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Haven't updated status lately, so here are some pics. Making my way to the front, found more wet balsa.

Looks just like mine! Watching this thread closely!

Cool, post a pic.. I am going to put some hrs into the boat this weekend.. I am trying to finish removing floor, before I start with the build back. I have a few quotes with local fiberglass shops and will probably let them replace transom, and install floor.. I am fixing to order the balsa wood for the floor. I will cut a few more windows into the core, but they advised to keep it, and just build upon it.. It appears to be in great shape. That is the only thing I have to decide before starting the build back. They had a good point, that the wood in the core is merely something to form the fiberglass around, and the existing fiberglass is in great shape. I haven't made my final decision. Anyway, I will try to get the final demo stuff done within the next few weeks, and then its time to start re-build. I am thinking about doing some custom things in the rebuild.. like under the front , instead of just putting the shelf as it was, cutting out a section and putting a rectangular section that is about 4" lower, to fit an ice chest. I was also thinking about a ski-pole built into the rear, just before the splash-well, and maybe going back with bucket seats in front, with two more bucket seats up against the rear facing forward. Maybe even a built in rear bench wrap-around incorporating the ski-pole. Well, I guess that's the fun part.. Also shopping around for Jack-Plate, and hydraulic steering. Anyway, I am almost ready for the next phase .. which is great..

Pull all the core out and replace it!!!!!! You will thank yourself later. If the floor and transom are wet, so it's the core and if it's original, it's wet regardless. Don't take short cuts to save time and a few dollars. These things didn't have the best build quality over the years due to them trying to pump them out the door as fast as they could. Hate to see the boat come apart on you where you decided to not replace any core.

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Hey, I want to say Hi to a fellow Texan. You have a nice piece of Stream history and it's a family boat too. Also you're doing a nice job documenting your rebuild on this forum, although you may never want to sell.

Now for the rant:

Would you put a new bell on your bicycle if the tires were flat?
Would you just slap some paint on your house if the old stuff was peeling?

The core is an engineered, structural component of the boat, so I disagree with your shop.
With their logic, no one has ever needed a core.
Dry balsa is important, otherwise there wouldn't have been so many Hydrostreams come apart before now.

Whatever you decide, will be fine with us, but you have already done the hardest part. Why not put it back together better than original?

Best of luck

I have re cored a hydrostream vector and it wasn't all that difficult. The concern is the new balsa getting wet so what we did was use divinacell composite board instead of balsa. Its water proof, lighter than balsa, incredibly rigid and crush resistant. It costs a lot more than balsa but its the last time you will ever have to mess with that core and it increases flotation to boot as it is what is used to build surf boards. A heat lamp and bags of coal were used to get it to conform to the bottom of the boat, while gluing it down.

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Here's a couple pics of mine... She's been run hard and put away wet - literally. It will need a new transom and core - the existing transom has been goobered up in an attempt to "fix" it, and the core was replaced with plywood - barely.

Taber13 wrote: but they advised to keep it, and just build upon it.. It appears to be in great shape. That is the only thing I have to decide before starting the build back. They had a good point, that the wood in the core is merely something to form the fiberglass around,

RUN from those people as FAST as you can......and NEVER speak to them again

I can see the core is mush from here. Think gravity, water runs downhill. The part of the core that will be in the worst condition will be at the lowest point. The pad area will be the worst, that's where you get the "death crack". The core in the rear pad area is frequently completely gone, then you get a crack in the center of the pad. At high speed water is forced into the crack and the hollow core area becomes pressurized, this causes a hydraulic explosion of the hull. The front portion of the hull separates from the rear, the back goes one way with the engine, the cockpit goes another way, YOU might go anywhere (after you smash all your teeth out hitting the steering wheel/deck) and I don't even want to tell you what your shins feel like after clobbering the bottom of the dash. Hopefully, you won't end up trapped in the wreckage on the lake bottom, maybe you'll be lucky and have just 3 broken ribs, only one punctured lung and a ripped spleen and be happily bobbing around in your Lifeline.....

So anyway.....STILL THINK LEAVING THE CORE IS A GOOD IDEA????????

Pete, you sound like you have been down that road before.

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Hippie459MN wrote:Pete, you sound like you have been down that road before.

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I've been the luckiest Stream owner on the planet. I had the death crack in mine and for some totally unknown reason we never went over 30 mph that day. Boat started taking water and after investigation found a 2 ft long crack in the pad, cut the floor and inner skin and pretty much found no core at all.

I never forget how lucky I was, because several friends were not.