1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Questions about boat repairs with our resins and fiberglass: hull patches, transoms and stringers, foam, rot etc.
Chessie
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1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by Chessie »

After many years of internal debate between building a boat from scratch or maybe a restoration I finally pulled the trigger on the subject boat. Overall boat is solid but will need some cosmetic improvements and some likely structural ones for the end goal.

This boat was bought with the sole purpose of running offshore in the Mid Atlantic (Ocean City Md). The boat is currently equipped with a 2014 Suzuki 250. Gas tank is 196 gallons.

Short term goals:
1. Cosmetic rebuilding of shelves and helm area. Currently old wood that has delaminated and is well, just ugly. See question below.
2. Strip the carpeting from the cabin area and finish it with a topside style paint or maybe even bilge coat. This does not not need to be showroom finish and what is under the carpeting will likely need some smoothing but full fairing will not be required. Just don’t want the carpet or bare glass.
3. 36 Volt bow mount
4. Few extra rod holders
5. New washdown pump

Long term goals:
1. These stupid boat have horrible bilge access so that will need to be improved by rebuilding the floor panel
2. These boats had an in floor live well that is well, a painful design and will never be used by me. I am proposing to take this floor panel out to open the hull to create a functional large sized fish box. This will likely require some modification to the stringers and bulkhead arrangements
3. The transom will be rebuilt to either accommodate the original twins on transom or possibly a 6” setback hydraulic bracket by Bob’s Machine Shop. I see no reason to go much beyond the original thickness, but will defer to the experts here when I get to this part.
4. While the above are being done, the 196 gallon gas tank will be replaced with about 130 gallons in either a single tank or maybe twin 65 gallon tanks to accommodate future twin 150/175. All of the reduction will come off the back to help compensate for any COG issues created with transom or engine mods. Boat was originally set up for twin 200’s. The new Suzukis weigh about 75# more each for about 150 extra pounds than the weight of the original engines. NO need for any more than the 130 gallons.



Starting with the the cosmetic shelf and woodwork repairs at the very top, is it worth covering Meranti/Okoume with fiberglass for durability? There will be no structural component to these parts. Marine grade with epoxy and Sterling paint from here has held up well on my Whaler over 14 years so I see no reason to fix what isn’t broke.If glass is recommended, what is the recommendation?

Anything in the attached pictures that is Brown is what is being done now.

The beginnings of a long process and just need to start the epoxy, paint and fiberglass lists.

Chris
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Chris in Maryland

fallguy1000
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by fallguy1000 »

Chessie wrote: Sun Jan 23, 2022 7:46 pm After many years of internal debate between building a boat from scratch or maybe a restoration I finally pulled the trigger on the subject boat. Overall boat is solid but will need some cosmetic improvements and some likely structural ones for the end goal.

This boat was bought with the sole purpose of running offshore in the Mid Atlantic (Ocean City Md). The boat is currently equipped with a 2014 Suzuki 250. Gas tank is 196 gallons.

Short term goals:
1. Cosmetic rebuilding of shelves and helm area. Currently old wood that has delaminated and is well, just ugly. See question below.
2. Strip the carpeting from the cabin area and finish it with a topside style paint or maybe even bilge coat. This does not not need to be showroom finish and what is under the carpeting will likely need some smoothing but full fairing will not be required. Just don’t want the carpet or bare glass.
3. 36 Volt bow mount
4. Few extra rod holders
5. New washdown pump

Long term goals:
1. These stupid boat have horrible bilge access so that will need to be improved by rebuilding the floor panel
2. These boats had an in floor live well that is well, a painful design and will never be used by me. I am proposing to take this floor panel out to open the hull to create a functional large sized fish box. This will likely require some modification to the stringers and bulkhead arrangements
3. The transom will be rebuilt to either accommodate the original twins on transom or possibly a 6” setback hydraulic bracket by Bob’s Machine Shop. I see no reason to go much beyond the original thickness, but will defer to the experts here when I get to this part.
4. While the above are being done, the 196 gallon gas tank will be replaced with about 130 gallons in either a single tank or maybe twin 65 gallon tanks to accommodate future twin 150/175. All of the reduction will come off the back to help compensate for any COG issues created with transom or engine mods. Boat was originally set up for twin 200’s. The new Suzukis weigh about 75# more each for about 150 extra pounds than the weight of the original engines. NO need for any more than the 130 gallons.



