1980 HydroStream Vamp resto-mod

Alright, little update. I went under the boat again with some more time and space. Everything under there actually looks to be in pretty good shape. I currently have the high output heater blowing at my air compressor to warm it up before I use it (it blows the breaker if its too cold) Im going to get under there with the air block and block out a bit of the pad and see whats under the paint.

 

More updates, somethings goofy under there. I started sanding one of the spots with the air block, its wavy as hell, but there is 4oz weave and chop mat under there. Im going to need to pull the rollers off and block a larger section down to bare glass.

There was no damage to the keel inside the hull, so if there was damage that was repaired, it seems to of been surface level on the outside. Im going to pull off the middle roller and get back under there tonight and get it down to either gelcoat or bare glass depending on what I hit first.

 

Did a little more sanding and said fuck it, this feels like a job I want to do when I can pull the boat out of the garage and its warm out. But, I did find some more clues under there. First picture shows heavy chop mat like the factory would of used, second picture shows 4oz cloth thats not really great for what its being used for here. But there is fairing compound on most of it.

 

Hopefully just some minor repair is needed.
At least you have had a first hand look from the inside and know it is solid.

 

Yep, shouldnt be too bad. I hit it with my hammer a couple times and the repair while sloppy is pretty solid. So Im going to clean it up, add filler to the low spots and make it flat. That part needs to be flat so the hull handles well at higher speeds.

But I figured out how to get this boat up and off the trailer so I can work on it. There is a 6x6 beam in my garage rafters, Im going to move that beam to where the back of the boat is. Then put my wireless atv winch on it. Going to buy a engine crane (I want one anyways to deal with lifting the outboard into place), the engine crane will connect to the front bow eye, winch to the rear transom eyes. From there I can jack up the front while lifting the rear with the wireless remote.

I will lift it up so I can comfortably lay on my back under the boat with the block sander and not have to deal with the trailer in my way. I do need to go to the local tire store and get some junk tires so I can make a crash mat in the front and rear incase something breaks loose and the boat falls.


In other news, the top is cleared 95% now, first pass with the block is 100% done. I still need to get in and finish the sides of the dash, I keep putting it off because of the sticky glue thats all over it... I just need to get in there and clean the glue then spend 30 minutes sanding it. I need to run to the store and pick up a can of cheap primer and mist the topside with it. Cheap primer works just like the expensive powder guide coat does, but at a quarter the price.

Also, I have decided I am going to paint the bottom first, then paint the top. So, I want to get the bottom cleaned, painted, then while the paint is curing I can replace the bunks and rollers on the trailer. Then I will move on to the topside gelcoat and glitter.


On the mailing list for the next few days, we have my teak, new nav light, 3 more gauges, anchor light, 6 inch hatches and a anchor light base that I will be using parts from to finish restoring my 1980s anchor light base.

 

Will the bottom be painted or gel coated?

 

Either gel coat or epoxy coat, but like 99% sure I will use gel coat on it as its cheaper.

But I figure I can spray the bottom first, and that will give me more practice before I go spraying the top with expensive glitter clear.

 

Just be extra careful with this maneuver please. If I’m imagining correctly, this beam will be on a collection of either rafter ties or bottom chords of your trusses. Most likely neither were meant to be loaded in the manner you’re describing. And it sounds like the junk tires will be the nautical equivalent of Jack stands? Awesome project, impressive restoration!

 

The garage rafters are 10x2s, so they are pretty stout and designed for MN winter snowfall (2-3 feet on the roof), but also the boat is pretty light weight at around 600lbs total, it will be supported by the 6x6 across 6 beams. Is it sketchy? yeah it is, but We used 1 beam to pull the 250lb motor off the boat without issue. The nice thing is that I will be using the roof beams between the wall studs and the trusses from the roof beams. So its only about 4 feet of straight beam before it has more support.

Yeah the tires are pretty much jack stands that compress to the form of the hull if it starts dropping. Protects the hull in a drop and protects me too.

 

Took a couple of phone calls, but I finally found a shop that can drill my transom. Amazing how all these boat repair places dont drill transoms. But I got one, $180 and they will drill it for me.
So, I got about a month left until I want this boat ready, still need to sort out the bottom of the boat and gelcoat the whole thing, once I get the boat lifted and off the trailer the bottom should go pretty quick, guessing about a week to get that done, then another week to get it gel coated.

