Hydrostream Vandal re-everything

DoktorC · **Posted:** May 19th, 2017, 1:00 pm

I love the efficient use of garage space. Is that a TV hanging??

That would be a riot with a good V4 on it....keep the pics coming!

13Checkmate · **Posted:** May 19th, 2017, 2:54 pm

Crawl wrote:

Thanks for the comments. Im trully an amature at this boat stuff, but love learning new shyt.

The sides of the boat are cleaned of the clear coat. Its just the areas of the dash, and anywhere there was logos, or mounts protecting the clear that are stuck good. I was gonna try one of the chem stippers, but maybe not after what has been said. Ill probably just stick to the original plan of wrapping it with white vinyl. Or, maybe sport the "rat" look.

Someone has been at this boat already. The only floatation is the box at the drivers feet thats V shaped, and foam under the bow. It looks like they pulled the floor, and decided new stringers and core were not gonna happen. I think the rope was used to drape wetted cloth over to make crappy compsite stringers. Parts of gye original wood stringers are still in the back area that they kinda tried to bond to. Just tearing this stuff out i get a good idea of how to do it properly. They also just layed a layer of chopped matt over the core. I have found any inspection holes of the past yet.

I have done a few small glass projects in the past, and im definatly on the side of epoxy just for the ease of mixing and smells. The rest is a bonus except the price. I have more questions about the types of cloth to use in certin places, the thickening additives, and pigments. But, i will ask when i get there.

I plan on setting it up with center steer, dual cable rottory helm. I will run the 1978 Johnson 70 it came with at first to get a feel for the boat. I think I will put the shortest jackplate i can find on it from the beginning, so changing motors and tuning is easy. I want to put a v4 or v6 on it eventually. If i found a 15" 2.0 merc v6 that was built to rev i think that would be good motor for it. Like the old f1 motors. A short mid may not need any jack plate. Id love to keep it as lite as possible in the ass.

Knowing me I will probably have a V4 then a V6. The v4 stuff seems dirt cheap to play with. And, my sane thoughts say 70 mph would be enough. But yas all know how it goes.

Im gonna build the boat to handle it, and be as safe as i can, so if i push it it can take it.

How saturated is the foam up front? Mines got to be 100+ lbs of wet foam under the deck, i could barely lift the front end of the boat up last time i tried lol. With the clear coat i would try a chemical paint remover. You may need something stronger then what most are, the ones we have tried in the past never seemed to damage the gel coat but thats what we wanted.
You had the same thought as I did at first, which was doing a hot v4 build for the vandal. After doing some more looking and thinking, I picked up a 15" mid for a merc v6 so that will more then likely be the route we go when we put the vandal together. You're definitely right though, a good v4 should get you into the 70-75+mph range depending on mods and setup and would be a fun little boat. A small V6 like a 2.0L or a 150hp 2.5L should be in the 80+ mph neighborhood i would think

Crawl · **Joined:** May 19th, 2016, 11:25 pm **Posts:** 70

Yeah, who ever it was who said " looks like you have the space for it" was a joker. Its a tight little garage, but it keeps my hoarding in check. Yes, thats a hanging TV by all-round and deck brackets screwed through the sides. It swings and rotates when you smack it off your head. Its been with me since the 90's. It wont die.

I havent poked at the foam in the bow yet. Looks and seems dry, but its probably holding weight. Ill do some drilling when i rip out the core and see.

Im liking the sounds of the emron clear coat. I may just clear the whole deck, imperfections and all. Then stripe the portions with the holes, fade, and sun cracks with white vinyl. It would look super retro, disco like the stripes of the time period. The interior i picked up is white with black stripes. I aslo picked up a Mastercraft low-back suspension seat(offroad buggy stuff) that i want to clip-in for just me im the center. My idea is to center mount the steering and have the gas pedal to the rightish. I want to have the two allison buckets up front and the bench in the back for family cruising. Then be able to take all the seats out and put the mastercraft seat front and center for just me rips. Im thinking about using the E-track type quick releases that are used in the trailer and aircraft world.

I would like to be able to run the passager side bucket in reverse also for towing/cruising. I have been dreaming up a plan to under mount the brackets to the floor so they are flush. Im thinking about maybe running hydraturf type floor covering, or just textured gel coat. Thats along ways away, but planning is important.

My goal is to have it out before 2017 ice. I dont care if its just one seat, bare interior, no deck finnish, etc. Id have all winter to work on the rest of the details. Core, floor, stringers/knees, transom and bottom work is gonna be a tall order before ice.

I will definatly keep it documented in full on here.

Crawl · **Joined:** May 19th, 2016, 11:25 pm **Posts:** 70

Im back at it after last weekends offroad racing. I wish i had more spare time to push this boat build, but keeping a race vehicle in a race series can be a tough summer. Im sure you guys know what its like from your boat racing.

