Hydrostream Viper

[sowenssw]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm getting ready to start a Hydrostream Viper project. Core, transom total rebuild. Thought I would get on here for helpful advice. I've done several complete boat rebuilds over the years, all of them were top cap removed, built from the hull up. But no matter how many a person does, someone has usually figured out a better way, and I like to draw on that knowledge any time i can, that can be priceless. I also joined the Hydrostream Forums, figured that was a good place for info.

I'm building a 1976 Hydrostream, with a Mercury 175, 15" mid, sportmaster lower.

Anyone running a Viper, worked on one or building one????

[Dave S]

Well come to the Site........

[sowenssw]

Thank you!

[rock]

Welcome. You have come to the right place. Sounds like a great project. What year is the motor? You can search and see any number of rebuilds on both Streams and motors some of which are pretty detailed.

Rock

[sowenssw]

Thank you, I will check them out, the engine is a 1990.

[LakeFever]

One of the main challenges is bonding and secondary bonding. I read every decent build thread i could find before embarking on my build. I almost went for epoxy because of my concerns over bonding but it has other drawbacks. In the end i chose vinylester. After wrapping up the build and using poly on some aspects i am left almost confused why anyone who restores a fiberglass hull ever uses polyester. It doesnt bond nearly as well to old glass, poly isnt fully waterproof yet vinylester is. The secondary bonding window with VE is many days vs a couple hours with poly. Poly is far more brittle than ve. Theres more but i think ive made my point here. Hopefully it helps

the main downside to ve is a shorter shelf life and higher cost. Considering the labor involved with a build like this the 20% or so higher price tag for the vinyl is well worth it imo. Ve also accepts gel where epoxy doesnt.

[sowenssw]

Great information! I will most certainly take this into consideration. Exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you!

[LakeFever]

Your a wise man asking questions heck im still asking any i can too it is a huge help to have a sounding board of experienced members to add ideas and solutions. S&F is a great base for this. Another thing i learned as i went is the more wet on wet lays you can do the better for three reasons. Firstly its the fastest way to layup. Second you use less resin. Third it makes the best possible bond. Another tip that helped me save resin is you need 0.65ml of resin per square inch of 1708

[VkingMike]

I had never done any fiberglass work before my re-core. I'm no expert now, but the information I received on this forum was definitely a huge help. Browse through some of the build up threads, the photos and responses are very helpful.

Post some pics as well!

[BrononC]

Im in the process of rebuilding a vector now, lots of great info on here and and hydrostreamforums.com. Lets see some pictures of the viper!

[FUJIMO]

...what lakefever said about vinylester resin is true. only resin to use. always use the correct amount of catalyst, never short it(for any resin for that matter) the cure will not be complete, ever, without it. people that short m.e.k. to supposedly get longer working time, are just fooling themselves & are building an inferior end product. vinylester, when dry(cured) will always be ever so slightly tacky to the touch. do not be alarmed. this is normal. and one of the reasons its secondary bonding characteristics are great...

[LakeFever]

Great point about catalyst ratio its crucial to get this right and not all resins share the same cure times and ratios so be sure to get the TDS for the resin your going to use. For instance I used Derakane and in the TDS it lists 1.5% as the correct catalyst ratio at 75 degrees+ and 2% for 65 degrees. I tried 2% the first batch and it smoked it cured so fast. Like Im talking 30 seconds to a minute cure fast but it was hot out. Anyways get the TDS follow the guide. Heres the derakane TDS for reference and its an incredible resin if you can find any

https://www.freemansupply.com/datasheets/derakane.pdf

[tnelsmn]

Welcome to the site! Post up some pictures of your project.

[rgsauger]

Welcome aboard! I scoured this site before I rebuilt my Shadow mod V basser. Turned out awesome! Lots of knowledge here