Starting with the the cosmetic shelf and woodwork repairs at the very top, is it worth covering Meranti/Okoume with fiberglass for durability? There will be no structural component to these parts. Marine grade with epoxy and Sterling paint from here has held up well on my Whaler over 14 years so I see no reason to fix what isn’t broke.If glass is recommended, what is the recommendation?

Anything in the attached pictures that is Brown is what is being done now.

The beginnings of a long process and just need to start the epoxy, paint and fiberglass lists.

Chris
So, I hate to be a debbie downer, but a couple of mistakes in the making you will regret.

This boat is not designed to get good mileage. It is a heavy planing hull. The prior range was probably 200 miles and you are taking it down to 130 with the tank wishes.

TomW is a forum contributor and you can verify sime details with him, but 130 mile range is not enough to satisfy most boaters. The idea you are going to get 3mpg to me is bs as well (if u think so). The problem os the boat will end up run at wot as planned. So, see if Tom can calc mileage for wot for the boat.

Range limiting by undersizing fuel tanks is a major no no.

You mentioned modifying stringers. In general terms; it is simply not done. The load paths and hull have been designed with those placed a certain way. Noone here can advise mods. Bulkhead modifications must be carefully considered. A typical bulkhead you don't move would be the motorwell bulkhead or any bulkhead across the athwart midship.

Transom rebuilds are totally doable.

Using 6 oz woven glass on meranti or okume will help prevent the wood from face checking under paint. It is not required, but easier to do better now.

People here are eager and glad to help and bbc service is second to none.

Under sole livewells are a good use of space and what I am building.

Bilge access is important if the bilges are big enough.

Hope you don't leave; friends come in many shapes and sizes.
My boat build is here -------->

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

Fuzz
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by Fuzz »

Hey welcome, as said you will find lots of guys here who will try to help and be friendly while doing it :wink:
I am a little different than many here, for me I worry far more how a boat works than how it looks. You spoke about doing some transom work. What is needed? Also any idea what kind of shape the stringers are in? Many boats as old as yours will have rotten stringers, many but not all. I would want to know how good the bones are before putting on any lipstick.

Chessie
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by Chessie »

Fallguy

Much appreciated. My basis for the fuel is based on documented performance tests from Suzuki on the same 150/175 engine configurations using comparable boats of weight, length, beam and deadrise.

As a conservative example , a boat with the same 22.5’ deadrise, but bigger and heavier burns about 12 GPH at 30. Suzuki’s performance reports show twin burn rates, NOT per engine rates. These are twin numbers. Let’s see. 65 miles to the canyons at 30 MPH. Roughly 2.5 hours X 2= 5 hours round trip x 12 GPH = 60 gallons
6 hours trolling at 2 GPH brings that to about 75 gallons. I feel good with a spare 55 gallons out of 130.

http://suzukimarine.com/Product%20Lines ... n%20DF150A



Your points about the structural aspects are fully noted and will be seeking guidance here for do’s, don’ts and hows. I won’t know what is below deck until I get there and dig in, maybe the end of this year.

Fuzz,

Gotcha’. The cosmetics now are just pet peeves until I have the time and $$ to really get into it. I’ll run it this summer and then hopefully dig in.

Chris
Chris in Maryland

fallguy1000
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by fallguy1000 »

See if TomW would be willing to prop size for you. He can probably get good mileage estimates, too.
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TomW1
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by TomW1 »

TomW here I will work on it tomorrow. Have found some info already but want to look at it some more tomorrow.

