Hydrostream Viper - Returns....

[69MyWay]

I know this is a car forum, but I have to share a crazy story that is unfolding at this moment.

First...rewind to 2006. Years prior to that my wife and I enjoyed boating - but had sold off our boat stuff and settled into other things...like raising our child.

I saw a killer looking Hydrostream Viper with a 115 merc for sale and mentioned how fun that would be to have one again. Well...while away on a business trip a few weeks later she bought it for me. I came home to find the boat in the drive with a note to call her once I got home. What a cool wife!

The only bad part was the guy that sold it to her lied through his teeth and was as crooked as they come. Once I took it out I found out it was puking fuel through the carbs, had no reverse, the floor was rotten...and transom was soft. Other that that...it was perfect!

So...that started a reconstruction that included a killer pour in liquid to solid transom repair. We ended up owning it for 9 months while we lived in Central Florida, and eventually sold it to a guy from South West FL, and moved on. We later moved to Central, Illinois in March of 09.

Fast forward to last week. My wife gets a registered letter (usually never a good thing). The boat turns out to be in Kentucky abandoned on some private property and was never registered out of our name. I explained to the fellow we sold it, but are unable to reach the buyer. For that matter we have no idea how many other people might have owned it. He says we have the choice of sending a letter telling him we are abandoning it - or come get it. Well - through my father-in-law we had somebody go pick it up and haul it to Ohio. The end of this week I go to Ohio to pick it up.

He sent some text pictures - Time hasn't been good to her. I'll have about $270 in the re-claiming of it once I get it back.

We have a wonderful lake here and plenty of opportunity to use it if I can get it running again.

So...is life strange...or what????

Here is a pic of what it looked like when we sold it.

[CRCRFT78]

How's it look now?

[Fluid Power]

Crazy story!

Darren

[SR71]

I always wanted a mod tunnel hull Hydrostream Viper with a BIG merc. that was my dream boat when I was younger.

[69MyWay]

The pics we have of it now our in my wife's iphone text messages. I'll get some good ones when I pick it up this Friday.

[69MyWay]

Here is the latest.

We got a phone call week before last. Seems that the fellow I sold it to still owns it but failed to register it in his name. He contacted the property owner that put him in touch with me.

Also, I've had time to look the boat over now that I have it home. It is in bad shape. The wire harness is shot, controls torn up, seats cracked, paint faded, trailer corroded, and there are various parts missing. I am only getting 60 to 90 PSI on the engine and not sure what is going on.

It will need a total re-wire - replacement controls, possible top engine rebuilt, recover the seats, clean and paint the trailer... and re-clear coat the body.

Anyway, I spoke with the fellow and we are looking at either having him come get it...or just sell it out to me for the scrap value of what is left less what I've already spent to go get it.

No time to mess with it right now anyway. In fact, I'm just now getting around to repainting the Camaro where I backed it into my trailer.

So...we'll see. It would be nice to get the boat back going again - but it is soooo far gone that it is going to be a massive project. Then again...guys like us like projects...eh?

[69MyWay]

here is it now.