigaud]

Good to hear that someone else has joined the hydrostream cult following....once you make the choice on model, it won't be long before your lookin for a bad ass merc to replace the omc....good luck and post up some pics when you make the purchase

No, I'd replace for a GT200