Tom
Restored Mirror Dinghy, Bought OD18 built by CL, Westlawn School of Yacht Design courses. LT US Navy 1970-1978

Chessie
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by Chessie »

Thanks Tom, no hurry as the twins are a pipe dream now and the 250 that is on there is a 4 blade that was setup by PropGods by the previous owner. Due to the weight and deadrise, he wanted more low end torque and better low end planing.

Fallguy

Is the 6 oz woven pliable enough to wrap around the edges of say a 1/2” piece of ply? The edges of the ply will have the corners knocked down as I know fiberglass and hard corners don’t work well.

In order to keep the face checking down, I assume 1 layer is all that would be needed? Just something to createba protective layer?

Thanks to all, this is going to be fun. Hard work at times, but I don’t mind that.

Chris
Chris in Maryland

fallguy1000
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by fallguy1000 »

You can wrap 6 oz around 1/2". It is a bit tricky to keep tight is all. A method I have used is peelply over the top and 1" strips of blue masking tape over the peelply to something solid..

most of the time; you'll come to realize that none of glasswork is fast for one off construction or repairs amd that hurry doesn't help

An extra day to do glasswork is nothing in the scheme of all the work.
Last edited by fallguy1000 on Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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viewtopic.php?f=12&t=62495

TomW1
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by TomW1 »

Okay, Chessie here is what I have found. The Hydra-Sports are made of all fiberglass and the 1988 WA weighs 3500lbs as it left the manufacturer. The wood on the helm and in the cabin is decorative. That is without the motor. It could handle a motor up to 497HP. I am assuming that is a 2-stroke at in 1988 as few 4-strokes were around. Looking at the shape they have not been reigned much from 1988 till now. Looking at motors I would not go with twin 150's, Suzuki's weigh over 1000lbs, instead I would go with the 300 at 560 - 660lbs, depending on shaft length. Better gas mpg and range. Two motors are always less efficient than one. I would also think seriously about replacing your gas tank. No telling how it is built into the structure, and you do not have to fill it full, but you might want to on the first trip or two to see what your mileage actually is with the new motor after it is broken in.

Well I hope that helps you some.

Tom
Restored Mirror Dinghy, Bought OD18 built by CL, Westlawn School of Yacht Design courses. LT US Navy 1970-1978

Chessie
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Re: 1988 HydraSports 2500 WA Vector

Post by Chessie »

Thanks Tom and yes the 3500 dry weight was what I found and as best I can tell the wood work is all cosmetic.

I found an original HP rating of 400 HP. Using a 1988 200 Johnson as a starting point, they weighed 450# each or 900 total. the Suzuki 150 is 522# and the 175 is 529# in the 25” configurations which is what this boat had prior to the single 250. 25” Twins on the transom.

Actually leaning towards the 175’s but the published numbers for the 150’s on comparable boats aren’t dramatically better. But I do like engines that don’t work as hard. I will be hooking up a fuel flow system for the engine this spring to get a true feel for the 2014 Suzuki 250 performance. If acceptable, it will stay.

Twin Zukes worst case 1060# or 160# extra if mounted on the transom, which will be rebuilt before doing an engine swap. Even this moderate weight increase should be nothing on this boat. If I add a 6” bracket, still not a major issue as I have studied other same generation HydraSports with a full 30” setback with twins that still float OK, but they did squat a bit. Right now leaning towards the traditional transom mounted engines.

The gas tank will be replaced when I dig in and as mentioned above I will likely be taking 60 gallons off the back end of the tank or about 360# worth. From what I’ve seen from people who have done it, it’s the straight, pull the tank hatch and lift the tank. Direct access. The short version of the story.



Fallguy, good to know on the glass. Just need some warm weather and time this spring here in the Mid Atlantic.

Chris
Chris in Maryland

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