TOPIC: i cant wait to see ron v.and sue this weekend

ron and his wife sue are bringing his cc mata ray ,here to indiana pa,we are going to do a little work on it,nothing major ,just the steering wheel,and some small stuff,we might even whip up a console for it if we have time,lorraine and i cant wait to see them again,i have been busy cleaning out the yard and garage ,so we can get it in the garage ,lol.
see you friday?
it makes me feel great to have the honor to work on rons boat "remember then",its great that he trusts me that much,see you soon buddy,john

same here john, and will be with you and Lorraine next month too in Hammondsport. we're gunna get sick of each other. going to west marine now to pick up new tires and material we need, and then to the station to have them mounted and bearings greased. can't find my grease gun. it was in the old garage but probably got thrown in the dumpster by mistake. i'm going to miss the gang at silver lake but i want to get these few things done on the boat as i have been putting it off for a couple years now. will phone you when we reach that Groundhog town. hehe....ron

yeah me too,but i cant afford another trip to ny,that would make 3 trips,just not in the budget,i hope they have alot of fun and take alot of pics for us,john

ron and sue got here about 9:30 pm,after a 7 hour drive,its great to see them again,we put the boat in my garage,going to do some work this morning,just minor stuff,john

Glad they made it safely, hope you are all having a good time. Of course we want to see pics of your outstanding work.

Bob

well its sunday morning and we're on our way back to john's house. we decided to leave the boat at john's so he would have some more time to finish up. i won't need it until the july 4th parade at a nearby town. i'll return in a few weeks to pick it up. 7 hr. drive ..ugh. we lost a lot of time tryin to remove the steering wheel. we ended up taking it off from the back. the wheel is finished as are a pair of bullet mirrors that i might replace the chrome ones with. john also mocked up a console that will house the remote he gave me. my original remote was just to big to fit in the console. it will also house my tach and cd player. he's going to cover it with padding and white vinyl, and the top will be polished stainless steel. its going to have a whole new look and will now be a customized mantaray and the awarding winning days as an original mantaray are over, but i'll enjoy using it now as it will be more comfortable with the remote at my side whereas the other i would have to reach and hold down to keep at full throttle. bucket seats may be in the future. to watch john work makes me wish he was my neighbor..it would be my 2nd home. this morning we're laying some mat under the front seat support that was damaged. l was concerned when we arrived there friday night about john's wolf, yukon, but can tell you now he is a gentle and lovable animal. we had a lot of laughs with ed as he came and helped us out on saturday. he has a great sense of humor as does sheila (john's mom). lorraine is a great cook and keeps a beautiful home. she also has a knockout doll collection. john would of been posting progress pics but he can't find his camera. he had it in the morning and it just dissapeared. well more when i get home. ron

Sounds great Ron. Hope the camera didn't end inside the mocked up console.

Bob

ron and sue made it home ok,i had a blast working with ron on his manta ray,he left it here so i could do the job right,a weekend just isnt enough time,besides its a great excuse to see them again,tomorrow im going to work on building his console,i like to take my time doing things,its too easy to make a mistake when going to fast or rushing.
i want the manta to be pristine when he sees it again,i would take pics but i lost my camera somehow,lol,lorraine and my mom went to amish country and they loved it.
when i find my camera ill take pics,john
p.s.bob i wish you could have been here too,john

John,
Good plan and I know it's going to come out awesome. Thanks I wish I could have been there too. Hopefully sometime soon we can all meet up. With the wife having to work weekends all of times it's making it hard to plan anything. I think I may be making a trip back to Michigan to my step mom's to pick up a few things, maybe I can swing through your way on the way there or back.

Bob

bob,that would be nice,to finaly meet you,john

hey john maybe crazy will stop by again too...hehe

lol,thats a long story,i will have to tell sometime,about a excentric fella ,and his fiance,who stopped by on his way across the country on motorcycle and that aint the crazy part.john

pic's i took before battery crapped out.

Nice pics Ron.

John great setup you have there. I especially like the front porch extension!

Bob

thank you bob i guess its ok for a guy doing it in my condition,but i could not have done it without help,from lorraine mom,ed and steve.kinda ran dry on funds,lol,the rest will have to wait,i only have about a month to restore one of the boats,john

Roger that, nothing wrong with priorities buddy!

Bob

hey ron!!.click on the picture of me and make it larger,look at what im doing,im putting my camera back into its case and going into the garage!!that has to be where my lost camera is,it must be in the garage!
i remember taking a couple of pics of your boat with it,i then must have put it somewhere safe,lol,i know i didnt want to get it covered in paint and saw dust.
i know we looked in the garage ,but that has to be where it is,john

john, i can't make that out but you know your camera. i do remember you taking a few pics of the boat now that you mention it. we searched the garage pretty thoroughly. maybe you put it up high on the shelf and covered it with something. i didn't look in the toolbox.

ron,i found the camera ,woo hoooo,it was in the garage on a stool,under one of my fold up tables,boy im glad i didnt lose it outside we have had alot of rain ,lol,ill leave the cheap camera out in the garage,and keep this one inside,john

those damn fold up tables...