1980 HydroStream Vamp resto-mod

Wooohoo!!! my special foam safe resin is in. Just have to drive up to the shop and get it. Weather is also being nice this weekend, so looks like I should have no problems getting the stringer glassed in this weekend.
Should have the floor put in by sunday, then I can get back to cleaning up the rest of the hull. I have rub rails to pull off, the rear cleats need to come off, and I need to pull the motor off so I can start digging into the transom.
The cleats and rails are a pain in the ass, the cleats were installed before the top and bottom half of the boat was bonded, then the area was filled with foam. So I need to dig out a bunch of foam to get to the nuts.
The rub rails are riveted to bottom half of the hull from the top, then the top half is glued down. So you cant get to the top of the rivets, you can only get to the bottoms. But the rail is 1 long piece of aluminum too. Plan is to tape the rail on every 3-4 feet, then start grinding off rivets. Once they are all off I can just pull the tape and it should fall right down.

 

Stringer is getting bed in right now! I was trying to figure out the best way to get it in there, I was going to put it down then run fiberglass up the sides, but I need to keep weight on it to keep it flush with the hull. In the end I decided to bed it like I did the core. Heavy chop mat, lots of resin, and some weight. Once the bedding is cured, I can remove the weight and put a strip of glass over the top, then strips on either side. I have a roll of 10 inch 1808 fiberglass (chop mat attached to heavy weave). Once its sealed I can switch over to the cheaper resin and build up another layer of glass.

I also have put down some filler on the big hole in the front stairs, I need to block it smooth, but I want to pick up a electric block sander to do so. Hand blocking that little area is a pain in the ass.

 

So the stringer is a foam material?
Hardware store foam or something special for a boat?

I'm guessing the actual strength is in the mat/resin and the foam is just there for a form to build the fiberglass structural box?

 

Its just pink insulation foam, but oddly enough its the same XPS foam used in newer boats. But yeah, the foam is not structural, its just a form so I can make the stringer from glass.
The boat came with a hollow stringer box, so I am replicating that.

 

OK, the stringer is glassed most of the way. I put one layer of 1808 down the center and it wrapped about 3 inches down each side, then I put a layer of 1808 on each side going from the core all the way up the sides of the stringer. Then I put overlapping layers of chop mat over the top going down each side. Last part I need to do is put strips of chop along the sides going halfway up.

 

Do you put all the layers down at the same time (wet) or do they have to have a cure time in between?

 

So due to the low temperature right now, I ended up laying them up one after another. This allowed the heat from the layers below to warm the layers above making a faster stronger bond.

 

I'm hoping you go for the 140hp engine. Why not.

 

Im actually shopping for motors right now. Im driving to Georgia for Christmas, so I have been checking facebook market along the route. Found a couple of good candidates for motors to buy, but no great deals.

 

Yeap sounds good! I read the whole thread, looking forward to the spring, and the exterior finish on the boat.

 

Im excited for when I get to the exterior too. Going with all black gelcoat, then I am going to do black glitter flake with orange glitter flake billboards (the silver parts on the top sides of the boat now)
So 5 layers of black, then 2 layers of clear with the glitter flake in it, followed by 2 more layers of just clear.

Interior is going to be black and orange vinyl, will probably end up getting a bimini top for it so we dont roast on the black seats.

 

Those are nice samples, nice color combinations and will be flashy and fun.

Bimini top will be appreciated amongst the passengers, shade is always welcomed on a hot day on the lake.

 

That orange is bad-@$$

Say what you want about the 70's & 80's but they sure weren't shy about a sense of style.

 

I would think you might find a deal on a motor somewhere in Florida. Lots of boats here! Good luck in the search.

 

I put a bimini on my 8 foot mini boat, as long as its not windy I love it to keep the sun off me.

I wanted to stick with the 70s - 80s style on this boat, but give it more modern electronics. The stock gelcoat on this boat is glitter brown, then it had white vinyl back to back seats. Im switching to captains chairs and a rear bench, hydrostream switched to benches mid 1980, so I got the old 1970s style.

My parents are down in FL, so my dad keeps an eye out for good deals. Im looking mainly for 1980-1990 2 stroke motors in the 115-175hp range. I bet next hurricane that comes through I can find a few deals on swamped motors.

 

No work done on the boat today, Im at a large project point so I need more than a 1 hour block of time. Im going to be putting the floor in soon, but to do so I need to run through about 2 gallons of resin all in about 20 minutes but not mixed all at once as the heat would cause it to cure too fast.
I have to glass part of the front bulkhead, then I need to lay 2 layers of chop mat into the "shelf" the floor sits on, then I need to mix some thickened resin (cabosil and resin) to make a paste for the stringer, then I need to lay some glass in a patch of the floor that sits under the stairs (because I cant glass that part when the floor is installed). All of these things are time consuming, once all are done I need to set the floor in and put lots of weight down on it to get a good bond. I will need to keep the temperature in the garage lower for these things, the thickness of the resin will cause a faster cure time due to more heat generated. Once I have everything set then I can crank the heat back up to get a good cure, going to run 2 propane heaters, a 1500watt electric, and my 5k diesel heater all at the same time to flash up to the temps I need for it to cure.
The patch of glass on the floor needs to be done and cured before I start installing the floor, but the other 3 things need to all be done at the same time and in the correct order.

Once I have the floor secured down I can glass the top of the floor and the top half of the core. I have a bunch of 1808 (18oz weave with 8oz chop mat), a single layer of 1808 will be plenty, but 1808 is very very thirsty fabric, I will probably go through another 4 gallons of resin just to do that part.

So, moving along very well. I am on schedule still, transom is the next thing to tackle after the floor is in, then the rest is just sanding the hull and building the interior until spring time rolls around and I can get back onto the motor and do the gelcoat on the hull. Trailer is a whole extra issue thats not really in the schedule, but I should be able to knock that out in a weekend at the boat launch while the boat is floating around.

Budget update:
$750 for the boat
$1700 in fiberglass so far
$200 core material
$200 marine plywood
$100 spare motor
$200 motor repair parts

Future budget:
$2000 Gelcoat
$400 glitter
$1000 motor work
$1000 trailer
$1000 steering and wiring
$400 fuel tank
$300 gauges
$100 bear spray to keep all the cougars in the neighborhood off me.

 

Sounds like you need a helper to put the floor in, you will have a lot of things happening very fast.

"$100 bear spray to keep all the cougars in the neighborhood off me."

 

A helper would be the perfect thing, just someone to mix up the resin while I am putting it down. Unfortunately the only person I trust not to fuck it up is my dad, and he lives in Florida.

 

Understand, unfortunately...

I had that problem at work a lot too.