Fletch's Hydra Sport 2100 CC

[seabob4]

Christian, I vote for the old black rubrail with the rope insert...I just kinda think it's cool...

[Fletch170]

I was going to, but the factory one was trashed and completely faded. We'll see, might get a new one and put a new rope insert.

Got the motor on the stand!

[Fletch170]

Got the cowl and lower fairings off the motor and sanded. Sending to paint tomorrow.

Got the console sanded down, ready for fairing.

Will be posting a topic in the engine section, been redoing a ton of electrical BS from prior owners. It's a real mess.......

[Fletch170]

Motor is apart waiting for replacement mid section...

[Fletch170]

pulled the old plastic through hull fittings out, along with the garden hose......

They were all loose, and im pretty sure this boat sank at the dock at some point. The story I got is the motor was junk and the guy couldnt afford another, so he abandoned it at the marina.

Also, there was little to no caulk used, admitttedly, the transom around the through hulls is a little wet. Drilled some holes, and a little bit of water dripped out. The rest of the transom is solid, however, I think a new transom will be a project for next winter.

Anyhow, got the hull sanded with 150 grit, the bottom gets blasted thursday, and hopefully next saturday I'll be priming her with 545.

a few shots of the lower cowls, not too shabby for rattle cans!

Here's the petcock that looks like it came from an above ground pool kit... along with the hose with one failed clamp from disaster.....seriously idiotic.

[gran398]

Fletch, glad to see her coming along!

That lower drain... originally drained the front fishbox. At least someone put a valve on it, as opposed to the one from the factory.

[Fletch170]

I just dont understand the design. Everything on this boat is built really well, and this is just garbage. If a clamp breaks, you are in some serious trouble. Also, the fittings are plastic. For now, I'm glassing everything up and going without a livewell. When I replace the transom in a few years, I'll do a proper through hull setup.

[Aquasport Commodore]

Hey Fletch, hows it coming?

[Fletch170]

Hey all, sorry for not posting my progress sooner, life tends to get in the way!

So, the bottom is blasted, the entire boat is sanded, and only a few pinholes and stress cracks that need to be filled, and the thing is ready for primer.

Go the drain holes filled and glassed, and did some repair work to the stringer system in the aft, you will see in the pictures.

As it's starting to get cold up here, I'm hoping I can get a nice weekend when I can paint.

[dburr]

 

Glad your getting rid of the plastic junk Christian!! Looking forward to seeing her in paint!

[RickK]

[Fletch170]

Hola Dudes!!!

Whelp, its December....where the hell does the time go? Anyways, got the FrankenMerc back together with all new hardware and mounts. Got the console primed and ready to shoot Awlgrip offwhite when I get one of those "Warm" days in the 60's. Basically, spray outside, then roll it in the garage and crank the heat. Here's some pics:

[Fletch170]

I need to start out by saying, Crap. I started poking around the stringers in the bildge, and my curiosity got the best of me. "I wonder if the stringers are wet?" Drilled in, and 6 Inches from the transom is not just wet.....it's freakin mush. SO, now I know the rear deck is coming up to fix the stringers. At this point, I'm thinking, well, I'm already doing serious glass work at this point.....I wonder how wet the transom is??? There were very little stress cracks and when I drilled small holes toward the keel, small amounts of water came out. So I made the decison to just go ahead and replace the transom....it could be "just ok" or really bad. I figure at this point, the boat is 34 years old, and it's time.

Here we go again boys. 

[seabob4]

Christian, can't tell you how many times I've drilled new holes for a ducer install...and water starts dripping out of the holes.  On boats a whole lot newer than yours...

[Fletch170]

Water always wins, right?

That being said, this boat is 34 years old. By itself, it's not worth very much. SO, I'm wondering if it's worth the extra $ to use coosa for the Transom? I've been dreading this project due to the fact that the transom on this thing is strange. The entire transom is not cored, only the offset portion (take a look at the pictures). This makes replacing the transom from the inside really, really, REALLY tough. Not only that, but wherever possible (as in, a worker could reach) they glassed the cap/liner to the hull. This makes simply cutting the first 2 feet of the liner out almost impossible without destroying it. SO, i have to cut out the decking in the splashwell and work from there. It's going to be a real motherbitch. I was considering replacing the transom from the outside, but most people on the interwebs seem to think this is not the way to go.

The plan is to use 1.5inch Coosa for the transom, and beef up the rear portion of the strongers with the same material. I need to take some measurements, and justify the cost.

Keep in mind, I live here in PA where marine building supplies are hard to come by. Seriously, I have to drive an hour and a half just to get marine Ply.....

Which leads me to my next question, why do I live here?