1977 Hydrodyne Tournament Skier 18 OB Rebuild

Discussion in 'Hydrodyne® Boats' started by barefootrocker, Dec 15, 2014.

  1. barefootrocker

    barefootrocker Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2014
    Messages:
    25
    Location:
    Central Wisconsin
    Ski Team:
    CWWSST
    Hi guys-
    Thought I'd try and break up the winter blues and show you the project that my dad has been working on and I've been helping him some. After driving past this boat on the side of the road for weeks, he finally stopped and had a conversation with the guy. After some careful consideration and the guy telling him that if he couldn't get rid of it he would just take it to the junkyard to be cut up, my dad, to his own dismay, pulled it home haha.

    The previous owner had sold the motor, steering, controls, and barefoot boom. The boat was mostly gutted, and painted two-tone light and sparkly blue. My dad was told that this was a Shawano tow boat earlier in its life. It doesn't appear that this was ever a twin. At some point in this boat's life, one of the previous owners had decided to fill the 18 gallon fuel tank in the nose with sand. The transom was shot. What WAS left, was a true looking hull, the original batwing trailer in fairly good condition and the original pylon. So it was a start.

    I'll preface this by saying the goal of this project is to do a budget rebuild, simply to the tune of having a nice hot rod when all is said and done.

    So far the project has seen the following:
    -The floor and rotten stringers cut out.
    -The transom gutted.
    -A motor has been purchased, a 1995 Mariner Magnum EFI 175.
    -New stringers and transom pieces cut.

    Attached are a few pictures.

    DSCF1140.jpg
    The Dyne's first snowy day home. Mom wasn't thrilled, but she's getting more excited as time goes on :)

    IMG_20140510_171311_816 - Copy.jpg IMG_20140510_171228_765 - Copy.jpg 1977 Hydrodyne Project (6).jpg
    The transom had seen better days.

    DSCF1457.jpg
    The gas tank was indeed filled with sand.

    IMG_20140921_175348_778.jpg
    Looking down the transom with the motorwell removed. Much of it was wet, much of it was gone.

    IMG_20140921_151708_807.jpg
    Stringers were spongy as well.

    We are looking forward to doing as much work as we can in the off season. My dad will hopefully be on here soon. Somehow when he tries to access the site from home, he gets a timeout error, but only from this site. We're looking into it. Happy holidays and enjoy the snow if you can!

    -Aaron
     
  2. kevinb

    kevinb Elite Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2006
    Messages:
    459
    Location:
    Brookfield, WI
    Boat Model and Year:
    1985 HD 20' I/O 350 (Yep I/O Boat #2 of maybe7?)
    Ski Team:
    NA
    Aaron. Welcome to Hydrodyners. Looks like a good project if the core is solid. Lots of work a head but worth it in the end, where are you folks located?

    The 18's are a great hull and you and your dad need to let your mom drive it when it is done. It will bring big smiles ;~)

    Kevin-
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2014
  3. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2006
    Messages:
    2,321
    Location:
    FL
    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    Great motor choice. How do you plan to repair the transom and stringers?

    jim
     
  4. barefootrocker

    barefootrocker Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2014
    Messages:
    25
    Location:
    Central Wisconsin
    Ski Team:
    CWWSST
    Kevin-
    We are located in Wausau, Wisconsin. I've been in show skiing for ten years now, and my mom and dad first taught me to ski 20 years ago.

    Jim-
    The motor wasn't so much a choice but a great find. We were figuring on something in the 135-175 range, and this one presented itself not too far from Wausau for the right price. At that point it was up in the air whether we would take this on, and finding the motor sort of sealed the deal. Should be plenty of power for anything we want to throw at it. I'm looking forward to the barefoot wake from the little Dyne.
    Stringers are treated 2x4s and 2x6 down the middle, cut to (sort of) match the originals. We actually thinned out the floor slightly in the back to make the floor more parallel to the gunnels and to give it a bit more depth. I believe dad plans to coat the stringers and bulkheads with resin (epoxy I believe), then lay a layer of cloth and resin down at the contact point between the stringers and hull, and glass over the top of each one and fillet down to the hull.
    The plan for the transom so far is two layers of 3/4" marine plywood with two layers of 1/4" hardboard in between. With the 1/4" of glass on the back and new glass on the front, we should be left with around a 2-1/2" transom when it's all said and done. We are also considering doing gussets from the transom to the hull, but haven't decided yet.

    We are trying to decide the order for the next few steps, as my dad has gotten access to a heated space over the holidays that we could do some glass work. We'd like to use that time as efficiently as possible.

