Repairing hairline crack on side of Virage pad & recoring pad too..

[Igotmyvirage]

So, thankfully I didn't take the Virage for a quick spin with the motor that came on it cause I found a 2ft long hairline crack on the left side of the center pad-- and it is low enough that the core must be compromised..
So, had a buddy look at it quick and it is an old shoddy repair..
Im just about to start removing the inner skin over the core and the core itself, then removing the little bit of glass that is the attempt at repairing the hairline crack it seems..
Once I get the pad area back to the outer skin and the damaged area ground out, on the advise of someone that knows his glass work ill be putting waxed paper and a board against the side of the pad to keep the exterior work to a minimum(prob just grind it to a small "V" shape and fill with this 2part epoxy putty I ordered when I got my supplies)..
For supplies, I've got few sheets of 2'x4' 1/2" balsa and since the pad is 12" wide(outside measurement) ill get 8ft from a sheet..
Then I've got a bunch of 1.5oz mat, bunch of 12" 1708 tape, cple 5gal pails of resin, standard mekp and a slow hardener too(both for the GP laminating resin) and some rollers and flat bars of a few types, plus grinders and course grinding pads, etc..

My one thought for making the skin under the pad repaired properly and stronger as well is once the damaged area is glassed back to the skin thickness is to lay a long piece of mat down, quite a bit wider then the pad and then to take the 12in wide 1708 tape with about 3inches+/- overlapping in the pad center so that will go out beyond the pad and up the sides of the center pad and help strengthen the pad bottom and the sides of the pad too--- cause to me the damage looks like impact damage, possibly from the person that screwed the bilge pump right into the pad right about where the tiny spider cracks are and pretty much right where the damage stops at the rear end of pad(about 1ft from the transom end of the pad)...
Even though the floor is only wet and half rotted where they originally cut it out from back of ski locker to back of boat im going to cut any flooring that's even questionable, so probably from in front of bucket seats to the back of the boat...
I also will add the triangle braces to stiffen up the dash, add the bulkhead up in the front of the cuddly, and maybe add whatever I can find used for a medium belly tank to increase my range for any longer trips- most likely will keep the tank under the splashwell which I think is around 30gal or close to that anyways...


Sooooo, any thoughts-- input, questions etc? The transom seems to be rock solid so for now that will be fine with me, though ill prob cut the splashwell out and make it flat with some beefy knees when the time comes...
Oh, and I'm about to start building a custom sleeved 260EFI 2.5 block with Bridgeport sleeves and some behind the liner work done- - I've got a set of lightweight wizard pistons for it, an adjustable ECU, and since I gave away my Bridgeport horn setup ill be running a 7petal laser EFI with a 56lb regulator but im planning on doing some mods to the laser unit but for now I just want to take my dream boat for a ride and get a feel for it!!!!

Thank you in advance for any input, suggestions, and info if im forgetting something or anyway to do this work better!!

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[Igotmyvirage]

Oh, and i bought this boat down in Florida- 1100mi drive each way, made the trip, checked boat & motor over & repaired trlr, towed it the 1100miles back and the trip was almost 48hrs on the dot door to door!! Never say never, BUT i can't see ever making a trip that long on a weekend that I had to be back to work 1st thing Monday morning!!! It was the longest 48hrs I've ever experienced!

I had seen this boat listed a cple times in the past 3 or 4yrs but it originally had a 2.4 Bridgeport on it when I 1st saw it. It had a newer 2.5 200hp carb motor on it when I bought it with nice hydraulic steering and what looked like a nose cone that bob's had installed since it was so pristine... And it was all mounted on a nice clean '96 225hp promax clamp, mid and exhaust plate-- hoping I can match the 260 block's exhaust ports to the promax exhaust plate so I don't have to use a very early 2liter mid assy & exhaust plate... But whatever works ..

Once the hull is solid and I get to run it a few times im hoping to repaint at least the top side of the hull! Its white now but very chalky looking and just seems dirty in general so hopefully I can learn the best/most economical way and supplies to repaint it white with a super glossy finish to it!!
Sorry for rambling, I've wanted a Virage for over 10yrs now and finally have my dream boat so im really trying to go all out to get it finished!
Oh, and if anyone has a 7petal laser intake and/or a good set of hi-po 7petal reed cages I'd be very interested in buying them or trading for any of the tons of V6 Merc stuff I have!!

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[Hippie459MN]

I really hate to be the bearer of bad news here but pretty sure that hairline crack is probably where it started to delam and someone prob tried to just repair the crack and not the real problem, which is a rotten core. You are going to need to repair more than just the core in the pad where the crack is, you will need to recore the entire boat and fix it right. Unless you have physical proof the core has been done in the boat in the past at some point, assume its rotten and it all needs to be replaced. Core, stringers, transom, and floor. Its a Hydrostream, if its original, its rotten, no matter how good it looks! Just ask Sonic about his Viper. Looked like it was showroom condition and turned out, the core and everything was totally rotten.

[Igotmyvirage]

Thanks Hippie, there is only core in the center pad on the Virages, I got some pics to give anyone looking a better idea but yes- only way I could see the hairline crack happening on the side of the pad is because the core is compromised(delaminated from either glass side, rotten etc)- or hitting something hard but doesn't look like that from what I can tell from inside or out..
It looks very well like the person that screwed the bilge pump into the center pad is prob the start of it all..
When I can, ill get pics resized and posted but the shoddy attempt of a repair did nothing for strength....

