Newbie Vegas V owner.

[Ajandre]

Hey guys, just picked up my first Hydro stream, 1984 Vegas V
Transom has been replaced and floor was redone. As the boat sits it’s just the bare hull.
I have little to no experience in high speed outboard boats.
Looking to build this boat and learn along the way. All this said, my questions are.

Motor what hp level and speed expected
Jack plate, needed or not?
Hydraulic steering or dual cables?
And any other tips, suggestions you can think of..

Thanks for any help!

[ Post made via iPad ]

[alaskastreamin]

Hi Ajandre Welcome to the site!!

You will love the Vegas. It's a good boat and pretty forgiving.

If you haven't learned by now, I will fill you in on the bad part of the Hydrostreams. THE CORE!! Do you know if the Core was replaced? Not the floor. If you are unsure what I'm talking about,...just google Hydrostream core and start reading.... If you're not 100% sure, start another thread and ask. There's ways to check that's minimally invasive.

With that said, A V-6 Merc, Yamaha or OMC 20" shaft motor in the 150-300 hp will be fine. You can mount on the transom or add a jackplate for more speed. Some of the Vegas guys should chime in and suggest how far the motor should be behind the transom to better balance the hull. If you leave the motor buried like what you would see on a ski boat, you can run a 3 or 4 blade ski prop and see 70 mph. This is a great entry level set-up. Most folks will soon tire of this and moving up to the next level takes more $$ to get it to perform properly.


If you go to a jackplate, you will then need a low water pickup, solid motor mounts, water pressure gauge, and dual cable or hydraulic (sea star PRO) steering. Foot throttle and trim on or near the steering wheel. At this point, once you put it in gear, both hands go on the steering wheel and don't leave it. Some boats will "fly" perfectly at this point but most will need little "corrections" and a slight but quick "twitch" of the steering wheel to "snap it " straight.
Depending on power, you could see 85-100+ mph.

My 15' Viper with a 200 hp merc , at 93 mph, the bow would slowly start to weave side to side. If I didn't correct this, it would progress to a full on rubrail to rubrail chine walk. After a little seat time, it just became natural to bump the steering every 10-15 seconds to keep it rock solid and steady.

If you can post some pictures, that would help us....help you greatly.

[Tgoodbread1]

I’m also a new Vegas owner and wondering if anyone else has some more input.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Hippie459MN]

What kind of input are you looking for?