TOPIC: getting rid of some boats

after a long talk with my wife as well as my doctor,i just am overwhelmed with boats,i dont know which way to turn.
and i guess i stress to easily nowdays,i have to get rid of most of them,i just have to figure out which one im going to keep,my yard looks like a boat graveyard,and its not fair that they go to crap,while i twiddle my thumbs,i need to concentrate on just one for now,maybe someday in the future i will get another but for now i have wasted way to much time and money on too many projects and not getting any one done.
im thinking of keeping the devil ray and the aqua loop,painted as a matching set.
my boats are real project boats in every sense of the word.

i feel really bad to get rid if my cutter jet de ville ,because some of my really best friends bought me the bow light for christmas,it was one of the best christmases i have ever had,that bow light means a great deal to me.

the devil ray my great friends got it for me and even towed it from one member to another,i thank you guys from the bottom of my heart.im planing on fixing it as my only boat.besides the aqua loop,im keeping it because it should be the easist resto for me,and i would love to have a matching set.

the flying fish was bought by john(ed)godon and given to me,so if he wants it its his along with the ciggerette holder and dash box cover my wife bought for my birthday.

there are some i hope to give away,they need almost everything.

so long story long,i have a cowling to finish,a firetruck for charity,that a lot of you have had a big hand in.

and a antique stroller i promised to do.

i just have way too many irons in the fire and none close to compleation.
i thought about doing this before but couldnt do it.now i am definatly ready to do this,it would be great to see someone restore one of my boats.

now this doesnt mean your getting rid of me,lol,it just means i finaly might get another boat done.thanks guys ,john

john, don't feel bad about having to thin the stable out. i did the same thing last spring. i gave my fleetform away, scrapped out my glaspar, and elgin runabouts, and sent my crestliner to the aluminum guy. and then i was not torn between them. plus they all needed alot of work. then i went to look for a boat with fins and found the rocket, and it needs alot of work also but i can only work on one at a time and get alot more done. a very good friend once told me that you can't own them all at once, but you can (insert brain fart here) sorry i can not remember the end. do one and have fun doing it, be well my friend. frog just remembered the end [ you can't own them all at once, but you can own them all once ] anyways i think that is how it goes. lol frog

It's always hard to come to the reality that one man can only do so much. I am glad you are slowing it down, and happy that you are still keeping a few boats to play with.

I'm sure they will all find good homes, and be loved and cherished by the new caretakers as they were by you.

Kind of like your children. You love them, and still you have to let them go sometime.

yep you guys are right,if i work on only one boat i can have fun doing it again,right now its no fun.
i talked to ed and im getting rid of the 59 flying fish for what ed and i have in it,including the cover and ciggerette box holder.
im just hoping to get what i have in the boats which isnt much.john

I did the same thing a few years ago John. I finally had a G3, a boat I'd always wanted, but gave it away, along with a bunch of others. I love my Power Cat, and have other projects I want to get done. Part of it is getting the property cleaned up for sale down the road too. Part of it is my shoulders can only do so much. Now I finally am back to working on my 1947 Old Town canoe. Been dragging that baby around for years!

Take care and relax.

Frank

Well John when my Winner is finished I may need a new project. I got a gallon of metallic light blue paint given to me yesterday. First time I seen that fish in a Craiglist add I had an eye for it. I forwarded the add to you in hopes of you wanting it.

John, I've been there on thinning the herd. On the plus side, for me, as soon as one project is gone, it kindles new excitement in the remaining projects. Don't stress about it. There are few things in this world you can't find again if you really try.

thanks guys,yep my yard needs cleaned up,lol.
and now im getting a bit excited about doing one boat and the aqua loop.

robert,you have 1st crack at it buddy,you found it,i just want what was paid for it,50 bucks plus 100 bucks for the ciggerette holder and the glove box cover.
it doesnt have a title and the transom needs fixed along with a hole on the back of the hull.oh yeah the bees nest goes with it.lol.

do you have a trailer for it?john

i talked to robert,and he said he doesnt have the funds needed to do the 59 flying fish the way it needs to be done,so it is up for grabs.

john

That Fish deserves better than what I can give it John. My income is small and boat budgets are small. I still have my 62Ford F-100 that needs restored and I have a bathroom that needs done. I'd love to have it but it deserves more than I can give.

Those are the other problems for guys like us. If health isn't an issue, there is always time, money, space or all of the above. Not everyone is like these big collector guys that buy a rotten pile of ribs and slats and pay $275,000 to have someone "restore" (build) them a, better than new, classic boat.

You don't happen to have a finned Falls Flyer you are looking to rid yourself of?

When I was talking to Thom the other day. I told him...

"Ya know, we go nuts with all this boat stuff everywhere, but if it wasn't here, we would got nuts without it!" Can't win!

Well John I'm glad your paring it down. hey would be great projects but you have enough on your plate. Keeping the Ray is a good choice it f you ask me. I'm sure someone will want the others. I still have the Century to do so I'm not even thinking about picking up another project right now. I still have those other motors to restore also. LOL

Bob

that devilray is going to look awesome when its completed...

Oh Yeah, I have no doubt in my mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bob

lol sorry jepster,and thanks.
thanks guys that means a lot to me.john

John,

if you weren't4 days away, i'd really like to pick up one of your projects & do it right.

WHAT i'd REALLY like to find is a late-50s to mid-60s, 18-24ft, I/O rig or a conventional I/B boat, with something relatively simple to work on like a SB CHEVY, BUICK or JEEP engine.
(sadly all the ones that i've found here in TX are either JUNK (not even that "fancy French JUNQUE".) and ready to be cut-up & hauled to the landfill OR so expensive that i cannot even think of buying them.
(there seem to be a SURPLUS of "quite suitable" 30-50K, mostly Cris-Craft boats, that "need a little work".)

so i'm still LOOKING FOR my "project".

