So you are thinking about a used inboard instead of a Dyna-Ski?

I took this picture at a gas station a couple summers ago.  With gas holding in the $3.00 to $4.00 per gallon level the past couple of summers it reminds me of how much gas my old outboards used to use.  Much has been written about the increased fuel and oil efficiency of outboards so I'll let you do your own research for now.  I can tell you that I buy a lot less gasoline and oil now than I ever did.  This picture should serve as an eye opener if you are wondering about how much gas one of these older inboards might use.

The true cost of restoring an old 18' Hydrodyne or 20' Hydrodyne?

We fix and restore fiberglass boats in the boat shop.  Keep in mind that most of the time the biggest cost is labor!  Over the years we have done everything that you can imagine from simple buffing to complete rebuilding.  Transom, floors, stringers, little holes and real big holes . . . . real big holes!

Over the last couple winters we have done various things on my banker friend's older 18'.  It had been a ski team twin many years ago. The owner said that the boat needed seats, dash cleaned up, extra holes on the dash filled and holes filled in the motor well area, etc. It did not need major work!  He liked our Dyna-Ski back seat and side panels in our recreational Dyna-Ski Boats.  He wanted a pylon that took up less room.  The 18' boat did not need stringers, floor or transom work so nothing major.  I'm pretty sure it got new carpet.  Well before he got the old 18' it was made into a single. Someone else redid the transom along the way.  He has a late model 175 Mercury Optimax for power.  It has plenty of get up and go!  I told him that a new Dyna-Ski 17.6 would be a better investment of his money and he might have more in fixing up the old "family" ski boat than a new one would cost.  The family convinced dad to fix up the old ski boat!

According to the owner the only thing it needs now is paint.  Although it looks good in the couple pictures that I have it is what I'd call a 50' boat.  Looks great from 50' (and in pictures) but not close up!  So far he tells me he has spent about $10,000.00 doing the upgrades.  He has done none of the labor himself.  All he has done is bring the boat to the shop tells us what he wants and returned to pick up the boat when the work is done.  The boat was there for two winters so far.  Our labor rates are reasonable (I am told) and since we do these projects as time permits our margin (profit) is very low.  BUT most of the project has been labor.

Another good water ski friend shared the following information with me.  He has been following this rebuilding story on another website.

I think it is time to tell any prospective restorers what this kind of project costs in dollars and materials. I did not keep exact records because I don't care but I did keep rough records.

A guy on Hydrodyners bought a "clean" 1972 18 footer!  Ended up that it was rotten from leaky fin area.

He has been restoring - here is the cost so far, without gel/paint. All the labor he has provided.

$1450 - largest expense for 7 Bluewater 26 Coosa boards 1/2" x 4 x 8'. Transom and stringers have eaten 3+ sheets. The 3+ left should be enough to do the floor.

$460 - 6 1" thick Divinycell H80 core material 4' x 32".

$250 - ATC 72 core adhesive. I had to buy a 5 gallon bucket which is double what I needed but I have some creative uses for leftovers such as bonding the floor to the stringers.

15 gallons of polyester resin. I can get the stuff for $20/gal (plus shipping) and I have just shy of 3 gallons left. I will need probably 3 more to finish.

10 yards of 17oz 45-45 biax cloth for $90. All used and I will buy another 10 yards shortly.

I also bought fiberglass matt (more than I need) and fiberglass tape for tabbing (more than I need). There was alot of small buys of materials which I have kept a rough track of.

Bottom line at this point is that I have $3600 into this boat and a hell of a lot of work. I think that another $500 will finish it. Then I have to send it to the local boat builder to have it Gel-coated (don't know what that will cost) and then fitted with steering, fuel tanks, instruments, and controls all of which I will do. And seats and carpet and a ski pole. I hope to give my local boat builder my leftover materials for a price reduction on the gel-coat job.

After I wrote the initial posting it turns out the guy doing the restoration reads my blog and was parts shopping from Dyna-Ski.  He offered to send me pictures of the restoration, additional information, etc. So here is the boat he purchased.  It looks pretty good for an old 18' Hydrodyne. TJ even shared a comment that you should see with this information.  I'm going to make another posting in the future using more pictures of his long restoration project.  Hopefully it will include on the water pictures but I have a feeling it will be awhile.

Below is this is the newest picture I got from TJ.

Dyna-Ski Boats have no bracing on our hulls and none is needed for 900 horsepower.

The transom is a little over 3" thick on a 20' Closed Bow Dyna-Ski.

The deck and floor are important to the strength of a Dyna-Ski Boat.

So when you take the top story and add the bottom story together you should get a feel for the dollars and time it takes to do a restore on an old fiberglass boat. We are not the boat builder the guy in the second story mentions. Gelcoating an older boat properly is very expensive. A quality paint job where the painter turns the boat over and paints the hull bottom and then the deck is the best way to paint a boat.  It is also expensive but not as much as Gelcoating an old boat.  I think painting and old boat is the best way to go, period!  

