The first 18 I ever saw was at the Tommy Bartlett show in the 70's. They were rigged with twin inline six Mercs and looked like a blast to drive. I became interested. The next Dyne I saw was on a little lake in Wisconsin. It was an I/O and looked to me like it was all motor. We did not get a Dyne until 1990. Only then did I realize that it is a landmark boat. It is quite simple the most fun boat I have ever driven. Our family has spent many hours enjoying that old Dyne. Since I am an old guy, that boat will last me the rest of my life and probably serve my grandchildren quite well. It is a 1977 and is the newest of several boats here. I was privileged to see both Ab Crosby Jr and Tom Miller at the tournaments and spent a lot of time talking to them. I asked them literally thousands of questions. Many of the ideas that I have expressed here came from them. They really know these boats. OK, that is the good part. The boat will have problems if it is abused. The seats are fastened to the floor with lag bolts. The bolts probably were not installed with sealer. If the boat is left out in the elements with no cover, water will get into the plywood floor and it will rot. I think that plywood is the best material for a floor as far as weight versus strength, but moisture will kill it. If water is allowed to collect in the bilge or in the back of the floor, it will rot. The most innovative and practical fix I have ever seen for this is Daniel's boat. The floor aft of the seats has been removed. A floor replacement is a relatively easy job for a fiberglass man unless: The transom has water in it. The motors are bolted through the transom. These bolts need to be sealed and resealed periodically. The club boats that have had many motors installed need to be very well sealed. If water gets into the transom it will rot and the fix is not so easy. An 18 for sale at a bargain price should be inspected for water in the floor and transom. If you can do glass work the job can be done for the price of the material and you don't need any particular advice. A 60's boat has no floor and if water gets into the hull itself it will propagate all through the hull and be a difficult fix although it has been done by some of our members. If you decide to do that kind of project you will be rewarded as stated above. If the boat is dried out after each use and kept dry, it will last a very long time. Feel free to add to this, guys jim edit: spelling second edit: There are only two Hydrodyne 17.6 owners in the picture section making them the rarest boat. Let's hear the Hydrodyne 17.6 stories. I have driven one and I liked it.
Re: The 18 foot Hydrodyne skier There's not much I can add to Jim's statement. Hydrodynes are ageless, they draw a crowd. You put a 30 year old 18 footer with a newer 200hp outboard on a lake and people will look. You tell them the boat is 30 years old and they will call you a liar. LOL
Re: The 18 foot Hydrodyne skier Dad, I agree with rajboatdude, you pretty much summed it up. Most of my best summertime memories have been in a Hydrodyne. We towed your boat all over the place and we always got compliments and questions about it wherever we went. Now I am making wonderful memories with my family in our 17.6 and guess what? We get compliments and questions about it wherever we go.
Re: The 18 foot Hydrodyne skier Hey Jim Great points of discussion. it would be interesting to hear from the group about their purchase date(s) and usage. Kevin-
Re: The 18 foot Hydrodyne skier As a child I learned how to do much of my show skiing behind a 18' skier. In the mid 80s the Chain Skimmers had an 18' skier with a 175 Evinrude on it. At that time I was on the junior team. I loved skiing behind that boat. And when I was not skiing behind it I did everything in my power to be the spotter riding in it. The boat driver was a nice guy, and I think he knew how much I loved being in that boat. I loved how it turned and how it was low to the water. As a kid, I dreamed one day of owning one some day. Around 1999 I was vacationing at our summer home in Eagle River. One day I was driving past Heckel's Marine, and I noticed an old 18' skier sitting in about 4 feet high weeds on the side of a building. I turned around because I couldn't believe my eyes, as you know they are rare. The boat had obviously been sitting there for a long while. The boat had about 2 feet of rain water in it. I went inside the marina and asked what the story was with it. They said it was repossessed by the bank from the Plum Ski-ters. Long story short I got the boat for a song. I got the trailer road worthy and brought it back to IL. Once it was back it started to go through the "Bano" restoration process. Everything was stripped out. The boat was slid off the batwing trailer onto crates, and the trailer went under restoration as well. The fiberglass deck was worked on and prepped for paint. New axle, rims, tires, wiring, etc. were done too. The boat was nearing ready to be sent off for re-gel coating when it was time for the show nationals. I attended and ran into PJP who at the time was working with Tom. I asked him why they were making the 20s, but no longer the 18'. He stated they he had one there, but it was on his trailer. I was shocked. I looked for it in the parking lot, and behold there it was! A nice new 18'. It was an empty shell. Just a top, bottom, floor, and rub rail. Nothing else. Mind you I did not care because I already had all of the seats, instruments, original pylon, and everything waiting for it at home. At the time he had someone who was looking to buy an 18 to fix up. Therefore it was a perfect set up. So we made arrangements to meet in Burlington, WI. We went to the local boat landing, slid both boats off the trailers, and exchanged. Therefore I ended up with a nice brand newly built 18' skier, and an original batwing trailer that was better than new. After I brought it home the fun part began, ASSEMBLY TIME! Myself and my father put together the entire boat in only 3 days. I was a lot of fun, and truthfully was a great bonding experience. It was a memory that I will always cherish. Til this day we look back and the progressive pictures we took. The boat was now completely pre-rigged and ready to have the motor hung. My old ski team had a 150 Optimax that saw only 2 weeks worth of work with a new lower unit on it. Obviously it was a good deal for me, and it helped out the ski team and their marina sponsor. I drove the boat back to Eagle River to have it mounted. From there on I got to live my childhood dream of wanting to be a Hydrodyne owner. For many years I got to enjoy the boat that I built. That is my story. The end. Greg
Re: The 18 foot Hydrodyne skier I had an '89 Ski Supreme and got a little burned out from all of the push for ski related this and that, new this, and new that. I love to ski. I actually pretty much moved to the south to ski. Until I broke my leg, I skied 3-6 days per week, 7 to 8 months per year. Back to the Supreme, I sold it. I wanted another ski boat but wanted to get back to the basics of skiing. What better boat than a Hydrodyne to do that with. It took me a while to find one that I would like. I finally found one in Philly. An 18' foot Hydrodyne. I am all into nastalgiac water skiing stuff. I have a lot of old skis, cypress gardens stuff, etc... So this historic 1964 prototype Hydrodyne was a perfect fit. Yeah, I pretty much had to rebuild the hull this past spring. But, this is a great boat. I feel like I have a piece of history. It is true, no matter where I go, EVERYONE RESPECTS THE HYDRODYNE. Even the most hard core, MasterCraft and Hydrodyne fans, respect the Hydrodyne. The other neat thing is that my wife is more comfortable driving the 1964 Hydrodyne than the 1989 Ski Supreme, and for a guy who barefoots at a solid 40 MPH, that says a lot. So to sum it up, Hydrodynes, great boats, restoring Hydrodynes is an act to better humanity, and Hydrodyne 18's are a like a rare vintage Cabernet that is out of production and had only limited production when it was in production. Chad
Re: The 18 foot Hydrodyne skier and lets add the Hydrodyne 1 Amen. It has been a great summer with the Dyne.
