'78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I'll give the pics a shot real quick. Should read throught the instructions to the end! LOL!

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I might be lucky with the transom. There is no rot where the motor mount bolts go through the transom. I drilled a couple holes from the inside and only found dry wood. I'll know more when I get the top cap off.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Cool the pics came through. I'm glad to see the swing-set survived the heft of your motor. I don't think it says what size you have there. I take you for an optimist with fingers crossed as far as the positive outlook you have for your transom. It seems your plywood's condition was vacuum-able same as mine.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

The motor is a 90hp '84 Evinrude. Yesterday I removed most of the floor that I could get to with the cap in place. There is absolutley nothing left of the center stringer and the outside stringers are rotten. Once again no telling how much weight in water that thing is holding. I got the fuel tank ready to remove now. I'm still working on the deck around the transom. It's realy tricky back there.
I woke up with a headache so I don't know how much I'll do today. Tomorrow it's back at work. My real job.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

It sure is nice to have my own woodworking/mechanics shop in my backyard.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I managed to remove the fuel tank this afternoon. It was relatively easy. Just had to siphon 10 gallons of gas. I smell wonderfull now!
The cap is still proving to be a pain around the transom. As far as I can tell, the cap is tied into the three compartments in the back. the two outside ones are just storage and the center one is the livewell. They appeared to be tied in with a layer of fiberglass. No amount of pulling is letting me take up the cap. I don't see anything else. If any of yall have removed a cap from a hydra sport from the late 70's and know any tricks by all means let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

If any of yall have removed a cap from a hydra sport from the late 70's and know any tricks by all means let me know. Thanks in advance.

That was exactly the same as my '79. There were several of these ~4"-5" tabs of single layer CSM at the bow and the stern. It's like they wetted it out then reached it in and pressed it to the cap and hull near the lip. If you are able to get to these with something like a 4 inch putty knife, you can cut through the thin tab by pushing or shoving the putty knife through it from the side. Not from the flat side of the tab rather from it's edge. Or use the corner of the putty knife and you'll hear it cutting through, don't be gentile.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Yep, that's what it looks like is going on. After tomorrow I'll be off for five days. My plan is geting the cap off totally and removed from my shop and stripped down. I'll remove all the wiring, I'm gonna rewire it because some jackass did some terrible work.(nobody uses wire nuts on a boat)!
I will also be removing all the rotten wood and all the foam. Then I'll grind and cut out the stringers. (that'll be alot of fun, NOT).
There are a couple of places where I think I need to reinforce the hull with another layer or two of glass.
BTW, I have confirmed that the transom is good. No rot anywhere. I got really lucky there. I was sure that it would be rotten. Even next to the bolt hole for the motor mounts are dry and good. Someone actually sealed them and the inside of the hull had not been comprimised. LUCKY!
While I'm posting, I want to put some foam back in the hull. What do any of yall recommend? I just don't want to damage the hull since I fish in many places where there are hidden stumps. So I just don't want to sink it. But I'm gonna try to keep the weight down where possible after all is said and done.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

This morning I worked on the getting the cap off. Success! It was truely a pain in the *****. There were 4-5 inch strips all up and down the sides and at each corner of fiberglass holding the cap in place. The liners of the rear compartments (3) were also held to the hull using fiberglass. The liners were attached to the cap. The worst part was in the center of the rear cap there was a 10 inch strip holding the cap to the transom. I had to resort to cutting some of the cap then the strip with a sawzall. Not my preferred method but relatively easy to repair.
HS road kill was dead on with what was holding in down. Thanks brother!

Now I just have to round up some muscle to remove it and make something to sit it on. Probably gonna just build some saw horses to place in on for now. I need to keep it from my dogs. They will just chew up the glass. Stupid things.
I'm thinkin' just wheel the boat out of the shop then lift it up and place on my stands then push the boat back in.

