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79 Vector rebuild

Restoring your Hydrostream or just giving it a small makeover? What better place than to show off your project. Big or small.
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Hippie459MN
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 20944Post Hippie459MN »

Looking good and glad to see your able to get back at it. :up:
-Kevin
Project Vulture | Project Vector | Project Vamp | Project Vixen
The Vulture Wish List | Project CobraJet

1977 HydroStream Vulture - Worlds longest ongoing project. :eek:
1982 Hydrostream Vector
1982 Hydrostream Vamp
1973 Hydrostream Vixen
1976 CobraJet Jet Boat - Outboard conversion project
1976 Pontoon - aka The Family Truckster
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canuckr
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 20977Post canuckr »

Made a bit of progress today, went to my buddies place for a couple of hours before dinner to work on the boat, I had intended on adding some more support under the outer strakes, I decided to start cutting out a float box instead.

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Took a little under 2 hours for me to get the float box to that point. Wasn't that bad really once I figured out what I was doing. Used an angle grinder to cut the glass so I could rip it off then used a claw hammer to dig the foam out.
I will need to take my 4" angle grinder next time, I was using my buddies 5", it is just a bit bigger and makes it a pain to maneuver it around under the gunnel to cut the glass off the float box.

Then I decided to clean the giant mess of transom wood, foam and other assorted garbage that has accumulated in the hull.
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You can see in the pictures where the previous own ripped a bunch of the coring out between the floor register and the edges of the float boxes. I feel that when he found the core, and saw how rotten it was, that is when he decided he was over his head. There is NO core left at all in the back of the boat, you can press the top skin down to the hull with your foot.
I called up express today to order a grinding disc, they were very helpful, I guess there is a bit of paper work required for them to send that grinding disc across the border so they will be contacting me in a few days to confirm that it has been sent. When it gets here the real fun will start.
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canuckr
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 20985Post canuckr »

Got a few more hours into the boat today. Got rained on a bit but the water kept the dust down from the little bit of cutting I had to do.

I managed to get the rest of the core out of boat today. Once I got the upper skin cut off what was left of the balsa just scooped up with a shovel or was swept away with a broom. There were only 3 sections about the size of a dinner plate that were still in good shape, a bit of time and some aggressive shoveling I was able to break it up and chip it out.

I added some more support under the hull, she sure gets flimsy when there is nothing inside it.

I have a couple of questions about the stringers. The boat didn't have wood stringers in it, just a fiberglass tunnel, I am thinking about doing the stringers in foam then glassing over them more heavily than would be done with wood. I believe this should work fine? Any reason not to? Is doing them out of plywood actually better or just easier?

Will 1208 work in place of 1708? I realize it is a lighter weight fabric, would I need to use 2 layers or add an extra layer of CSM to make up the difference? The supplier is currently out of stock on 1708 and I like the idea of using a slightly lighter weight fabric for ease of use, of course if it is strong enough?

I have seen that some guys bed their core down with a layer of CSM and a bit of thickened epoxy. I had planned on doing it that way. Is there any reason not to do it that way instead of buying core bond or something similar?

Here are a few pics. I have a diamond blade from Express on the way, as soon as it gets here I can start grinding.

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And the ever growing pile of crap to take to the dump, There is another large garbage bin that is full of foam and fiberglass chunks.
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canuckr
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 20990Post canuckr »

Questions about layup schedule.

I am getting ready to start ordering some supplies for my boat rebuild.
The plan is to use VE resin. My thoughts are 2 layers of 1.5oz CSM (or 2oz?) on the bottom of the hull, I will bed the balsa into the CSM. Is 1 layer of 1708 enough on top of the balsa or should I add a layer of 1.5oz CSM in there somewhere? Perhaps 2 layers of 1208 instead?

What about over the stringers? I am thinking a layer of CSM and a layer of 1208 or 1708?

Thanks for any guidance.

Also what's going on with my gel coat? Is this maybe clear coat that has been sprayed on top that is now flaking off? or is it the gel peeling off?