The second guy needs at least $2000 for the stuff to rig a single engine with hydraulic steering, controls, cables, wiring, gauges, GPS Speedometer, etc.  Much more if he wants two engines.  No mention of a trailer expense in either story.

A transom, stringers and floor can cost $6000 when done in a boat repair shop if you want a solid well done boat.  If it is done as a cosmetic fix like a body shop would do it should be cheap and last a short time if you are lucky. And in the end you still have an old boat.  Unfortunately old boats are not going up in value like older cars are thanks largely in part to the car auctions on the TV!

I keep getting calls for parts and pieces for older Hydrodyne boats.  Some people are shocked by the cost of custom seats and interior parts.  Shipping is expensive also. I'd bet they go with cheap seats from online catalogs that they sell. 

Buying a new Dyna-Ski isn't such a bad idea many times.

I should mention that while rebuilding an older boat may be fun it can take a long time. 

It is more fun driving and skiing behind a New Dyna-Ski boat than rebuilding one. 

New Guinness World Record Pyramid

There has been a new world record for pyramids behind a single outboard powered water ski boat established.  The tow boat was a Badgerland's Dyna-Ski Ski Team 20' Closed Bow model with three 300 hp Evinrude E-Tec engines. Boat Driver Jason Hook.

60 people. An amazing feat indeed.

When you are pulling these many people there is a certain amount of luck involved. The luck portion is mainly no falls and no knots.

World Record Tow Boat

This above picture was taken at a previous attempt at the worlds record in Beaver Dam, WI. 

There are a lot of photos/videos on the page Badgerland built for it: 

https://www.facebook.com/EvinrudeWorldRecordHumanPyramid

The goal was 70 or 72 which they got off the dock a couple times but then they had falls and/or rope problems I was told.  I was not there. Seems they are going to take another shot at it again in 2014.

Cold water barefoot tournament pulled by an older Hydrdoyne 17.6 XB

I got this email from a fellow show skier the other day.  

If you’re looking for a distraction on a cold day…………

We had a Sanger barefoot boat with a tower to pull the tournament but it broke after the 4^th skier. So we did most of the tournament with my 17-6 which I brought to pull the boomers and use as a safety boat.

 
 

In its 35th year, the Lake Norman New Year’s Day Barefoot Challenge is hosted by Lake Norman Marina in Sherrills Ford, NC, and organized by the Carolina Show Ski Team. It is one of the longest running barefoot skiing competitions in the world.

LAKE NORMAN NEW YEARS DAY
BAREFOOT SKIING TOURNAMENT OUTCOME
Fleck narrowly wins, Blair retains course record
 

SHERRILLS FORD, NC – Barefoot water skiing icon, Peter Fleck, narrowly wins the Lake Norman New Year’s Day Barefoot Challenge over course record holder Jeff Blair. Fleck finished with a score of 793, one point ahead of Blair.

This was Fleck’s first time entering the unique Lake Norman Barefoot Challenge, which combines endurance and tricks in one single run. Competitors in the tournament earn one point for every second they stay on their bare feet, and points for their starting method and any tricks performed. The towboat pulls them in a tight circle pattern increasing the challenge and enabling spectators to
keep a close eye on the action.  Fleck, 50, competed on the US World Barefoot Team in five world championships from 1988 to 1998, and has won the national figure 8 endurance tournament seven times, including the 2013 title. After a 13 year hiatus from world competition, Fleck was recently again selected to be on the US Barefootteam traveling to Australia in March for his sixth world championship.

From Florida, Fleck’s goal was to set a new course record, breaking Jeff Blair’s record of 816 points set in 2011. “I’ve considered making the trip up to enter the Lake Norman New Year’s Day tournament a number of times in the past, but this year combining it with a snow ski trip to Beech Mountain with my daughter’s church youth group made the trip work. “The event was a lot of fun, and it was great to connect with many old friends in the sport,” said Fleck.
 

Blair, from Mooresville, NC, said, “This was a very special year for me. Getting my two sons Will (9) and Wesley (7) competing in the tournament was awesome! My Dad got me involved with the tournament when I was 12 years old and now the next generation of my family is competing in the tournament. “Competing with Peter Fleck was great! I actually went to Peter's ski school when I was a little kid so competing against him was kinda cool! He is a great guy and I hope he will come back up again!”
 

Another family making it a father and son event were the Wulfhorsts from Denver, NC. Todd Wulforst won the Mens Division and his son Eli (10) won the Juniors Division.
 

John Gillette, the announcer for the event and former world barefoot team member was not planning to compete this year. However, receiving pressure from his peers, he said he would compete if $500 was raised to donate to Samaritan’s Feet. Samaritan’s Feet is a Charlotte based ministry that provides shoes and a message of love and hope for the 300 million children around the world who suffer needlessly from foot-borne diseases and infections due to a lack of shoes. Within minutes the $500 was raised, Gillette skied and the final total came in at $688.  

Article:

http://www.waterskimag.com/features/2014/01/03/lake-norman-new-years-day-barefoot-challenge/

 
Images can be found here:

 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6pk2dnfvgpbn8dn/n6fU5r1QqM