BEST WISHES on your continued health improvement!

yours, satx

John,

If I remember, last time you were going to get rid of everything and get out of this sport. I think thinning the herd is a good idea. Keep things simple. The Devil Ray and Aqua Loop will be great stablemates. If I didn't have the Glastron, I would be out to look at your yard. Once I finish that, that it it for restorations for me. (OK, if and Ancarrow or something equally rare was dropped in my lap...)

As I have said several times, take care of yourself and don't worry about my motor hood. Finish it when you can. I scrounged a hood from a mid 60s 33hp Johnson that fits, so I am still using the boat. Did the Antique and Classic boat parade at Mystic Seaport last weekend with me, my friend Barbara, two of her grandsons and the dog in the boat. Never had that big a crowd on board before.

John,

Hope that you have the cause for the chest pains figured out, and that you are feeling better. I too, am in the process of trying to reduce the size of my stash. I have junk everywhere & am feeling overwhelmed by it. Frankly, I'm not sure how I gathered all of this stuff up, but it was obviously done over a period of years. I've done hardcore clean outs of boats & related stuff before, but new treasure seems to fill the space in short order. It's all fun collecting untill the crap is in the way, your health or finances crash, or you have to move. It really is a sickness. It's called collecting disorder - and you might be surprised have common it is in the Western world. Collecting is great until the act becomes a burden. Man am I feeling like my stuff is a burden lately. I look at my shop and storage yard & feel overloaded. I usuallu just turn around & save it for another day. Bunt now I'm trying to do just a little each day. Some days I get rid of a bunch of things but the pile doesn't look any smaller. What's with that?

Take care

Bruce

bruce, i hear ya man, i started collecting toy tractors. at first it was just from my tractor manufacturer..new holland. then i got hooked on the steel wheel tractors and the hoarding started. of course it doesn't take up the room that boats and motors do but its still a collective disorder in a smaller sense. i'm glad john is facing reality and now knows that he is limited to the amount of work he can do. ron

boy both of you guys are sooo right,today i worked on eds devil ray with ed and had fun,john

Frankly I think when a hobby becomes a burdon we should take a look at what we really want. I used to love to work on cars. After I sold my place that had a garage I lost interest. I like to work on cars, trucks, boats, and tractors but not when I HAVE TOO. That takes the fun away. See my post in NBR about my son's pick-up. That was to be a project we both could do and enjoy. His job takes up so much time he can't even ride his ATV anymore leaving the job just to me. Not any fun anymore because I feel I have to do it. We have to look at what we want to do and what we are able to do and make a plan in our own minds and be realistic. In my case I can't afford to do the Fish like it deserves. I'd love to do it but even my Winner I've spent well over $50.00 in screws and bolts. If I could do it I'd buy that fish in a minute. I'd love to restore my old 62 F-100.

well,i did it i put an ad in the glassifieds,i didnt have enough room though,lol.
i also have a winner boat to add to it ,if after you read my ad,and you are interested email me,at johngibsoni@aol.com,i will be happy to answer any questions,john

Hey John, thin the herd. That is one of the reasons I am putting the Herters up for sale. A fella can only run one boat at a time and the others sit and decay after many hours of loving sweat and tears and blood at times.
The Merc on my fish is just about finished, should be by this weekend and then it will be posted on craigslist and ebay with a reserve. Don't know how much to ask but as long as I can pay for my last vacation and put gas in my Sabre I'll be happy. Want it to go to a good home though.
Take care of your own hull first and then focus on one thing at a time. I always make a list to check off that way I'm not hopping from one project to another and not finishing any of them.
Whatever you decide I'm sure it will be for the better.
Cal

You gonna be home tomorrow John?

yep cal your exactly right,today i finaly got todds cowling done,its great to get down to one boat,even if i still have a yardful ,lol.

yep robert im home tomorrow,my wife is taking my truck to work,her car lost its brakes this morning,thank goodness she wasnt hurt.

robert call before ya come so im not up at the mechanics ,i will make sure im home,724-465-2581,john

OK

Thanks for the hood John. Between the two it should make good trim for one. That's worth a Karma point.

Thanks for the hood John. Between the two it should make good trim for one. That's worth a Karma point.

Thanks for the hood John. Between the two it should make good trim for one. That's worth a Karma point.

Thanks for the hood John. I can get trim for one between the two I have now. That is worth some Karma points.

Been there and done that with some hobbies. All of a sudden I realized that the toys owned me! I didn't own them at all.

Sorry to hear you're having to thin out your collection John, but I understand. I'm kind of at that point too, I've just collected stuff through the years that I think I or someone else might have a use for, but here it just sits. Hopefully it'll all work out in the end and you'll get your boats in some good homes and have time to focus on getting the one left done up nice.

your welcome robert and thanks for the trimmer and walking stick.
your right dave and sunline,someone might be interested in the flying fish,and i can use the money to put into the devil ray and aqua loop.john

Use the stick John, I've enjoyed it and I think I had to replace the tip once already. It fits the hands well and is strong for the extra support we old Gents need. I'm looking forward to making some new ones this winter. I'm going to go shaft hunting In a few days maybe for some more. I enjoy it. I'm going to get my water jug filled at the spring and I want to look at the trees there and ID what wood it was. I made a nice looking stick i thought. Maybe I'll cut some more, it was with'in 10 feet of where my Grandmother grew up. This is the stick pattern.