TOPIC: 74 Vector..DONE!

Hi all,
After two years of work it's done. A pretty darn close to showroom with all vintage correct stuff on it. I'm doing a 74 Inline 6 Merc 1500 this winter and will launch in Spring (?)
It was a balsa core that was very difficult to replace, I could not seperate the hull becasue of the way the rub rail is so I had to work under the deck which was ugly, I can now bend into funny shapes with all the practice. This is a very early example with the straight hull, later years had a wedge built in to the bottom to tame it down a bit. The metalflake is original and was carefully brought back then clear coated with two part urethane. The iterior is mostly original with a few panels replaced and all the frams redone new. A lot of work for what is in the end a tiny boat. But you all know how that goes.
Randy

Nice
Looks fast just sitting there.

Worth the wait and work. Real nice job. Bet you can't wait to get that big Merc on it next season.

Beautiful boat..

awesome....which i had the time , $$, and know how....

As expected outstanding workmanship Randy!

WHOOO HOOOO! Look at that shine! She's absolutely beautiful. Great job

Dude Sweet!!! Awesome Ride
Merc tower would only be right. Please post the magic moment!

Randy
WOW!
With the 150 Merc, that will be perfect.
My hats off to you.
Neil

The bow profile reminds me of the Fountains.

Neil, Reggie Fountain actually got the idea from Hydrostreams. Howard Pipcorn was really ahead of everybody when he designed the nose of his 'Streams. He realized he could use aerodynamics to help lift the bow without relying on motor trim, so he shaped the bow AND front deck to take advantage of airflow to "shape" the ride attitude. One reason the old 'streams can hold their own with many modern boats, short of tunnel hulls- and he made some of them in the later years.

Thanks Kerry
I would like to see this boat in person. That nose profile is just one of the most graceful arcs to be put is fiberglass.
If you have ever been next to a 42' Fountain, and seen that profile on that scale, it is a goose bump moment!
All good stuff.
Neil

Howard Pipcorn, designer /owner of Hydrostream was a genius. He designed this 38 years ago and it still looks wild today. The running surface is exactly what every fast V-bottom has looked like since, a center pad, lifting strakes, stepped transom, aerodynamics for lift, built in high transom height. The catalog says he used all curved surfaces to gain strength without weight. Other than the running surface there is not a straight line on the boat.
They were not particularly well built and most have been dicarded or hacked up by now. The balsa core just did not last. I wanted to preserve one as I thought this to be a very significant performance boat and as a tribute to Pipcorn's original ideas. It took a long time to find an early one particularly one that I could save the original metalflake to restore. As a kid, the first time I saw one, it was shocking, my neighbor (rich) got one for a High School graduation present...boy was I jealous! I finally owned that very one in the early 80's and it was one of my favorite all time boats. So I was on a mission to get one again.
The snow here (Massachussetts) is providing LOT'S of time to put the 1500 together! Like all of us I'm anxous for next season to start.
Randy

The new ones just don't have the LOOK the older ones have. www.hydrostream.com/models.html