Oops! Did it again!

Oh well, I've done it again. Got another boat. A 1976 19ft Carina hardtop. It's got a 302 Ford in it. I ran it a couple times last summer and it ran like a raped ape. That is after I replaced the engine coupler. It did however leak water badly from the transom plate. I removed the engine, outdrive and transom plate to access the transom plate gasket. The transom plate was literally finger tight. Not wanting to chance more problems, I went ahead and replace the gasket anyway. Now I'm just waiting for my buddy Frank from Pro Machine to make me an alignment tool. I have to adjust the motor mounts so the coupler lines up with the gimbal bearing. Pretty pricey bearing so I don't want to screw it up. I also needed a new shift lever and shaft that I found for 40 bucks at a boat junkyard.

Almost that time !

Rods and reels ready to go!

Well the weather here in Colorado has been unseasonably warm so the ice is gone or going off many of the mountain lakes. I spent the other night cleaning and lubricating equipment. I'll load new line on all the reels tonight and my fishing gear and tackle should be all ready! The 69 Sea ray is ready to roll,( other than registration ) but the 59 Glass magic is another story. The drive shaft from the power head to the lower unit was worn so bad the splines just kept slipping last time I had her out. Almost didn't make it back to the dock! It could have been worse. I was thinking the shift fork or gears in the lower unit were trashed. Pleasant surprise when I found them in great shape. It's getting harder to find parts for this old 1959 Johnson 75 horsepower outboard so I find myself having to repair or make a lot of parts. I took the old shaft over to Les Wagner at Wagner's welding / prop shop and had him weld where the spline was wasted on the shaft. As usual, excellent workmanship from Les. Man, that guy can lay a beautiful bead! I then dropped it of to Frank at Pro Machine who is re machining the welded end of the shaft and manufacturing a new coupler which was really toast! Now he promised me it would be done Monday the 26th. Only time will tell, but man I'm really ready! Greg sold his boat so we'll probably need mine more than ever. I've got some down riggers to install on the 59 but I want to make the mounts and every thing removable so if I,m not using them there's not a bunch of shit hanging all over the boat. I repainted the fenders on the trailer and did some touch up on the boat herself. They get scratched and nicked no mater how careful you try to be. Then there's people that don't think or don't give a shit about other peoples property. I love the assholes that will walk through the mud then climb all over your boat with their shoes full of dirt and shit. There goes that paint job! Things will have to change this year. With the price of fuel going no where but up, it's gonna be, " Cash or gas, nobody rides for free ."

It's some kind of addiction!

 

I've got to learn to say no when it comes to water craft! Here's the new project. The future " Trailered Trash " or " Sea-Cup " It's a 1969 Sea Ray SRV160 with a 72 105 hp Chrysler I picked up for 50 bucks. Boat , motor and trailer! I've already had it running and man does it sound healthy! I repaired the power tilt and started on the wiring and seats but the weather hasn't cooperated with me at all!  It will need a real good cleaning, which I've started already, another story altogether!, a new steering cable, internal fuel tank ( got a 20 gal one sitting at the shop ) and some paint on the trailer. That is really about it! This one won't break the bank. Yea, right. I'm not putting in carpet or anything. I'm gonna stick with the vinyl flooring that is already in it.  This is gonna be the run it into the dock or up on the rocks boat. I don't want another boat where I freak out if someone drags the anchor chain across the paint and shit like that.  The 59 for example. I hope to get the controls in it sometime this weekend. After paying  rent and utilities for the house and the shop, I don't have two nickles to rub together to make a dime! Great weekend to do stuff that doesn't cost anything! Now that I think of it, I'll see what my friend Art ( Body and paint guy ) is doing this weekend. He owes me a favor or two and I've got plenty of paint left over from the 59 that would work just fine on the trailer.  I'll keep ya up to date on the progress and try to post some more pictures.

I've got your number....

I've got your number.... and now I've got mine for the 59! I've been waiting what seems like " FOREVER ! " for my friend Kim to bring my vinyl numbers and letters for the boat. She has arrived! We went over to Rene's place ( where I keep the boat due to space limitations at my house ) and stuck em on the old girl. On the boat, not Rene or Kim! It's fathers day weekend and I guess me and  Layton aka " Butt nugget " are gonna take her up to Skagway and see what she'll do! THE BOAT ! NOT RENE OR KIM ! Jesus give me a freaking break! Anyway, all kidding aside, the vinyl letters and numbers look great! I'll post some pictures when we get back Sunday evening. With some luck we may even catch a fish or two! Rene's old man, " Saint Joe" ( the man is a saint), puked the outdrive on his boat so maybe we'll invite him and Greg to come along also.  After all, we'll need someone to clean the fish and chip in for gas! Shit, you can't afford to take a boat out nowadays with out securing a loan! Boat stands for " Break- Out- Another- Thousand! Happy fathers day to all you dads and even some of you mothers!

The thrill of victory!

Got her pretty much done. New carpets, new wiring, engine painted and new decals applied. Just waiting for the fiberglass repair to dry and install the bilge pump. Don't look too bad does she?

Wax on, wax off....

Well we decided to get to town on the old Newman pronto. It really needs very little structural work. The smallest amount of glass work aft where the fuel tanks go. We cleaned all the shrubs from the interior, swept it and vacuumed it, then Tad and Greg laid the paint on to all the woodwork to prevent anymore rot. Gregs buddy Larry turned us on to a real good fibreglass restorer that sure made the job of pretty'n her hull up a lot easier. Greg and Tad laid all new carpet and did the glass work that it needed. I rewired the entire boat. added some lights and fixed the wiring on the trailer. You can see the difference in just a weeks time! Tad is gonna buy it from me for what I have in it but me and Greg wanna make sure if we repo it, it'll be up to our standards!

Another classic find!

I've got to learn to say no! Had a customer of mine tell me about a boat out in the woods in Lake George. Well me and Titus took a ride out there in a snow storm to look it over. After hours of searching we finally found it. A diamond in the rough! It's a 1969 Newman. 14'6" with a 135 Merc outboard. Hadn't been run since 1996. Well we haggeled on the price and finally picked it up for $175.00. We towed it back to the Springs and took her to my shop. I had a little 2 stroke mix and figured what the hell, lets see if she'll fire. After about 15 minutes of messing with the fuel lines, primer bulb and hot wiring the ignition, she barked to life. One worry down.