    -Aaron
     
  5. ski38off

    ski38off Photo of the Month

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2011
    Messages:
    56
    Boat Model and Year:
    1976 18', 200 hp, and 1977 18' 150 hp twin rig
    Ski Team:
    Lake Shelby Skiers
    This brings back a lot of memories. Couple suggestions. There are some products that you just pour into the transom cavity. The front and back fiberglass act as a mold. I didn't have the guts to try, but it would save a lot of time if the stuff works. Also, someone else on this forum is using a composite board called (I think) Coosa. I'd seriously look into using this or something similar. I hate wood in boats below the waterline. You and your dad can come over and look at my rig. I have lots of pictures. Andy knows the way. Mike
     
  6. dynebob1

    dynebob1 Boat of the Month

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Messages:
    557
    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, Illinois
    Boat Model and Year:
    1998 18 OB RUA- 250XS.and 1997 Twin Rig /225 optis
    I've seen that boat for sale for the last few years, and am glad to see someone picking it up and giving it a new life.
    (That Batwing trailer is a find in itself.) I looks like it's in good condition. Not many of those made it over the years. Is your plans to repaint it all
    white again like stock or go back to a custom paint job ? Good luck on your new project !!!!


    Bob
     
  7. jim

    jim Hydrodyne 18 Specialist

    Joined:
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    2,321
    Location:
    FL
    Boat Model and Year:
    77 Dyne 18 I/O converted to Outboard
    The pour in stuff has been tried on a Dyne in south west Florida I believe. It deformed the transom and changed the angle. Do you plan on removing the deck to do the transom?

    jim
     
  8. barefootrocker

    barefootrocker Hydrodyner

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2014
    Messages:
    25
    Location:
    Central Wisconsin
    Ski Team:
    CWWSST
    Mike-
    I have seen that Seacast and it looks like a pretty slick process. What I'd be concerned with is porosity or cavities being created depending on how the stuff acts when it's setting up. Either way it is a moot point as the fiberglass was in very poor shape, so we ended up pulling most of it and wouldn't have a mold to pour it in. We've seen tj309's build with Coosa and it looked absolutely bulletproof. It looked like a great choice and I remember you recommending that, but the marine plywood was already purchased. Cost is a big factor here, we're looking for bang for the buck without compromising safety, and I think the marine plywood should do fine. We're also not building with the intention of twin motors. Time savings is not a big concern which explains some of our material choices and the tendency to avoid outsourcing anything. Did you say that you would have changed something about the way you built the floor? We are looking at rebuilding fairly close to the original design. All that being said Mike, your twin was truly a work of art and it was a real treat you pulled us all that day, even if our performance was sub-par! I know my dad would probably love to see one or both of your Dynes.

    Bob-
    It's funny, I vaguely remembered seeing this for sale as well for a few years. The trailer, with the exception of the coupler and the wheels, really was in very good condition, and yes that was a big part of the find. We are going to strip the boat and paint it white. At that point we haven't decided yet on the original stripes and decals or something a little different or more modern.

    Jim-
    Thanks for the info on the Seacast. We opted to cut the deck just ahead of the motorwell and removed it to address the floor and transom. I have read a few peoples' concern about repairing that joint properly when it's finished as it can be a cosmetic eyesore and we will certainly look closely at that.

    We do plan on leaving the original pylon in the back, adding a swim step and building a windshield. We'd like to gear this to a bit more family-friendly layout. For fun I've created a solid model of the 18, loosely based on reality, and that way we can experiment with different windshield designs as well as graphics and colors to see what we like best. Here it is in the mostly stock form with a 4 piece windshield we're considering building:

    3D-DYNE.jpg

    Before you pick me apart too bad, I'm aware of most of the inaccuracies here, I was just looking for something to draw on while having lunch at work.

    Thanks guys--
     
  9. tj309

    tj309 Composite Specialist

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2010
    Messages:
    399
    Location:
    LA (lower Alabama)
    Boat Model and Year:
    1972 18' Hydrodyne
    Ski Team:
    Former Hodag Water shows
    Barefootrocker - I would think twice about cutting the deck forward of the motorwell. Hydrodynes get alot of structural strength from the deck and motorwell and tie it into the hull to spread loads. When I removed the entire deck from mine it allowed me to further strengthen some of the area you plan on cutting. Also if your stringers are shot the core probably is too depending on the year of the boat. Jim is the expert on this but around '73 they switched to endgrain balsa which is far superior to the standard grain rotted balsa I found in my '72 core.
     
  10. dynebob1

    dynebob1 Boat of the Month

    Joined:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Messages:
    557
    Location:
    Glen Ellyn, Illinois
    Boat Model and Year:
    1998 18 OB RUA- 250XS.and 1997 Twin Rig /225 optis
    Stripes and decals will leave you many options.

    Here are a few pics of my 1998 18 footer.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Dec 16, 2014

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