Hydrostreamforums.com - The only dedicated Hydrostream forum

Just going through the countless rotten core threads here and on SNF. Just wondering if there's any difference in the way the boats were laid up, or if the CE boats are just as prone to the same issues as the American built boats.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

Good question, but I would guess they would have the same issues. I have a '94 CE Voodoo and I expect it's getting a little soft.

I think ANY boat that utilizes wood below the water line will have the same issues. Fiberglass will always allow some moisture to penetrate it (but it never tends to leave). Set up a moist environment and the wood is going to rot. I think the only way to truly avoid rot is to completely impregnate the wood with resin, but that's not easy. I guess vacuum bagging and slow-cure resins would help, however there will more than likely always be some pore space that is not filled. I don't think you can beat the performance propteries of balsa as a core, however wood and water don't mix.

I have heard over the years that the CE boats were real inconsistent with quality. There could be one that was just fine and then the next one built was literally junk. I guess there was a lot of employee turn over or something, and some inexperienced ones at that. I heard the same thing about Hydrostream as well, particularly, high school kids with chopper guns and not much experience.
My Venus had some voids between the gel and the glass in a few spots on the strakes where the gel broke out. It was pretty much cosmetic and easy to fix, but non the less, just an example of inexperience and lack of attention.

With the CE boats, I don't know if they used the same materials as HS did either. HS really was ahead of a lot of other builders with the newest resins and coremat..a shame that they didn't have the production procedures up to par..

John Spaeth vacume bagged the ones he built, and used marine plywood etc, I also heard that some were inconsistent. any hul that has not been garaged every night and never left in the water is probably wet. even the cared for ones get wet. they all need to be checked for water and pad/ sponson straightness to run properly.No different than any other hull of the era.

Steve

In a recent conversation with John's son (Chris), he indicated that initially, they did not vacuum-bag the cores in the boats, however they do now. Furthermore, the most recent VooDoos do not have cores; just a little more glass.

good to know, it is model specific, the ae-21's were made in the later years. great guys to deal with John and Chris. I'm in their shop usually once every few months.

Steve

beavertonae-21 wrote:good to know, it is model specific, the ae-21's were made in the later years. great guys to deal with John and Chris. I'm in their shop usually once every few months.

Steve

Cool, I wanted to run by their shop while at our cottage this year, but didn't get the time. What are they building? What do they have molds for?

he still has the vegas/ voyager 20 air entrapment, they doo the voo doos, he has the 22 talon molds with Ted Greguc at speedmaster, Tuff Marine build a 16 and 21 foot v hull there, and the 20 srv probably the best v hull available now.

Steve

THE MAJORITY OF THESE BOATS ARE TRAILERED, NOT LEFT IN THE WATER FOR ANY TIME AT ALL, SO WATER MIGRATION THROUGH THE GEL AND OUTER SKIN IS MINIMAL. I WOULD BET THE MAJORITY OF ALL WATER SATURATION IS FROM THE BOAT NOT BEING STORED WITH THE NOSE VERY HIGH AND WATER LAYING UNDER THE FLOOR FOR MONTHS OR YEARS AT A TIME. I BET IF THE ARE SPACE BETWEEN THE FLOOR AND CORE WERE SEALED AND ONLY VENTED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER. IN OTHER WORDS, THE DRAIN ON THE FLOOR WHERE THE DRIVER IS, IS CONSTANTLY RUNNING A STREAM OF WATER DOWN THE CENTER OF THE HULL. EVEN THIS WILL NOT ENTIRLY SATURATE ENDGRAIN WITH A LITTLE BIT OF RESIN ON IT, BUT WHEN THE WATER LAYS ON IT, AND SWEATS, AND STAYS THERE BECAUSE THE BOAT IS STORED WITH THE NOSE LEVEL TO THE TRANSOM, THIS INVITES DISASTER. IN A PERFECT WORLD, WHERE THE CORE IS SEALED WITH VINYL, OR BETTER YET, EPOXY, IT WOULD NOT MATTER SO MUCH. THESE BOATS, LIKE MOST OF THEM, ROTTED FROM THE INSIDE OUT, DUE TO OPERATOR LACK OF CARE, ULTIMATELY, FROM NOSE NOT BEING STORED UPRIGHT. MY VIPER IS ALMOST 30 YEARS OLD, ALWAYS STORED NOSE UP, CORE IS NOT SEALED THE BEST, BUT IT STAYS DRY AND WOOD NOT DISCOLORED.