1980 HydroStream Vamp resto-mod

Sanding sanding and more sanding. Here is the drivers side of the dash, passenger side is mostly done. Then I have the backrests of the lounge seats, they need to be blocked still. Also the top side and angle on the side rails are done and waiting to be blocked.

I wanted to pull the boat out this weekend, but its 36 degrees out and windy, so I will just hide in the garage and sand what I can.
Interestingly, the areas that had trim panels on them have no glitter in the gelcoat under them. Just brown clear coat in there. You can see it really well where the windshield trim was.

 

Interesting about the no glitter under the trim, I wonder how & why they did it?
It seems fussing around would use more time than the glitter saved.

 

Is the opening under the lounger seats for storage or does part of the cushion lock in there?

 

Its storage under there for life vests and dock bumpers. I will be using it for that again, but I want to try to find a hatch that will screw in and make them sealed. Right now they just have drain holes that lead into the area where the steps are.

 

Yeah, not sure why they would tape off that section and not put glitter under it.. seems like it took more effort than glitter saved. I would love to talk to one of the original builders who worked on the line (not a designer, I want someone who hands on built one of these boats)

 

They taped it off so they had a reason.
Thinking about it, the glitter is a solid particle.

Perhaps they were concerned that the windshield frame would vibrate against the gelcoat in operation.
The glitter under the windshield frame could act as an abrasive breaking down the gelcoat eventually.

 

Hmmm, interesting thoughts. I wonder what their reason for not putting it behind the trim panels was then. Because they put it under the lounge cushions and the front carpet, just not the side trim.
Maybe they didnt put it there due to fear of it sagging. The weight of the glitter can cause the clear to sag when its being sprayed.

 

More sanding.... the next week is going to be nothing but sanding pictures.... Might be some holes cut and holes patched, but for the most part its going to be sanding.
The thing I hate about sanding, is you do it for so long, and it never looks like your making progress. Then bam, your done and putting color down.

Ive been using a small flap wheel on a dremel to get those tighter corners, seems to be working pretty well, but the sand paper dulls really fast sanding gelcoat.

 

Got a little more on the right side left to do, then I get to tackle the stairs. The weather is not being kind this week, I wanted to pull the boat out, leaf blow the whole thing clean then put it back in straight. But we are getting snow all week I guess. So I will continue to sand in the garage.

My block sander should be here around thursday, I need to dig out my air compressor and get it ready... once that block sander shows up I will be blocking the whole thing in 1 day.
After I block the whole thing I will go over it real good with the leaf blower then go in with painters tape to start marking spots that need attention. Lots of screw holes up front that need to be filled in. But also I will mark spots that didnt get sanded well enough.

Today I picked up a 4.5 inch hole saw to put my access hatches up in the bow so I can install my front cleats and bow eye. I need to make a template so I can make sure I cut the hole in the same spot on both sides, thinking of just gluing paint stir sticks together. Have 1 right on the edge of the stairs and the other touching the wall. Then put another stick going out into where the hole should be drilled. Then I can drill my pilot hole, flip it over to the other side and drill that pilot hole.

 

Little bit left to sand, just the sides of the stairs. Had to break out the detail sander to get into the corners that the DA cant do.
I need to get some goo-gone to clean up a bunch of nasty adhesive that used to be on the edges of the fiberglass by the entrance to the stairs.

 

Front deck is now fully sanded down, I ground out all the screw holes that I need to patch. There are a couple more holes on the top sides from the railings that I need to grind out and fill too, so I will finish grinding those out tonight and then fill all the holes with thickened resin. Thickened resin will soak into the fiberglass thats there already and provide a better patch than just putting filler in the holes. The thickened resin will then be overcoated with filler to sand nice and smooth.

Getting really really close to gelcoat on the top half of the boat here. I want to start gelling it soon, but I want to wait until April. Waiting will make 100% sure I have everything is perfect and ready so I can just start gelling.

I need to setup a "paint booth" to do the work, but that also means I need to pull the car thats in the garage out to give me ample space around the boat. Im going to hang plastic wrap from the ceiling, then wrap the underside of the hull with plastic too.
I do need to figure out the best way for me to gelcoat this thing. Im thinking spray the front end lounge area, then get the dash and work my way back. Then when my feet are back on the ground I can go around the boat and get the sides. the next couple of coats are going to be a little harder to do, I will need to figure out how to get in and out of the boat without touching the boat... Not gelling the floors, so I can walk on those, but the front will be hard to get to from the back.

 

Alright, all the holes are now filled with cabosil and resin. After my daughters dance class tonight it should be cured enough for me to put filler right over the top of it. Im not planning to sand the cabosil and resin before putting the filler over that top, since its laminating resin it remains tacky unless you seal it over, and thats bad for sanding. Putting the filler right over the top will allow it to cure all the way hard, and will let me get away with only blocking the area once.


On a wiring related note, my ground blocks show up tomorrow, so I can start planning that all out soon too. Im going to run extra wires up to the front dash for a tach and fuel gauge. I plan to add those at some point, so might as well make it ready to hook up right away.

 

Quick shot of the front holes filled in with thickened resin before I take my daughter to dance class.

 

Alright, the resin was not solid enough last night to fill, but it is semi solid now. So its just tacky enough to chemically bond with the filler, but solid enough to keep its shape. I put the heaters in the hull to run for 2 hours then lunch I will get out there with some filler to clean up the holes.

 

First round of filler is down. Its 20 degrees out so I have propane and electric heaters going full blast. I will block this all out after work and see if I need to put a second layer anywhere.

Edit: looking at the picture I see I forgot 2 holes on the vertical surfaces of the stairs.... Guess I will get those on the second pass.

 

Looking through the 1979 hydrostream catalog I came across this gem (blue boat). I have part of that windshield frame (lower part) Ill have to build the top and the glass from scratch unless I can find someone selling one. But this right here is ideal for me and I need to build it.

 

Sanded some of the patches, going to finish the rest in a little bit. I will have to go over a couple small spots with more filler and get those 2 spots I missed this evening. I want to put a layer of filler on the gunnels where I patch those first 143 holes, but I am going to hold off until the power sander shows up. I am going to try to block those as flat as possible with just the gelcoat thats there.

 

Layer 2 down on the spots that needed touch ups and on the spots I missed.

Also that damn raccoon is back under my deck... I want to catch it and relocate it to the river before the damn thing has babies under the deck again.

 

Put in the holes for the switch panel, need to finish cleaning up the backside of the glass to get the wood out of there. The dash wood is not in the best of shape, but not something that needs to be replaced. If I end up needing more switches, I will put the 6 switch panel on the other side of the steering wheel.

 

I never really considered how much wood is in a "fiberglass" boat.

Amazing how many holes accumulate over the years too.