'78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Well there was not much resistance from North Texas now was there? This is where I went to school and we were never able to brag about our football team. Alabama probably got tired of all that running up and down the field they did all night. More grinding to do today and it's gon'a be hot.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I officially hate grinding! Where those ribs are conected to the hull is almost impossible to remove. I'm having to use a hammer and chisel to get all of the wood off. I'm not gonna just cut out the rotten stuff cause I think that would ruin the integrity of the ribs.
HS Road-Kill, I'll post some pics of my transom as best I can. Right now it's pretty messy back there.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Thanks for the pics bb they're a huge help. It seems my boat's PO did a couple of mods and removed some stuff under the splash well and then the rot and I had such a time getting the foam out that little was left to take pictures of.
We can start a club for those who hate grinding and I think we'll not have a problem finding more club members.
I'll start my own restore thread when I get done with this grinding. Until then I'm not sure I won't stop and take the chainsaw to end it's life.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Ok so I'm thinking you are going to be in the same boat that I'm in (ha ha, all the nautical idoms crack me up) by the time you get all the rib grinding done. Didn't you mentioned hull reinforcement and were you planning on adding some layers of FG to the hull before bedding the stringers? I'm thinking I'm leaning in that direction cause my hull seems a might thin. How about you?

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Yep, without a doubt I'm gonna reinforce much of the hull with at least one more layer of glass. The outside transom is really thin. You can shine a light and see right thru it! Not good in my opinion. Maybe ok but it's not gonna stay that way.
I didn't do any work on it today as a migraine snuck up on me this morning. I am useless then.
I'll be at work tomorrow ridin the ambulance then maybe wednesday I'll get to work on the boat. Tomorrow will be research day. I'm gonna have to find me a materials supplier ASAP. Marine plywood, glass etc.
Later,
Brian.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Yuk, another day of grinding. I'm down to the last of longitudinal ribs. Once again those are a real pain.
This afternoon I should be done with it then I'll start taking apart the plywood sides and support for the fuel tank.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Me too Brian, down to the last little bit. I'm concentrating on the transom area and not doing something wrong that I'll have to stop and fix at some point so near the end of the demolition phase. It has gone pretty smooth albeit more grinding than I expected. I'm not looking forward to placing that FG/resin order. How says you?

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Almost done with the grinding, (for now at least). There is a vertical board that houses the fuel tank area (see post #42) that is rotten that is concerning me. This board is rotten right up against the transom. If it is not seperated from the transom with glass there is not doubt that that one area of the transom will be rotten. Just can't tell yet. Surely they seperated these boards as they are not glassed in and to have them directly connected to the transom would be stupid. I won't know till the morning when I can get get these boards the rest of the way out. It may be a moot point though. I am thinkin seriously about rebuilding the transom anyway. It just doesn't seem right to go to this much trouble rebuilding the boat and leaving the old transom there.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Woodonglass,
can you post that homemade flaring tool for me? It is awesome and good job on your diagrams. They are great and a big help.
BB

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

It seems all I do is grind these days. grind grind grind grind all day! Today I got most of the wood out except about one foot of the last rib out. Then my grinder stopped. I guess I wore it out! It was brand new two months ago. Good warranty though. I'll take it back tomorrow. If lowe's will swap it out. I really don't know about that transom area yet. I needed the grinder for just a few more minutes! My sawzall won't get to that area. I looks from what i can see that the rooten wood was indeed seperated by a layer of glass.
I'll know for sure when I get another grinder.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Woodonglass,
can you post that homemade flaring tool for me? It is awesome and good job on your diagrams. They are great and a big help.
BB

Here ya go!!!

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

No work done today. Stayed inside with a sick child and I had another migraine headache. I did toss some ideas around in my hurting head about adding a front livewell. It would be fun to build/design and I am too lazy to walk the four feet to the rear livewell. Plus if I fish any bass tournaments my fishing partner and I can keep the fish seperated but mostly i'm lazy.


Thanks wood for that post. Like I said, it is awesome and I'll need it in my rebuild!

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

BTW, as I was tearing out the last of the rotten center stringer it was filled with termites and ants! YUCK! I'm gonna hafta really think about rebuilding that transom. If there is any bit of rot in there and those termites got in there then the rest of the transom will soon be gone. No reason to do all this twice.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I spent two hours this morning fixing my grinder. I had to track down a broken wire that I pulled loose but the main problem that made it stop working was the brushes left too much graphite on the armature breaking the contact. Just a little sandpaper does the job. Works for most electric motors.
After I got the grinder working I got the remainder of the wood out of the floor. Now the hard part, grinding out the transom. The rotten unglassed wood was in fact in direct contact with the transom wood. Really poor design. The wood on the transom in that spot on each side was a little wet so no doubt that it needs to be replaced while I'm there.
The glass on the floor was filled with air pockets. That took alot of grinding to get out. I'm thinkin maybe that was how the water was getting to the wood. Any brighter spot indicated an air pocket so I had to grind that area down and flatten it out. I'm gonna do everything possible to elimante as many air pockets as I can when I lay my glass down.

 

[Hydra-sport_Road-kill]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I'm both sorry to hear that your transom is shot and relieved that I get to share this wonderful growth experience with you That of the transom rebuild. I spent time preping my transom area this weekend. It was foul.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

I got all the wood off of the transom today. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Just a little clean-up to do on the transom then it will be rebuild time. I'm now gonna have to decide on the fiberglass that I'm gonna use. That's still up in the air. I did go ahead and bought some 1 inch wide mat on ebay. really good deal. It was like 5 dollars for two 36 yard rolls up something close.
To make matters worse, I've decided to make a front livewell. Shouldn't be too hard. I'm gonna try and find a plastic container instead of having to glass something. I will build that one the way I like it. A pump in and out with a 12 inch spray head/recirc.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

There was alot more wet wood in the transom than I thought there was gonna be. Most of it was wet with 1/4 of it pretty rotten.
Tomorrow will be more work on it. Today I'm at work.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Totally finished grindin the transom this afternoon. Sanded and ready to start the rebuild. Tomorrow I've got to finish the bottom of the hull which is just some cleanup work. After that it will be a week before I can to anything else. I'm outa money until next friday.

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

Everything is ready to go. All prep work completed today. Bottom sides and transom. Now I just need money to buy some resign and fiberglass. It' not fun being poor! LOL!

 

[bbodin]

Re: '78 Hydra Sport 168vee Restore Project

While at Lowe's this morning looking at wood choices, I noticed some 3m resin in the section with the acetone. I needed to pick up a gallon of acetone while I was there.
Has anyone used this resin? Is it any good for my project to use on mat, cloth etc?