Due to current weather, I wont be able to start lifting the boat until next weekend, I can get everything ready to lift it, but wont be able to move everything until the snow is out of the way. If my timeline stays on track that should put me at dropping the boat off in the last week of april to get drilled. After getting drilled all thats left is to put on the motor, steering, and wire everything up.

 

Got shipping notices on a couple of trailers parts. Winch tower and wire harness will be here mid next week along with 250 amp ANL fuse for the main fuse systems.

Finally got around to sanding the sides of the dash, I got 75% of it done on my lunch, going to finish the rest tonight, but I am warming up the air compressor right now so I can block that area down quick. I also need to get in there with the corner sander so I can sand out the sharp corners the DA cant get into.

Also I need to continue blocking the backside of the transom to make sure that is perfectly flat where the motor mounts.

 

And there it is. Top of the hull is 100% sanded, 100% blocked. So tonight I will just spend some time putting filler on the transom, then going around the outer topside of the hull and fill in some of the chips and gouges in the gelcoat... There are a couple spots on the right side where the gel is chipped pretty good, then a spot on the left side with a 6 inch gouge in the gel. Then I have 1 spot on the side of the entrance to the steps where I had to use a wire brush to remove a aluminum decal that was covered in resin, its got some deep scratches I want to fill.

 

First layer of filler down on the outer top hull and transom. Once I block it all down, I will check again for level then fill again if need be. Only the center part of the transom really needed filler as its the only part that gets warped with the outboard and tow eyes on it.

I need to order a ski pole soon too for the boat so I can tow the kids on the tube.

 

Forgot to post pictures

 

First pass with the block, Not terrible, the fairing putty is pretty thin So im pretty happy with how close it actually was, but I want to make it better. There are a couple of small low spots, so I will mix up some more filler tomorrow and get those low spots filled in. Also need to block out the sides of the hull tomorrow and check for low spots there too.

 

More sanding today! Sides are filled, sanded and done. Waiting on the filler I added to the transom to cure so I can block that all out. Once I have the transom blocked again I think I am going to pull the boat out and do some cleaning up in the garage. Lots of dust, sandpaper, old fiberglass, and a broken light bulb are scattered on the ground around it.

 

Alright, transoms done, sides are done, garage floor is straightened up. Now I just need to pull the boat off the trailer and turn it over to get the bottom of the hull done.

Teak showed up just now too! Going to have to go buy a nice new blade for my chop saw so I can cut it perfectly.

New left - old right



Old left - new right

 

Started sanding the trailer to see what mysteries are under the brown spray paint... looks like white paint and a little bit of rust. I removed the "wire harness" that it had on there... it was zip tied to the frame and they didnt even cut the tags off the zip ties. New harness will be here next week, Im thinking of using the shop vac and a plastic bag to send the wires through the frame rails instead of zip tied to the frame.
So, I am excited to get this boat in the air and the trailer out from under, just need to get it done quick before the HOA starts complaining that I have a boat trailer in the driveway.
On a related note, I realize I need to take my small boat out of its lift if I plan to flip the boat... my pond prowler hangs right over one corner of the garage, I have to rebuild the pully system for that as it broke over the winter (its ratchet strapped to the ceiling too)

 

Was Doing some trailer prep, I wanted to get the alignment bars from the rear corners of the trailer, but they are welded on and its too late at night to bring out the grinder (they are all bent up and need to be replaced) So I started pulling the fenders off. Bottom side of the fender on the left side was pretty shiny from the tire rubbing on it. I think it had more to do with that fender being all bent up than anything else. But Im replacing both fenders when I put the new tires on, might go plastic fenders instead of the metal ones. Plastic fenders are lighter, dont rattle, and wont rust, so on something that gets dunked in the lake all the time I think that would be nice.

 

Nav light came in, wow this thing is pretty. The chrome is perfect, lenses are perfect, even the plug for the top screw is perfect(not installed all the way right now). My old wire and bulb holder screwed right into it and its ready to go!