1978 Viking resto-mod
Posted: Mar 09, 2019 3:16 pm
Seeing as this forum is the go to place for all things Hydrostream I figure I should post a build thread of what I'm doing to my Viking.
This boat has been in my family since 1981 when my dad and uncle bought it for a ski boat. It was used and well kept for many, many years. But like all of these boats even with the best of care the core, floor, and transom was rotten. Can't blame it after 30 years. On its last day in the water it came over a large wake and cracked the hull beneath the foot well. It started taking on water pretty quick so to the launch and on the trailer it went.
This project started in about 2005 when my older brother and cousin began the tear down process. They removed the rotten floor, center stringers, and most the core from the dash back. The deck and hull was then split up to the dash board to be able to remove the transom without cutting out the splash well. A few patches were laid on the hull in some damaged spots and a new transom was installed. At this point money ran out. We were just kids at the time, I was a senior in high school. So the project was pushed outside and sat for the next 12 years.
I began agin this fall. I purchased a new tandem axle trailer and set the boat on that. It was very flimsy with out a core in it. I built a very supportive cradle to hold the hull during its rebuild. The cradle is a 1/2" plywood and 2x6's I also have a 36" piece of aluminum to keep the pad dead flat.
I decided to completely remove the deck from the hull to make the work easier. With the deck removed the rest of the core, the outer stringers, and transom was removed agin. The transom that had been installed was already rotten. To be fair it was never fully finished years ago. I began by grinding and sanding the entire hull to prep for new material. Once all holes and damage to the hull was completed with multiple layers of 1.5oz CSM a full layer of 1708 was laid over the entire bottom of the hull.
The new transom is two pieces of 3/4" marine grade plywood laminated together with a layer of CSM. The transom was laid in and clamped to the hull with a layer of CSM and a wet lay up of resin. I built a set of giant Jorgenson style clamps out of 2x4's and threaded rod. It was then tabbed in with three layers of overlapping 1708 and two full layers of 1708.
I choose 1/2" balsa for the core material for its strength properties. The core was fitted and bedded into a wet lay up of CSM after getting two heavy coats of resin and allowed to soak in. Shingles were used to provide some even weight to bed the core.
This is where I'm at now. Long first post since I'm a ways into the build already, but I'll post updates more frequently along the way.
This boat has been in my family since 1981 when my dad and uncle bought it for a ski boat. It was used and well kept for many, many years. But like all of these boats even with the best of care the core, floor, and transom was rotten. Can't blame it after 30 years. On its last day in the water it came over a large wake and cracked the hull beneath the foot well. It started taking on water pretty quick so to the launch and on the trailer it went.
This project started in about 2005 when my older brother and cousin began the tear down process. They removed the rotten floor, center stringers, and most the core from the dash back. The deck and hull was then split up to the dash board to be able to remove the transom without cutting out the splash well. A few patches were laid on the hull in some damaged spots and a new transom was installed. At this point money ran out. We were just kids at the time, I was a senior in high school. So the project was pushed outside and sat for the next 12 years.
I began agin this fall. I purchased a new tandem axle trailer and set the boat on that. It was very flimsy with out a core in it. I built a very supportive cradle to hold the hull during its rebuild. The cradle is a 1/2" plywood and 2x6's I also have a 36" piece of aluminum to keep the pad dead flat.
I decided to completely remove the deck from the hull to make the work easier. With the deck removed the rest of the core, the outer stringers, and transom was removed agin. The transom that had been installed was already rotten. To be fair it was never fully finished years ago. I began by grinding and sanding the entire hull to prep for new material. Once all holes and damage to the hull was completed with multiple layers of 1.5oz CSM a full layer of 1708 was laid over the entire bottom of the hull.
The new transom is two pieces of 3/4" marine grade plywood laminated together with a layer of CSM. The transom was laid in and clamped to the hull with a layer of CSM and a wet lay up of resin. I built a set of giant Jorgenson style clamps out of 2x4's and threaded rod. It was then tabbed in with three layers of overlapping 1708 and two full layers of 1708.
I choose 1/2" balsa for the core material for its strength properties. The core was fitted and bedded into a wet lay up of CSM after getting two heavy coats of resin and allowed to soak in. Shingles were used to provide some even weight to bed the core.
This is where I'm at now. Long first post since I'm a ways into the build already, but I'll post updates more frequently along the way.