my first hydrostream

[fla.viper]

hey guys, great site. i just bought my first hydrostream project, a 75 viper. i had been trying to buy one for weeks, but either the boats were too far away or somebody else would beet me to it. so when i found this on on CL 3 hours away i bought it after only seeing pics.it is in need of a complete core, stringers, and transom. not too worried about it ive worked plenty with glass and epoxy. with the vast amount of info here i feel vary confident. just would like to know if i got a good deal or not. along with the boat i got a solid trailor that made the 3 hour drive with no problems, dual rack and pinion steering with cables, hot foot throtal with cable, 18 gallon gas tank, and a hydrolic jack plate no pump. i paid $700 for the whole package, plus $100 for gas to pick it up. so im into $800 bucks. so how did i do? after i saw the condition of the i think i paid a little too much. of course the seller said it was in better condition than it was. either way it is mine now. i will post pics of the entire restoration. one last question i have a 99 merc 3.0 250 efi is this motor too heavy for a viper? thankyou for the help, mike

[Rut311969]

Welcome and I wouldnt say you got raped but you did pay a little to much but the others would have cost you more to get .I have the same prob when searching for Streams . but there seems to be plenty in Fl . Good luck and post some pics .

[Hippie459MN]

Its hard to say if you got a bad deal or not. One person might say you did but if its the boat you wanted some might agree that you got a fair deal. I drove to SC from MN to buy my boat and to be honest, Had I known it was going to end up as much work as it has been (Due to someone elses poor core job and suck) I would have passed on it and searched a bit more but also the number of streams for sale at the time were next to none (Esp Vultures and I had my mind set on one) and once I picked mine up, about 3-4 months later they started popping up left and right. I love my boat and even though its been a nightmare I havent even thought about giving up and finding something that hasent been butchered up by someone so bad. Ok I did once for about 3 minutes then I watched the video of chets viper ( CLICK HERE ) again and was stoked once again. LoL

Im sure I will buy another stream (Ok, I know I will) and I might pay more then I would like too im sure but to me, once you drive it, it so worth it.

Now how about some pictures already. We love pictures.

And welcome aboard. Any questions or anything, Just ask.

[fla.viper]

here are a few pics of what i got. this is how i got it with the core removed from the stern to the helm. i guess that saves me alot of work.

[Hippie459MN]

I like it! If someone already did some of the core removal then your in better share then if nothing was touched yet. I wouldn't say you got a bad deal but that's just me. The trailer looks like it needs a Makeover worse then the boat. LOL

Really though, looks good and look forward to plenty of progress pictures.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[Rut311969]

Pics of the inside please and yes if core is removed its a bonus .

[77viper]

I'm with everyone else, you didn't get a bad deal considering the amount of money in the total investment to get on the water.
I will suggest selling the trailer and getting something bigger if you plan on trailering it a lot. If you get a good bunk trailer with a wider axle the boat will sit a lot lower and between the wheels, this will make it a lot easier to work on. My viper sat on a high trailer like that and it made for a lot more work doing the core and rigging.
I think a 3.0 would be a little too much for the viper, especially if you don't have a lot of experience in a short padded hull. Mine can be a handful with the 200 on it and it's a 2.4 so it's lighter than a 2.5 then add the extra weight of a 3.0 and I would think it would want to porpus a bunch.

[YDOC462]

welcome to the site! i think thats a fair deal considering thats what i paid for my vector (which was probably in worse shape) but its the project that i really wanted. once you get it exactly the way you want it, itll be worth every penny. jmo

cool boat!

[YDOC462]

I will suggest selling the trailer and getting something bigger if you plan on trailering it a lot. If you get a good bunk trailer with a wider axle the boat will sit a lot lower and between the wheels, this will make it a lot easier to work on. My viper sat on a high trailer like that and it made for a lot more work doing the core and rigging.

my vector set the same way, working alone there was alot of climbing in, out, up, and down. my a$$ looks good now.

[RussF]

my vector set the same way, working alone there was alot of climbing in, out, up, and down. my a$$ looks good now.

we ' ll pass on that pic even thou we like pics