I need help...with my boat I mean.

[skurz]

I've got an '89 Viking. She's been my pride and joy for about 15 years. Well, mostly. About 4 years ago she decided to try her luck at being a submarine, and that didn't turn out so well. Long story...trust me, so I'll make it brief. A buddy left her sitting a little low in the boat lift, they opened a dam upstream, (that hadn't been opened before in my lifetime), and then the wind came up overnight...in a big way. I opened my eyes the next morning expecting to see my baby sitting proud in her cradle, but that was not to be. The lift was empty with no sign of her. I immediately suspected that she must have been "borrowed without my consent", if you know what I mean. But upon further review, I quickly deduced that foul play was in fact, not to blame. She was right where she usually was, but about 4 feet under the water, instead of on top of it. Not a pretty sight. I think that I became more emotional than when my dog died when I was 8. Anyway, from the evidence that I gathered, she must have bobbed for about an hour or so, nose up, before finally succumbing to the sea...well, the lake actually. In her death struggle to stay afloat, she sustained some damage to the aft starboard corner, wearing away most of the gelcoat and fiberglass, just to the point where wood was starting to appear. The interior came completely apart and ended up all over the shoreline. The gas and oil tanks which, as my great timing would have it, had just been filled to capacity the day before, were now totally contaminated by water. The starboard rub rail was worn right trough to the fiberglass in two spots. Once out of the water and on her trailer, it turned out that the back underside where the pad and transom meet, had also suffered severe enough damage, once again with some wood exposed. The rest of that season was dismal, to put it mildly, as I well knew that my Viking was destined to become a trailer queen for quite some time. But as soon as she was out of the water the work began. I got the forever faithful 150 Evinrude XP drained and running tip top, as she always had. I had new seats fabricated. I removed, dried and redid all of the gauges to bring them back to working order. I also did some quick fiberglass patchwork to get her "kinda" seaworthy. The next summer she was supposed to be ready for the water. That was not to be however. Water had sat in the steering cables and they were totally seized and needed replacing. Some electrical components in the Evinrude corroded over the off season and had to be traced and replaced. By this point, I was exasperated. I just wanted to be on the water. The Viking sat on the trailer while I hopped in with friends on their boats . I started spending more time toying with my Mustang. A daughter came along. Another summer came and went, then another. This spring, sitting sadly in the driveway, her cover shredded and sad looking, people actually started making me offers to buy her. To my surprise, I never even contemplated the idea. This was my boat, my Viking, my HydroStream...my true love. Ooops, sorry darling, my second true love. The memories came flooding back, no pun intended. I remembered the day that I first spotted her. My first ride. My first trip into the 80's. The countless skiers that I pulled. The weekend trips to who cares where. NO! This had to stop. What had I been thinking? How could I have neglected her for so long? I do mean the boat this time. Sorry darlin'. We gave her a good once over the other day and know what has to be done. The paint is done. The shine that used to blind you is nonexistent. The metalflake feels like running your hand across a perch backwards. The shoddy fiberglass work that I did is peeling away. It needs a new rub rail. It needs a floor, and I'm really not sure what to expect underneath of that. But besides that, the interior is still super clean, the motor runs nice, the gauges still work great and the steering is perfect. So my question to you guys is...Where do I start? Where do I go from here? Who do I call? I want your input. I need your help. I'm new on here and I've been reading all of the posts. I know that I've definitely come to the right place. Get me on the right track to getting "Knotty Buoy" back to her former glory. I sure would appreciate any advice and knowledge that you can share. Thanks and I hope to hear from you. Sorry, not as brief as I had planned.

[265mercman]

sounds like you got your hands full first off i would probally just start stripping the interior and componets down and get into the bottom since the boat was sunk the core is going to be soaked and decentagrating fast and gona cause lots of problems later on if it is continued to run and then start on the hull its self on the out side get it flipped over were you can work the fiberglass good and get it smooth back to the old fiberglass the get it ready then sand it down and paint or have someone paint it and then turn her back over and start the balsa core and problly the transom needs to be replaced also get all that done and repainted probbly will be a good sound boat again will take some time but you can look back and see all the good work you have got or done accoplished some more ppl will chime in on here and you will get some more ideas this should be a good start though happpy boating and good luck

steven

[VultureNo2]

Welcome to the site Skurz. Glad to hear from you. I read your post and thought I was playing my life in rewind. I went one step further then you and sold my first stream after the sinking and the three boys came along. Last year, I decided my life would never be complete without another one so I started my search. Vulture No2 is coming along nicely. You will get her back to what she used to be, but she will fight you all the way. I agree that the place to start is to get the floor out of it and see what the core and stringers look like. Everything you need to know is here. If you can't find it, just ask. I am sure I speak for everyone when I say don't hesitate to ask. No question is too stupid to ask. Post some pictures of her now and get a WIP thread going. Enjoy the rebuild. Bill

[skurz]

Thanks for the input. Keep it coming. I really do appreciate it. The more that I read on here, the more it seems to me that simply changing the floor isn't the end. Pulling up the floor is only the beginning. I guess that it's pretty common to have problems underneath the floor, from what I've been seeing here. Kinda makes me nervous. My boat was always so solid, I guess that I just always took it for granted. Don't want to sound too dumb, but somebody wanna set me straight on all of the under the floor lingo...such as balsa cores, stringers, pads etc. What's what and where's it all located? I'm pretty handy so I'd like to do most of this myself, besides the fact that it's most likely pretty expensive and slow to have done by pros. Am I right?

[77viper]

I'm at work so I didn't get to read your fist post yet but Welcome to the forum.

The stringers are supports that run the length of the floor from the transom.
The hull is made of gel on the outside a thin layer of fiberglass then a 1/2" layer of bulsa core with another layer of fiberglass over it.
The pad is the flat section in the back of the boat on the bottom. These hulls are a pad-v hull meaning the bottom is a v shape with a pad making a flat running surface.

[shellyisland]

Welcome Skurz,

Where to start? First...you explained the Hydrostream "curse" pretty well. If your core gets wet, game over. However; you love the %^% thing and have the memories, you need to get it back on the water.
I recently accepted the fact that I needed a recore...it happens. I am outsourcing mine to a local shop that works on Hydros...I don't have the time. We are in PA and could probably get a quote with pictures (reasonably priced and experienced.)
I think transomstand is starting a recoring support group.

Best of luck,

Jeff

[skurz]

Hey Jeff. I would love to hear what your quote is going to be. PA's not that far for me. If the price is right maybe I'll tow her down.

[VultureNo2]

If it is like my quote, you'd better sit down. They wanted 8000 foro core, stringers and flooring w/o transom. That's why I'm going it myself. Bill

[Hippie459MN]

My vulture was also in the 8k range. Look in my vulture thread. I have the break down in there.

[ Post made via Mobile Device ]

[skurz]

I guess that when you think about it, $8000,00 isn't sooo bad when you consider that you're getting something of a new boat that should be solid for many years down the road. Compare that to what a brand new boat costs and it's pretty much a no brainer. I guess that I just have to decide if I want to dish out the cash or go it on my own. I've been seeing John from Hydrostream Canada's name pop up on here quite a bit, and it all sounds like good stuff. I'm in Montreal and not that far from him. Does he do that kind of stuff?