HydroStream Ventura

SPECIFICATIONS:

  • Boat Type: 4 Passenger, Vee-Pad Runabout
  • Length: 16' 6"
  • Beam: Ventura II - 84", Ventura I - 76"
  • Transom Height: Ventura II - 22", Ventura I - 20"
  • Maximum HP: 140
  • Approximate Weight: 600 lbs
  • Seating: 2 Bucket Seats Front and Rear (1979 and older models had back to back front seats and no rear seats)


COMMENTS:

HydroStream made the Ventura I which was later replaced in 1977 by the Ventura II, though each was just called the Ventura (for its first year, 1977, HydroStream's brochure listed it as a Ventura II in order to call attention to the new refinements). The Ventura I was the boat that really put HydroStream on the map. With the horsepower available during that time period, it was the best all around model. The Ventura II was Howard Pipkorn's response to people wanting a larger, more family style boat though it was only slightly larger and wider. The 2 has the same bottom as the 1 except that up on the outer stern portion the bottom "turned down" a little. This was an effort to get additional lift to compensate for the extra weight of the larger boat. It was on this boat that Pipkorn went with the new-style decking: the flattened tops on the three ridges. He used this on the Ventura II, Vandal, and on the newer Hustlers. Which Ventura model was faster? Pipkorn himself said the Ventura 1.

 

Ventura I Ventura II
 

PERFORMANCE REPORT:

75 Ventura - Powerboat Magazine