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New owner of an old stream

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almightygimp1
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New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9188Post almightygimp1 »

just bought myself an 84 viper, already know its gonna need a transom, new paint. I havnt looked under the floor of the boat yet, and have never done any glass work myself worth mentioning. I plan on pulling the floor up, and getting all that spray foam they added out, check things out a bit more, and depending on what i find there ill make a decision on what to do. I plan on running a healthy 150 eventually, was wondering if anyone here could give me some ball park figures on what a good price would be to have the transom replaced on this thing. If it looks bad under the floor, i want to make it right, not sure if i will tackle that myself or not. Ive been a river rat since i can remember, grew up on the chattahoochie, and have wanted a stream since i could remember seeing one. Now ive got it and it needs some serious tlc, but i plan on keeping this boat forever so i want to make her right again. the hull on the boat is solid, no spiderwebs anywhere except on the top by the windshield, bottom of the hull looks good, but has that big hook, it looks really big, havnt measured yet but from what im hearing i need to get rid of it. She is a pile, was uncovered and has sat for 2 years. Im pretty sure she is gonna be wet in the bottom. The cap back by the splashwell has a huge crack on the side, almost 1/4 inch wide and all the way through im assuming because of the transom flexing. Any ball park figures on replacing the transom would be appreciated, thanks.
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9190Post Rut311969 »

I have aguy that does them for 1800$ but I live in Iowa you wont find anyone this cheap elsewhere probly be 2000-3000 my guy well do transom and core for 3500$ if I remember right. That includes the floor he is in the middle of my vector right now and just got done wet sanding and buffing out my Voyager andman does it look good. Welcome and good luck.
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oldskier
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9191Post oldskier »

I think that those of us who have done it can tell you it takes a special fiberglass guy to do your boat to the level of quality you want. If you pay someone to do it make sure the core is bedded in completely because it is easy to skimp and end up with a partially bonded core. It has happened to a few guys who took their boats to 'pros'.

Don't sweat the 'hook'....as far as I know the fastest Viper ever(108 MPH) had a 280 drag motor, side steer, and the original hook.(Call it a 'wedge'...thats what it was supposed to be.)

Howard Pipkorn didn't put it there because he didn't know anything about boat design.....just make the wedge section straight if it has a curve in it. I hear the molds suffered with age near the end.
'75 Viper '76 Black Max 175

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almightygimp1
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9197Post almightygimp1 »

old skier, it is definately straight, nice angles, no curve to it, an it has an opposite wedge going up towards the front, but both look straight, they arent curves, definate angle changes that were built into it. Hopefully later in the week i can get started tearing out the floor to see what is underneath. Im not scared to try and work on the boat, im a born mechanic and craftsman, meticulous in everything i do, but will just need to educate myself about it before i begin. If i cant do it right i wont do it. thanks for the info, im not looking to run 100, im shooting for 85, maybe 90 later on.
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almightygimp1
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9211Post almightygimp1 »

My biggest challenge will be learning about the types of resin to use, mats and glass,where to use each, which type of core to go with, and how to bed it properly. I have just started trying to learn about some of this, and it seems there is a wealth of knowledge to be had from this site, s and f, and i boats, so im gonna study up before i make a decision on having this done, or doing it myself and knowing heart and care were put into it. This seems to be a great site, learning alot by reading some of these forums, good stuff.
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9212Post 77viper »

My viper has the wedge still and has been to 101. I did mess with the pad on my vking but we will have to wait to see what that brings.

Feel free to ask any questions, if you take your time and have the time you can do it. I had over 400 hours in my viper and god only knows how much time will be in mt vking.
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75 viper 2.4 200, 130 shot of NOS
91 vegas loaned out
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9220Post S P E E D »

I just finished up restoring an 80 J-Craft Floor and Transom. Worst part of it all is getting all the old wood and fiberglass out. Grinding it down is tedious, wear some coveralls and a hoodie because once that fiberglass gets airborne it will find it's way into parts of your house that you wont expect.

There is alot of difference between companys who manufacture Fiberglass. At first I had bought 3M Resin and woven cloth, The cloth is great but I dont know if the resin had been sitting on the shelf at the supplier for a while but it was extremely thick.

I went to a place called Gelcoat ( http://www.gelcoat.ca ) Picked up there Resin, Mat and Woven Cloth and what a difference. So much easier to work with and it turned out great.

Couple pics of the floor before and after...

Old rotten floor...

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New floor getting glassed in...

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Carpeted and seat bases glassed in...

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Done!

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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9221Post S P E E D »

Chet aka 77Viper would be the guy to ask questions. Seeing he has done his Viper and seeing the latest pics of the VKing He knows what he's doing. I'm sure there's alot of guys on this forum that can help ya out.
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1993 Hydrostream Vision aka Project "HydroSCREAM" SOLD
1979 J-Craft Pro Ski SOLD
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almightygimp1
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9225Post almightygimp1 »

yeah, i read all of 77 vipers restore, plus i believe i saw a vid on youtube of his boat launching, thing looks and runs wicked. The grinding and tearing out part will be easy for me, ive been tearing up stuff since i came into this world lol. Really though, im a metal worker and i do lots of grinding ( even had a nickname as an apprentice, they called me coffee, cause i grind so fine.) I was a union pipefitter for 10 years, been with a local company since then, so a 4 1/2 grinder is a daily tool of mine. Im not worried in the least about the tearing down part, my worries are the core, getting it bedded, and i have no clue about the bagging part, im still trying to educate myself on this, im guessing its bagged and a vacum is pullled to help seat it in the resin, maybe even pull resin up through it. Also, like i said, ive never done any glass work, and id be hesitant to tackle the transom seeing as how the more i look at motors for this thing the bigger im leaning towards. but we will see, im gonna do the gutting myself and ill start a thread in the restore section, show you my progress, guess i can start on that and make decisions and continue to educate myself on materials and the processes. This isnt going to be a race boat, but i do want 85 out of it or i wont be happy, 90 would be even better. Im thinking a 2.4 now, was previously looking at a 150 xr2 or yama vmax. The more i learn about the go fast world, the more i think i need the 2.4 as it seems a good platform for anything. Ive got the bug for this boat worse than ive ever had it for anything, so im eating sleeping and dreaming stream right now. Probably wont post again for awhile, im gonna do my homework before i get started, next post from me will be in the resto thread. Thanks guys for all the input, i can see im in the right place to learn about this. Here is a picture of the pile, all i did was get her home, havnt touched her since.
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oldskier
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Re: New owner of an old stream

Post: # 9233Post oldskier »

Sweet...love the bruiser boats. Treat the dual ride guide steering nice, thats the good setup.

Whether you bag it or not, making sure the core material is bedded is just a case of being careful. Doesn't take an artist or a super 'glass man, just an eye for detail. Whatever you use, epoxy or polyester or vinylester, make sure the fiberglass cloth and mat are saturated. You can always grind off the excess.

Thats the kind of thing you can get skimped by a pro because he is trying to save time or materials.
'75 Viper '76 Black Max 175

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