Joe Bullis' Pro Shop

Spring of 2014 & time to tackle the floor issues.........

Here's the starting point on the floor.	...and with the floor cleaned up a bit.	.. and with all the bad stuff cut away..
New Plywood added - fiberglassed - sanded - ready for carpeting. To the right the carpeting is in on the main part of the floor.		And finally with the rebuilt tank cover and cooler cover in place! Now to work on the mechanical parts.

Spring of 2013 - The purchase
Here's the latest boat project - a 1978 Glastron V214 Aventura. Only 850 hours showing on the motor. Structurally, most of the boat is in pretty decent condition. Cosmetically, there's lot's to do. Here's the pic's of what I bought for $900:

Floor and Gas Tank Cover - Port Side.	This is the back starboard inside of the boat.	Engine - in real life it's a Chevy 305.
	To the left is an over-view of the interior - which looks OK, but since the boat has been uncovered for who knows how many years- all upholstery is dry rotted and cracks when moved. To the right is the view inside the Cuddy Cabin. The foam in the seats is OK, but here again the material is shot and will need to be replaced. Additionally, the white fake fur covering (remember this is from the 70's) the ceiling is just visible in the top of the photo. This too will need some re-working.

OK - so I buy this near Roanoke, VA. Next is the 175 mile trek to trailer it home. I took both wheels off my existing boat trailer just in case of tire problems during the trip. Sure enough - the one short stretch of 9 miles where there was no shoulder on the road is where a tire blew. The trailer used to have hydraulic brakes, but these don't appear to have worked in many years. So this gives quite a clunk any time the truck switches from pulling to braking. First task was a check of the outdrive - thankfully, no problems found. First two trips to the river for test run & the boat was hard starting, wouldn't get up on plane, and generally on the trip to return to the boat launch would barely run. Checked fuel pumps, filters, gas tank - all led to no change. Grabbed my timing light for the next trip to the river. Attempted to time the engine properly using the marks on the flywheel. After a couple of short unsuccessful test runs, I packed away the light and adjusted the timing by ear - motor runs great now! The boat did have a bit of vibration however. One more check of the outdrive unit & found a small area where exhaust gasses had compromised the rubber boot over the drive shaft. So the boat goes back to my diveway for a couple of weeks till I completely change boots and seals for the outdrive. The vibration is much lower now (there was evidence of water on the drive shaft u-joints, but it doesn't look like these had been wet enough to cause a problem). Next trip to the river I misunderstood Steve's signals and clip a submerged log. One new propeller and all vibration is now history. She runs great now:


The 'wish list' to get done before spring launch includes:

• reupholster the seats and cuddy.
• repair rotted sections of floor and re-carpet the main floor (Cuddy carpeting is still good).
• Refinish all the teak trim on the boat and diving platform.
• buff off the years of oxidation from the boat hull & polish this up a bit.