I've taken the first step

sparticus

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
92
I have started down the long road of restoration of my 66 16' Hydroswift. The last few nights I have been tearing out the interior of my old boat. The back end of the interior (just before the splashwell) used to have a jump seat. The previous owner ripped that out and replaced it with what could best be desribed as a "kitchen cabinet" type of enclosure made out of......get this......PARTICLE BOARD! It was horribly swollen and falling apart. I'm sure it served its previous owner well but it is now in the bottom of my garbage can. My ultimate goal in all of this is to rip out the floor to check the conditions underneath and then rebuild. New seats will be installed as part of the deal. Anyone have a good connection for windshields? Mine is in need of replacing because of cracks.
 

sparticus

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
92
Re: I've taken the first step

After removing the seats, side panels and the carpet I find that the fiberglass that was put down over the deck wasnt in contact with the resin underneath, or at least with very little of it. I was able to pull it up in sheets, it reminded me of screen door fabric! I then did a test hole with a 3" hole saw and found to my amusement that there was absolutely NO FOAM! (which means I dont have to wrestle with water logged foam) I suspect that the floor has been replaced before and foam wasn't replaced. Anyone know when the use of foam was made mandatory? The areas where the seats attached to the floor were far and away the most rotted areas of the deck. With a common screwdriver and very little effort on my part I was able to create a 1 foot hole and see the bottom of the boat. So far the stringers seem to be very solid and dry, but will withold judgement on them until I have access to all 3 of them. Its been to hot to spend much time on the boat (95+ temps) when I get home in the afternoon so I work when the sun isn't beating down.
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: I've taken the first step

Hey, good luck on all that! I have heard from a reliable source that HydroSwifts use heavy mahogany stringers, so you may be ok there based on what you have seen so far. I would like to see some pics...:)
 

sparticus

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
92
Re: I've taken the first step

Interesting info about the mahogany stringers! Any words of wisdom about the type of wood in the transom? The pics I have so far really don't show much, just the condition of the deck (poor). As I mentioned earlier I suspect that the floor has been replaced at least once already judging by the lack of foam under the deck. The weather has been too hot to be out working on the boat the past few weeks (95+). So instead I have been doing some smaller tasks. I took the OEM horn off the boat to try and figure out the reason for it not working. Drilled out all the rivets and seperated the parts. It appears that 40+ years of corrosion has taken its toll. I would like to keep the original horn so I intend to mount one of the new smaller "hidden" horns inside of the old horn and call it good. I also polished up the chrome as it was quite frosted looking. Looks almost new again.
 

sparticus

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
92
Re: I've taken the first step

After much research on windshield replacement options I have decided to go the Lexan route. I will make a pattern in cardboard from the frame and bend 1/16 or 1/8 Lexan (polycarbonate) to fit. There is a guy in the restoration section that has done this and the results are very very nice! It should be better than new! (at least in the scratch and crack resistance department) The trick now is to find a peice that meets my needs in a price I can handle. Its still better than a new plexiglass replacement which if I could find something even remotely close to fitting would be several hundreds of dollars.
 

sparticus

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
92
Re: I've taken the first step

Got the motor off the boat and the boat off the trailer and blocked up in the garage. The trailer was about a foot too long to fit into the garage. Besides when I get ready to paint there will be MUCH less in the way! I can also do some painting on the trailer and replace the carpet on the bunks this way. My truck will have to sit out in the Utah winter but its a small price to pay to have the boat ready in the spring!
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: I've taken the first step

My truck will have to sit out in the Utah winter but its a small price to pay to have the boat ready in the spring!

Sounding more and more like a boater at every post! Good luck, and pics are imperative....;)
 

sparticus

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
92
Re: I've taken the first step

Maclin. It appears that along with the stringers the transom is also made of mahogany! After 43 years its still in great shape and I'm happy to say I won't be needing to replace the transom! :D
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Re: I've taken the first step

Good to know, I have heard that they make great boats, great news for yours!
 
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