1980 HydroStream Vamp resto-mod

Yep, that void is funny because it makes it so these caps I removed are non-structural. But since many hydrostream boats do not have those voids, people seem to think it is structural.

 

No work on the boat today, still rubbing foam dust out of my eyes (even had goggles on). I did spend time cleaning the rotten transom from the floor though and getting the motor moved a little further into the garage so I can get in and out of the back door easier.

The pile of rotten wood in the backyard is getting bigger and bigger... also the trash bags of foam are piling up, so I need to figure out what to do with the foam.... I have 3 55 gallon bags full and still have more to come.

 

Bag by bag, week by week, take them to the curb! Yeah our residential trash pickup has its limits.

 

Ill probably be dumping a little bit each trash day. I still have to have space for the transom wood and all the other junk fiberglass I have too.

 

More support beam removal done today, took much less time the second time around. I still have to get the forward beams out, but with all the foam removed it shouldnt bee too bad.
So, only pictures I have today are just to show how terrible the fiberglass work was connecting the support beams to the transom. You can see all 3 layers are not touching each other or the surfaces they should be bonding.



That part was cut off of this

 

Nothing done on the boat for the past few days, too cold out there to do anything. But I need to get onto making the lateral support beams and then go get some more resin. Hoping next week the temps come back up into the 30s so I can get back out there and work.

 

Finally got back onto the boat today. Just spent a little bit of time cutting out support beams. These 2 beams tie the transom to the hull in 3 spots (upper hull, bottom hull, float pod) the factory one only tied the transom in 1 spot to the upper hull, but only for about 20 inches. Mine will be 10 times stronger than the originals. I still need to cut the back edge where it meets the transom so it sits nice and flat.

 

Didn't get any pictures today as they are pretty much the same as yesterdays pictures.
But I got the support beams all cut to fit proper, they just need to be bonded to the hull. I do have to wait till my buddy can come over to bond them though. The beams are about 7 feet long and need to be bonded to the boat in 4 spots all at the same time. They bond to the transom, the floor, the rear cross beam (still need to make that), and to the gunnels. So a extra set of hands to hold them against the transom is needed while I clamp the gunnels.

I am playing around with the idea of making a guide in the transom so the back of the support beams just slots into the transom. The guide would just be 2 strips of wood that go on either side of the support beam and keeps it from moving around while I am clamping the gunnels and keeps that part of the beam straight up and down, the gunnels have a slight tilt so when I clamp the gunnels, the rear section becomes angled.

So, while I wait for my buddy I have some other things I can do. I will be laminating the transom this weekend, I am not doing the normal stack and clamp design for it. I am going to be drilling five 3/8 holes through all the wood while its in the boat. Those holes will accept a 3/8 wood dowel pin that will keep the transom parts aligned with how they sit in the boat. So, I will mix up the resin and cabosil, lay it down on the bottom sheet, stack the next one on top and put in the outer 2 pins, then put down more resin and cabosil on the next sheet, then I will put the final layer on and put in the 3 remaining pins. From there I will clamp the ever loving shit out of it all and run screws into the middle parts that the clamps don't get (screws come out after its bonded).

While the transom is curing, I will get back to grinding fiberglass on the hull, I need to smooth out the top part of the transom skin where its too thick, and then clean up the bottom where the support beams go to the hull. I also need to grind and clean up the gunnels in prep for bonding the support beams and make the forward cross support beam.

Transom will get bonded to the hull a few days after I get it laminated. The way I will be clamping the outer skin to the transom is a combination of heavy clamps and 2x6 wood. Im going to put a 2x6 on the backside of the boat, trace the holes for the rear tow hooks and drill them out on the 2x6. Then when it comes time to clamp I can run lag bolts through the 2x6, through the holes in the transom skin, and into the transom itself. This will pull the bottom half super tight to the skin, and since I need to drill out those anyways for the tow hooks, running screws into it does no damage to it. I will be filling all the other holes on the transom skin as I am going to have a boat shop drill the new holes for the motor as they will get them perfect with the expensive drilling jigs they have.






