Do it or DUmp it??

Was the floor layout on all 18 footers the same? The floor on my '78 goes all the way to the front like Jim Hultman's.

Also, what about a drain channel to allow water in the bow to drain back, beneath the floor, to the rear bilge? Mark Bano's floor restoration doesn't mention anything about it. Did any come from the factory that way? My boat has one which makes me wonder if the original owner did some floor work on it.

Maybe Ab could chime in on this?

 

Mine had the drain tube in it. (1977) Maybe his floor configuration is original. It sure is comfortable to have that foot well.

jim

 

Mine came from Skip with a tub in the foot well, and it had a built in drain area that goes from the front to the rear.

Greg

 

Hey Hultman,

Glad to hear your not going to give up on your project. I had to replace the rear section of floor in my 1975 a few years back. Took me about 3 weeks (after work and weekends) but did not have to deal with the stringers (a couple pictures attached).

I’m with Jim, there should be a bulkhead across the front. The bulkhead in my boat is immediately in front of the driver’s seat and the change in elevation puts the driver’s feet on the hull. I had a 1973 with the same floor elevation issue. The 75 has a hose that leads from the front feet area to the bilge. I block off the bilge with a cork so the water that accumulated from skiers getting in and out doesn’t come up front; bilge water can be nasty. The 73 did not have the drain feature and I’m wondering if folks extended the floor to avoid water accumulation up front. I included a picture (see attached) that sort of shows the drop (bulkhead) for the driver’s feet.

How does the balsa core look? The stringers sit on top of the glassed over core and hopefully no moisture has made it in there. Also, I noticed that you have no floatation foam beneath the floor around the stringers? Mine had the stuff shot under the floor and it was dry. The individual who did the prior floor work on your boat may have removed it. There is a lot of floatation foam under the foredeck and gunnels but I’m not sure (nor do I ever want to find out) if the floor foam is necessary.

I know that I did not have to deal with the stringers, additional flooring and glass materials, and labor but a 4X8 sheet of Plywood, pecky Cyprus bulkhead material (for the rear member across the front of the bilge, resin, glass fabric, a few grinding discs, carpet, and ½ gallon of neoprene contact cement only set me back ~$400. Almost forgot, a bunch of ibuprofen from bending over.

Shoot me an email if you need additional info.

Kevin-

 

Nice Dyne. What's with the second set of throttle controls? Back seat driver? My wife would've loved that on my Dyne. Then I wouldn't have to have heard "you're going too fast, slow down" all the time.

Greg

 

I was told by Ab Jr. a few years back that the second throttle was requested by Ken Tibado, when he ordered the boat back in the early 70's. Ken was a barefooter/skier with Cypress Gardens in the 1940's through the 60's and was also one of the pioneers of Flat Kites (see attached pic). Ab indicated that the flat kites did not have any glide ratio and if they stalled (i.e. wern't kept moving) they fell like a sack of bricks. The spotters job was to keep the kite in the air with the second throttle. The boat has a pretty sorted and interesting history and I'll post it if Daniel decides to open an area for boats and bios.

I like Skip's reincarnation of the 18 that you have. That engine setup looks a bit scary. Have you had it out yet to see what it'll do?

I haven't commited to the 2007 Nationals yet because I need to see how the summer shapes up but will be there if the schedule permits. Rockford, IL is about an hour from here.

Later,

Kevin-

 

I keep a plug in my drain also.

jim

 

Folks:

My boat had the original floor and it did not have a drain tube under the floor. I have been told by someone that there was no drain tube from the front footwell to the bildge because this would allow water from the bilge to run up into the footwell area every time the boat slows down. I understand that this has been a problem in boats that do have the drain. I have no idea if Hydrodyne put those in or if these were put in after-the-fact.

Also, ice in the drain tube could cause hidden damage and allow water into the floor area. Thus, while I thought about it, I didn't put a drain tube under the floor when I rebuilt the floor. I'd rather bail water from the footwell than risk getting water under the floor. I would defer to Ab on this but my view is it is better to keep the underfloor sealed tight and just bail up front. Any time you run a channel down the middle of the boat you've got potential for water to get in around the drain fittings at the front or at the bilge. Finally, I note that there is a floor stringer right down the middle of the hull so if you put in a drain it would not be positioned exactly in the middle - at the low point of the floor. It would need to be off to the side, where it wouldn't drain all of the water anyway.

My failure to address this issue in the restoration section was an unfortunate oversight.

My boat had the floor extension when I bought it. Thus, there was no footwell. This is an after-market modification of these boats that I do not recommend. First, there is no room for your knees without the footwell. Second, unless you are very certain to seal the front area off, you'll get water underneath. Also, the installation in my case had screws drilled into the front bulkhead for the floor, which resulted in access for this water to get under the original floor - which it did. In short - not a good idea in my view.

Markbano