And yes, my plan is to gut and grind all the old crap out then recore, after repairing the hull skin from inside(and giving it a little more strength while im right there before the new core gets bedded down)....

Since there are no actual stringers in the Virages aside from the glass just outside the pad area and right along the ski locker, I have been thinking that maybe I should add a stringer on each side of the pad, any thoughts anyone?
They'd be pretty tall to come up to the floor level, maybe 10in or so im guessing... Im just thinking of all options-- im sure with an improved/stronger outer skin for the core to lay in, plus sealing it up properly and with stronger glass too that I should worry about anything else except for doing the work the absolute best i can with thorough prep work and such...

Any Virage owners or anyone that's worked on one have any thoughts on the stringers on each side of the center pad after its repaired and then record & covered properly? ?

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[Hippie459MN]

I think you are correct on only having the core in the pad on the Virages. Ron Pratt (alaskasteamin) has some pretty good (re)build photos of his Virage he picked up from the man himself (Howard Pipkorn) a year or two ago. Its the last ever Virage that was made by Hydrostream and it was never put together.

As for the bilge pump, I personally dont know why people screw them down at all. The one I have sits right on the bottom (It does have a tab with a screw hole though) and just use a good silicone epoxy to basically glue it down. That way no screws so nothing to rot out and it can be easily removed if need be.

My vulture had a big area that the hull was cracked and we repaired it from the inside as well then did the same on the outside. All is good now.

[Igotmyvirage]

That's really good to hear Hippie! Yeah I've read every single thread on anything to do with the Virage hulls-- and searched and saved most every picture too- I'd love to go all out at some point and do almost exactly what Ron has done with his last Virage, esp gutting all the foam out of the sponsons and bedding some 1/4" balsa so they'd be rock solid, (seems im pretty lucky with the foam, the left sponson is bone dry where I put the drain plug hole, and the starboard side only has a very slight amount of moisture- - but my sponsons seem to be covered with maybe 1/4" plywood or something pretty strong, just need to get the carpet out of that area too cause I don't want anything that holds moisture at all!!) but as of now aside from needing a decent paint job(prob go back with all white top half, well, below the rub rail too a bit) as I'd like to have a nice glossy white boat for now-- and I've been able to find some nice new/take outs from local marinas for great prices for the buckets up front, and ill prob just replace the plywood backing from the back and bottom on the rear bench seat along with a new and better frame to set it on with a design to give me more storage space for knick knacks!-- or maybe a smallish gas tank if I can't find a cheap belly tank for an extra 20gal+/-... I have a nice low profile 18gal tank that would prob fit no problem under the bench seat, hopefully the wife will grab it along with a huge list of extra parts, carbs, intakes and at least 3 or 4 of my best blocks I have back where we used to live about 1kmi from here way up in new England. .. But she's going back to visit in a month or 2 so hopefully I'll have more then enough to build a few extra powerheads, a nice 245hp 2.5 carb block, cple good 2.4's, a 2liter that's getting tube ported for the light vector copy, and a bunch of electronics carbs intakes and reed cages- maybe a cple extra cranks too-- ill have to really bribe her good to even hope to get half my list, Lol....

Well, im feeling pretty confident on my game plan, but I really wonder if a nice tall stringer glassed to each side of the center pad would really ensure the entire pad is that much stronger and also tied into the floor esp if I can make some kind of box with it all glassed together and bonded against the pad sides as well as bonded to the hull in any spots I can do as well....--- Or am I over thinking this, beefed up outer shell and repaired properly where the hairline stress crack is, then re-cored and sealed properly plus some good 1708 and some mat glassed well beyond the pad area...

Thanks again Hippie, and I'd love to hear any and all thoughts from anyone-- especially anyone thats had their hands in a Virage doing any kind of glass work or anyone familiar with their structural design and of course any of the numerous experienced fiberglass guys on here! !!
Thank you again very much- "I GOT MY VIRAGE!"(Still hard to believe im working to get it water ready, let alone that I finally have a Virage sitting in front of my garage, it's almost surreal! And as long as I have the vector(copy) at least I've got something light and can give me the 0 to 90mph pinned to the seat still...

I wish I wasn't on 2nd shift cause it's so hard to get much done before having to go to work- and getting home at midnight means I gotta be super quiet--- guess ill just start building the powerhead so its ready to bolt on the second the Virage is done-- or could always drop it on the vector just to see how quickly I can blow by every boat on the local river here...

Sorry for such a book-- I got the fever BAD and just want to spend every minute possible finishing the Virage- - so please comment away!!
Thank you in advance again, really thank you so much for ya'lls input!!!!

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[Igotmyvirage]

Well just lost my entire post...
Anyways- cut sample out from inside boat and there appears there is NO core at all in center pad! !
Cut a 2in by about 6in section and barely got half of that out as it is was laminated so well!!
So thinking of grinding shoddy repair glass out, then more there where any damaged glass is, plus grinding the pad and about 5in or so wider then the pad sup can lay mat and 1708 in to beef it up after everything else is done. ...
Also really thinking that a stringer glassed to the sides of the pad, about 7in tall total up to floor, laminated really well to the sides of the pad would really add some strength to the pad as well ...

This is my dream boat and id like to know its solid as a rock when this is all done...

Please add any input, questions etc as id love to hear anything!
Oh and got some pics resized And should be able to post them tomorrow late morning-- just got home from work so its sandwich time and hitting the pillow!
Thank you again to anyone with some ideas or input-- gotta have my dream boat ready for 100++mph's with the bad to the bone powerhead im building for it!!!

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