The next step will be stripping down the hull of all the rotten wood and wet, nasty foam. I'll have probably 20-30 garbage bags of stuff.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I just hung my cap from the ceiling over the boat after I removed the windshield. I can work under it or pull it out into the driveway. These 16' ratcheting tie-downs were on sale at Lowes the night I went up there to buy a bunch of lumber. I was going to build a big rack over the boat to suspend the cap from. The 8 bicycle hooks and the straps ran less than $20. I was able to get the cap up there without a hassle by racheting it up a little at a time by myself.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I would love to hang my cap from the rafters in my workshop but there is a overhead door there so no way. Thought about that. The only way to do it would to leave the door closed but here in Alabama it just gets too hot.
I'm gonna post some pics of those stupid strips.
Also There are several ribs that are glassed in the bottom. Just a small hole or two has caused these to rot. There are around ten of them and most are rotten. What fun. Also it looks like the stringers were not even glassed on top. Well there's no glass on them now never was. Just up the sides which left the deck to cover them. Of course once the deck started to rot the stringers would be left to rot. Bad design Hydra Sport!

Here is a pic of the missing stringer. (rot)



Now, here's a pic of rotten rib.





Now here's a pic of the "jacked up deck".

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Hope those pics work!

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

That's the same way I'd describe my stringers. My stringers were . . . well, sort of missing. I think the pour foam was the only thing holding up the dry-rotted deck. And as for those little glass fiberglass covered "ribs", I got a bunch of them too. It seems half of them are mostly goodexcept for some spots on them and then some will be mostly bad except for some spots. I'm pondered the idea of just leaving them alone. I never read about anyone else needing to grind out all that stuff from the hull bottom. Then I'm like like what-ever dude (my boat becomes my enemy at times). I decided to get the 7.5 inch grinder out and get serrious. I figure I can get them mostly back where they belong but It won't be real scientific. They seem to be there to stiffen the hull and save on fiberglass.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Progress today! This morning I built two rather large sawhorses. 4 feet tall by eight feet wide with diaginal bracing. These are supporting the cap. I was able to remove the cap and place it on the sawhorses by myself. I was going to recruit some neighborhood boys but I am just too impatient. I just wheeled the boat next to the sawhorses and slid the front over on a 2x4 then the rear. Pretty easy actually.
This afternoon it was grining time. I did buy a pro model respirator with replaceable cartridges. It's kinda comfortable. After a little sweating though it rubs on my chin. Not comfortable. But it beats lung cancer!
I've ground out half of the stringers and tomorrow I hope to finish on the stringers and start grinding out those rotten ribs.
I'm kinda thinking about going ahead a replacing the transom anyway. Even though there is no rot, there has been two different motors on it and now there is about 8 bolt holes in the transom. That's just 8 ways for water to enter. I may just enlarge then slightly then epoxy them it. I'm going to keep tossing that up in my head for a while.
Once I get the hull totally stripped down It'll be slower going from there. I will have to build when my paycheck allows. That'll take a while. In the end I want to restring it. New sealed deck with marine carpet. Probably gonna touch up the gelcoat then paint it with a high quality urethane paint. I'm still searching for the paint though. No decision there as of yet.
My colors will be a white hull bottom. A grey Hydrosport stripe with either midnight blue or Crimson.
Later -

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Could you post some pics of your transom area? You seem to have the same three section stern as mine but all my wood was gone. How thick is the wood layer and how many layers of ply? I'm headed out to get some more and hopefully last bit of grinding done too this morning and the weather looks good.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Will do. It will probably be in the morning. Too much football right now. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!
I don't know how many layers of ply the transom has. It's all sealed with fiberglass and even through the bolt hole I can't tell.
It looks to be about 3 inches thick or close to it.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I keep finding more rotten wood in the bottom. Every one of those long ribs were rotten except one. That one will be replace as well.
These appeared to have been epoxyed down then a large sheet of glass placed over them. With that setup just one leak and they all were gone. For some reason the glass just did not set well with the hull. These things are not easy to remove! Alot of grinding today. All day just to remove those and I'm still not finished. The hard part is where the wood is epoxyed to the hull. Man that stuff stuck. It takes a grinder then a hammer and chisel.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Does anyone have any recommendations on paint, to paint over my gelcoat?
I've looked at this so far - http://www.supermarinepaint.com/topside-Urethane-sm-2000.asp

I'm really thinkin' a crimson color for my top and a grey'crimson stripe. White bottom.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Lot's of choices for paint. I like Rustoleum and Hardener. Check out page#10 on my My Flamingo thread listed below to see how it works, and also check the results I got on my boat.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

My wife finally asked me this morning, "where are the wheels from my computer chair"?
Of course my son told on me, "Dad put them on his motor stand in the backyard".
He's a traitor.