83 V-King (Bruiser) Restoration

[83VKING]

The last run of the year, i found that i have water intrusion in cyl #3. (what i get for not having a water pressure gauge, i will be installing one this year.) Power head is coming off and replacing all the gaskets. Hopefully it fixes the problem. What river do you run on?

[RussF]

the Merrimack some of the time I usually run on Great East Lake in Wakefield NH on the Maine line but when we get together its on the Merrimack

[83VKING]

Oh awesome. I do want to run the Merrimack sometime this year. I probably won’t be ready in time for the spring but later this summer for sure. Thanks.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[83VKING]

The next day i focused on the core. it ran all the way up in the bow down to the transom. I have to say there is no much room up there and it was difficult and challenging. thats were i started then worked my way back. i made sure to belt sand the hull again to ensure it was once again smooth. once i cut the core templates and had them in place i made sure to put 1 layer of MAT down before i lay the core. i found that the MAT was a good idea because it really helped the core bond to the hull. once the core was layed down i put cinder blocks on it for weight. 12 hrs later once it was dry, i belt sanded the edges and proceeded to glass the core in once and for all.









Trying to get the best core bond i could with what i had to work with. Laying glass up in that bow was a lot harder than it looks . Balancing resin in one hand laying glass in the other made poring resin and making sure it all soaked in was a challenging. I made sure to core the pad to.





Once the core bonded to the hull, it was time to lay a thick layer onto to seal it tight.



I was coming close to the end of glassing (besides the floor and additional stringers) so i was not shy about using a lot of resin. i wanted to make sure that the core was absolultly soaked with resin.

[83VKING]

I added a V brace in the bow and closed it in with an air box. Also took the floor down a few inches for more leg room. i tried to copy the original hydrostream layout as much as possible.







I decided to put additional stingers on the side of the hull on top of the core. when i hit a wave hard i wanted to make sure that i can relay take a wave. just more peace in mind. i know i am adding more weight and probably do not need to do it but i had the material and felt this is the way i wanted to do it. my biggest regret is not putting holes at the bottom to allow water to flow back. whoops big screw up. i will be honest i was going at a very fast pace. i did the transom/ floor in a few days. i put in holes in the floor to extract the water if any were to get in just in case.





next is glassing the floor in.

[RussF]

what are you going to run for a motor?

[83VKING]

I am running a 1983 mercury inline 115HP with a 22 laser II stainless. 120 PSI all 6 cyl. Bolted to transom no jackplate and no low water pick up. fastest i got it was 58 MPH on GPS. once i got past 50 i was pretty much airborne revving at 6000. to high for this motor...

Everything was pretty much redone, stater, rectifier, plugs, wires, lower gear seals, water pump, power packs ,solenoids, carbs rebuilt, fuel pump, fuel lies, etc. I am now going to have to take the power head off because i have water intrusion in cyl #3 (common for theses motors) . i will be replacing all the seals from the exhaust plates this spring. its never been rebuilt and the motor was sitting close to 10 years.

to much trim can get you in trouble for sure that's why i will invest with a jackplate and low water pickup. in the future i would like to find a Mercury XR2.



Here is a picture of the motor when i first bolted it on. nothing was attached yet (steering cable, hydraulic hoses. etc. ).



Mercury Laser II 22P. i a 24 as well, the 24 is better cruising but there more snapp with the throttle with the 22. did not gain any mph with the 24. I just picked up a quicksilver 2 blade 23P bronze speed prop i am curious about. if I can break 60 mph that will be a mile stone ive wanted to achieve with this setup.

[RussF]

ah a inline.......that's what I have on my vector which is new to me this years....I haven't even had it in the water yet..but I just picked up a XR4 150

[83VKING]

Awesome! Do you have any pictures of your Vector and inline? That's great you picked up an XR4. that is going to be fun for the vector for sure.

[RussF]

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