Im onto getting the trailer fixed up at the moment, and supporting the boat properly. Im thinking just two bunks under the flats on the outer chines for the permenent bunks. What do you guys think?

I will add more temporary support when i gut the core. Everything with boat mechanics is a new learning experience, and so far it has not been the best. I just mean, I broke the first rule of buying a Hydrostream; I got excited and feel in love with the lines and didnt look close enough. Its not that i feel i payed to much, but that its possibly turning into twice the amount of work i thought. What ever though, I really like the Vandal model and its rarity.

So, here is what im talking about. The bottom gel has severe osmosis anywhere there is core/wood in the boat. Im assuming i will be removing almost all the outer bottom gel on the running surface. I want opinions from experienced fiberglass guys on weather this boat is saveble to the point of running it 70-80mph. Im not concerned weather its worth it, but is it almost impossible to rebuilt it as safe, or safer then new. Is the chop and matt under the gel too compromised?

Tomcat · **Posted:** May 31st, 2017, 5:51 pm

Worry about perfect support when you're laying up glass and core.
For now, just make it safe and strong enough so as not to stress the floor with the weight of your feet.

Anything an be fixed, You'll be laying glass on inner hull so it'll seal. If you find massive amounts of delamination and voids it'll be time to consider if you want to go further.
Far as osmosis blisters go... grind em out and prime with 2 part epoxy (Duratec http://duratec1.com/duratec/) then sand, sand sand. That'll be your barrier coat and paint primer.

Can you make it safe to run 70????
Sure, long was you throw enough money and time at it. You're $3k in the door for materials so...
Your call.

Crawl · **Joined:** May 19th, 2016, 11:25 pm **Posts:** 70

Tomcat wrote:

Anything an be fixed, You'll be laying glass on inner hull so it'll seal. If you find massive amounts of delamination and voids it'll be time to consider if you want to go further.
Far as osmosis blisters go... grind em out and prime with 2 part epoxy (Duratec http://duratec1.com/duratec/) then sand, sand sand. That'll be your barrier coat and paint primer..

From what ive been reading, and seeing in builds and repairs this amount of blistering would be easier to grind off most of the gel instead of punchuring each one. They are small, and densliy formed over the whole wet surface except the bottom of the pad. No blisters there.

I figure ill have about 5-6 k in this boat and thats without motor but everything else. Id sink another 1-3 k in a V6 after that at some point.

Im at the turning point almost where i could sell off the stuff no real financial loss and buy a water ready boat for 5-8k, or jump full into this one.

I just thought that some boats get so rotten its almost impossible to make em rite again no matter how much money. I mean i know you could keep throwing glass at it, but that would defite the point of a hydrostream wouldnt it? Fast and lite, not over built and heavy?

If i stopped now i could sell of the rigging and trailer, and hang the boat from a tree at my parents place and be even. Then just buy something surveyed for the price id pay.

Im sure yall know what i mean. I dont want to throw so much glass in it that its heavy to make up for a layer of useless in between the new.

This all comes from a few threads i read here and there about people getting into boats and turning away becuse the skin was to far gone to rebuild a good lite boat in the end. Moeny aside.

Tomcat · **Posted:** May 31st, 2017, 7:21 pm

Money aside one has to consider time.
I like you was busy with racing when my project started. Preferring to do one thing well, the Stream got shelved.
Very hard to get back at it. Priorities change.

I'm sure you'll make the right decision.
Just remember, it's less expensive to buy someone else's completed project.

Crawl · **Joined:** May 19th, 2016, 11:25 pm **Posts:** 70

If that happens ill chock all this up into a learning experience. What i thought i knew about hydrostreams, and what i know now.

The time is really the point. You hit the nail. I was planning on doing the core, stringers, interiour, etc. But the time into the bottom is much more then I realized when i bought it. I knew it needed core when i handed over the cash.

Im kinda looking for someone who has fixd this kind of blistering, and dealt with whats left of the hull. How much extra glass did they feel the need to add inside. Did they drape any glass on the outside? I take it thats just asking for a spectacular de-lam.

Ill probably still do this boat. Im really stuburn, and dumb with money to get what i want. See yas in a couple years......

13Checkmate · **Posted:** May 31st, 2017, 9:28 pm

It depends on how bad the glass is once you pop the blisters open. On our panther we popped the blisters, filled with 3m marine filler and painted with epoxy paint. It held up without issue at just under 80mph.

After grinding out the core of our valero, we layed down one layer of mat cloth with unwaxed resin. Layed the core in wet with corebond, and sealed it in with mat, roving and mat.

I would blue print while under the boat. Make sure the pad is straight, and doesnt have any chips in it. If you do put a v6 on it down the road it will help with handling at higher speeds.

Crawl · **Joined:** May 19th, 2016, 11:25 pm **Posts:** 70

Thankyou tom cat for the link to the epoxy, and thankyou checkmate13 for the first person detailed experiences. Thats what im really digging for.

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Hydrostream Vandal re-everything

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