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Image
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canuckr
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 21037Post canuckr »

So after yet another break from working on the boat due to spending a month away with work I was finally able to try out that diamond grinding disc I got from express right before I left.
It works awesome, I first started on the transom, managed to burn a hole in the transom in the process. Oh well. A couple days later I went to start grinding the hull, after all the reading I have done about people hating to grind under the deck of the boat, I decided that is where I would start, so it can only get better from here I guess?
At some point somebody had used a lot of carpet glue under the deck, there is enough of it that it clogged up my grinding disc, I was able to clean up the disc with a wire wheel and then use a wire cup brush to scrape most of the glue off before I went back to grinding.
So after a couple hours here I am.
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The transom
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I tried making a large intake duct out of pizza boxes to attach to 2 shop vacs to deal with the dust. It seemed to help on the starboard side of the boat, but when I switched to the other side I couldn't position the pizza box correctly. After I was done grinding I came up with what I feel was a good idea to clean the inside of the boat up.
I took a bucket with some holes in the bottom and then taped a large rag over the top. Placed it under the drain hole and proceeded to hose the inside of the boat out, the water drained through the shirt while it caught almost all of the grinding dust.

I will be placing an order this week for some materials to get the transom back in and start on the core, as well as doing a lot more grinding.
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Hippie459MN
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 21038Post Hippie459MN »

That steel grinding disk works amazing and speeds up the grinding process for sure. I used Chets and best thing is, his has done about 3 boats now. No need to buy a crap ton of paper disks or something like it. When I was up under the bow on mine, while it helped a lot but still sucked, a just put a big box fan up there.

Looking great though. :up:

[ Post made via Android ] Image
-Kevin
Project Vulture | Project Vector | Project Vamp | Project Vixen
The Vulture Wish List | Project CobraJet

1977 HydroStream Vulture - Worlds longest ongoing project. :eek:
1982 Hydrostream Vector
1982 Hydrostream Vamp
1973 Hydrostream Vixen
1976 CobraJet Jet Boat - Outboard conversion project
1976 Pontoon - aka The Family Truckster
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canuckr
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 21080Post canuckr »

Well after a lot of grinding, I have picked up my first order of glass and resin.
My first question is what are the opinions of raising the transom a couple of inches? I have a 20" mid and as much as I'd like to get a 15" I don't see it happening anytime soon.
The plan is for a small set back manual jack plate once things start going back together.
Is it worth it to raise the transom? Or just do it all with the jack plate?

Pictures to follow


Thanks

Derek
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Hippie459MN
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 21082Post Hippie459MN »

I know a good number of people that have raised the transom an inch or two and it worked out great but on a vector I dont think you would really need to cause it wont take that much set back so you should be able to get the motor higher with say a 4" jackplate then I will be able too with my 10" plate that I have for my vulture. Maybe some other will chime in here too.
-Kevin
Project Vulture | Project Vector | Project Vamp | Project Vixen
The Vulture Wish List | Project CobraJet

1977 HydroStream Vulture - Worlds longest ongoing project. :eek:
1982 Hydrostream Vector
1982 Hydrostream Vamp
1973 Hydrostream Vixen
1976 CobraJet Jet Boat - Outboard conversion project
1976 Pontoon - aka The Family Truckster
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Topic Author
canuckr
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Joined: Jul 04, 2014 8:59 pm
Location: Petawawa
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Re: 79 Vector rebuild

Post: # 21086Post canuckr »

So a a bit of an update.
Well today was core day, at least for a little bit. I managed to get the core in the outer wings in and covered with a layer of 1708.
I picked up a vacuum pump a few weeks ago for this, as well as a few other projects I have in mind later.

So being the cheap *** that I am, I had read that using drop cloth for bagging film works well, so in my head I thought " if drop cloth works well, vapor barrier has to work even better......"
IT DOESN'T, the bagging tape doesn't stick to it very well, I did a few a tests in the garage and it seemed alright, but when it came down to it the tape didn't stick at all and I couldn't stop the vacuum leak. By the time I realized it I ran around to grab some weight to throw on the core. Needless to say I have a few spots that will need to get drilled and back filled with resin.....

So after screwing up the entire one side I decided to go with a smaller section of core and try again with the heavy duty drop cloth. Worked great, pulled vacuum almost instantly.

Here is the screwed up side, you can see the layers of duct tape I was using after in an attempt to seal the bag up...... STUPID.
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Here is the first small section of core I did after. I just took a piece of vapor barrier, rolled it up, stabbed a load of holes in it to make a bleeder layer and used a rag as a breather. I didn't care to suck all the extra resin out, just wanted the core stuck down.
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I bedded the core into 2 layers of 2oz. CSM, then bagged it, and before I left for the evening I put a layer of 1708 over the top, because I am working on the boat outdoors and they are calling for rain in the next few days.
I ended up getting both wings done, but by the time I had everything cleaned up I didn't think to take some pictures.
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