Hi Bernie, I just went over to see this boat. Very sad shape to say the least. Transom is all gone and the rest is a mess. Told the fellow who has it to pull the engine and outdrive out of it and take it to the dump. I would assume the core is soaked. Maybe if he gave me the hull I'd gut it and see if the core was gone or not just in case. If it was good enough, I might just make an outboard out of it. Got an 80s Merc 115 that would be great on it. So how is your boat progressing? Looked at your pics and really liked what I saw. Nice work. I know you'll need engine bed stringers for the Mercruiser, but what are you going to do for a floor. Looks like you still have alot to do. That's why I was considering an outboard instead of IO. Be nice to find a dyne in good shape for decent $$$$$. Gary
Sorry the boat is beyond help. If you are not stuck on a real early hull, the mid to late 70's boats with the end grain balsa blocks apparently have held up quite well and they do come up occasionally. Unfortunately they are mostly in the upper mid west where the ski shows were real popular. My boat did not have engine stringers in it. Just had the floor mount stringers and a 4 X 4 X 16 front engine mount block glassed to the bottom of the hull. I read somewhere that Ab Crosby had said that with the 3/4 inch balsa core that the hulls only needed stringers to support the floor. The floor is only a partial floor in these hulls. It runs from the front of the engine to under the front seats and then stops to allow a little more foot/leg room in the front of the seats. The front of the stringers is about 5 inches high. The rear of the stringers are only a couple inches high back by the engine. The floor continues around the sides of the engine but the area under the engine is just the hull. I have put the 1/2 inch ply in the shoebox joint and installed the screws holding the deck and hull together, next I will reinstall the 'glass strip between them. I am about done with rough sanding on the deck but the diamond texture areas are hard to save. I am hoping to put the original color with big blue flake paint on it and maybe it will not be so noticeable where the diamond texture has been lost. The boat had been re-cleared and had some extensive touch up so a lot of paint filled in that texture. When I am done sanding I will decide if I will just fill the textured area and make it smooth. I hate to lose it but I don't know any way to put it back where it's gone.
Bernie, any idea what year your hull is? When did Hydrodyne start using single layer end grain balsa in building the hulls? G-
The end grain balsa boat began in the early 70's and can be identified by the flat raised floor. There have been quite a few sold lately. These boats were built in Spencerville: http://www.hydrodyners.com/history/hydrohistory.php jim
Since you Jim have turned an I/O into an outboard, are there some photos of your boat around. If I do find a suitable hull to rebuild like Bernie found, I like photos since they are worth a 1000 words. Also because Bernie and I have both rebuilt Power Cats, I've been following his rebuild of his boat but have no interest in an I/O. I'm old school and have a good running 80s Merc 115 inline I want to use, the conversion would be to outboard. Both Bernie's and Mark's photos have been alot of help and inspiration. Gary
This should get you started while I look for another: jim http://www.hydrodyners.com/forum/index.php?threads/extreme-makeover-hydrodyne-edition.51/ http://www.hydrodyners.com/forum/index.php?threads/hydrodyne-18.6/ http://www.hydrodyners.com/forum/index.php?threads/jims-dyne-18-pulling-swvski1.66/page-2
Here is a video. I have lost 60 pounds since it was taken. http://www.hydrodyners.com/videos/show.php?movie_id=7 jim
Hey thanks Jim for the pictures. Bernie I hope you don't think I hijacked you and look forward to seeing more pics of your rebuild progress. Hopefully my quest is successful. Otherwise I have my Tahiti 16 that's mostly redone structurally. Deep vee but a good ski boat. Another $ 100 boat. The Hydrodyne would be my choice since I did drive them in my past along with Crosbys. Since I could not afford one personally as a kid, my towboat was a Power Cat 15T with twin Merc 50 hp motors, tow bar and swivel fiberglass bucket seats. Actually was a pretty good tow boat for our informal ski group. Of course I was the only driver for my boat so I was biased. Gary
Bernie, Looking at your trailer this morning while comparing to mine. What is the distance between your fenders ? Need to make sure an 18 could fit my trailer. Gary