Also, I have been doing lots of searching and figuring out what I want to do for the interior. Mostly just trying to figure out the seats in the back and the captains chairs. Side panels and front loungers are already decided by the boats design. But, I have 2 old racing seats in my basement collecting dust. They are just the cheap autozone specials I got in 2004 from a buddy, so I think I am going to make bases for them and set those up as the captains chairs for a little while until I get the bench and captains chairs made up.

 

Today I got the pleasure of clearing out the cap for the top of the transom..... There was a 1 x 1.5 inch air gap between the fiberglass and the wood transom, so the factory just filled it with resin and chop fiberglass. I got half of it cleared out, need to cut out the other half, then grind out the extra couple layers of fiberglass that used to be the old transom.

When it comes time to put the splash well, transom cap, and corner caps back onto the boat, I am going to fiberglass them together but not to the boat, then I can remove the 4 parts as one big part and fiberglass the underside to ensure they are extra strong.

 

Alright, got the rest of the cap cleared out, just needs some more grinding to thin it out a bit. But these are the chunks of resin and milled fiberglass that they used to fill the giant void in the top.

 

The "Friday Transom syndrome" strikes again.

 

Yep, it was thick in there. But the new transom will still have some of this, just not as much of it.
But, I ordered more resin, cabosil, chop mat, and milled fiber today for pickup tomorrow. Going to get the transom installed this weekend while the wife is down in disney for the weekend. Then get the cap all fit together and ready to install.

I have about 3 months remaining in my timeline, once the transom and cap are done, everything else is just details. I will have to gelcoat the boat, install the seats, carpet and trim panels, the motor just needs the carbs swapped and new distributor cap installed. Motor and gelcoat need to wait till its warmer out, but those things shouldnt take long.

 

Transom getting laminated today! Using my ice fishing tent again to keep it warm, this ice tent I got in the fall, its been used for fiberglassing 3 times, and ice fishing 0 times.... Nature took my ice season away, but it gave me all this time to work on my boat during winter.

I am using 2 inch screws (they have 1.5 inch of thread, 0.5 inch of smooth so they actually clamp and not just hold) to clamp the center part of the transom tight, and clamps for the outer "wings". Going to be doing the final fitting and trimming of the transom tomorrow once its good and solid. Then I have to seal the entire thing with resin The 2 wet spots in the middle are holes to allow extra resin to push out, this ensures a straight bond without large pockets of resin between the layers.

 

Progress

I have seen the term "marine" plywood, is this what you are using?
If so what is the difference & is it hard to get?

 

Yep this is marine ply. Really the only difference between marine and normal is the glue that is used. Marine uses a waterproof glue. The wood itself still rots just like regular plywood, but it is a little stronger than regular ply as they use better quality wood.

But marine ply is $100 a sheet, regular ply is like $20 a sheet, so many people use regular wood.
You can get marine ply at most home repair stores, or from specialty shops


Here is a more recent picture of the transom laminating. All the resin that squeezed out the sides was brushed onto the top face to start the sealing process.

 

"The wood itself still rots just like regular plywood"

Following along (and enjoying) this project it seems that boat & rot go hand in hand.

 

Alright, so the resin is like 99% cured, but I will be keeping it clamped and screwed together overnight. Tomorrow will be the day I do my grinding and final fitments of it. I would like to get it as close to flush with the hull as I can so I dont have to use much filler while securing it.

Also I need to leave my ice hut setup with the doors open and the fan going to air it out.

 

Rough fit, but everything is nice and snug. Im going to put a little more clearance between the panels to allow for fiberglass to sit between. Will be prepping the surfaces of the boat next and then attaching the transom.

 

^^^^^^
Now I more clearly understand cutting the top caps off.

To cleanly fit the new transom as a unit with the wings would be just about impossible with the caps in place.
You would have to lay on your belly and back to do every bit of the work.
Your method will give a far superior job, well worth the extra "bodywork".

 

Yep, not to mention the amount of cutting and grinding I would of had to do to the floor to be able to angle the transom up there. The float boxes would of had to come out about 3 feet forward just to allow me to slide the transom up there. Laminating the transom outside the boat allows for a more even clamp and a stronger unit, if I did it without cutting the top, I would of had to laminate it in stages that could of resulted in air bubbles between the sheets and sub par fitment to the floor.