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Joined
Aug 6, 2017
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18
So, I'm new to posting here and thought I'd introduce myself, and dockside seemed to be the best place for that.

I grew up in Oklahoma and am in Owasso Oklahoma again now. I worked for American Airlines a bit, worked as a firefighter for a bit, spent 20+ years in the Army, retired, and now work for the Army Corps of Engineers in Navigation as a lock operator.

I currently have my old Polaris ski and recently picked up an 88 Glassport.

A little about myself, I grew up near Ft. Gibson lake as a kid. We also had a lake house on Tenkiller. As a kid we had, going in reverse order, a 16 foot Lowe flat bottom, and Mark Twain trihaul with a Chevy inline six, and yes, I have chipped teeth to prove I sported a trihaul. A sears V haul aluminum, a "Clam", which was a foam filled plastic boat that folded from 16 feet long to 8 feet and fit in the back of a pickup. An old Starcraft that I was young enough to basically remember it having 57 Chevrolet looking fins, a two man bass boat, and lastly, a huge old pontoon. In addition, our lake house ajoined my uncles, and grandparents and they also had boats. Another pontoon, a Glastron and a Baja. So, I've been on a lot of boats. My dad insisted I learn to drive when I was about 10, just in case anything happened to him on the lake.

Despite having spent much of my youth on boats and helping dad work on them, I dont really know much about them. I however have been reading threads here about a year and been signed up for maybe a month or so. I've grown a little old for the skis, so thought I'd pick up something a bit more practical.

The little time I worked at American Airlines, I did nothing but composite work, so I do have that skill set. That said, 80% of aircraft parts are epoxy, which seems to not garner much favor in the boat world, or at least from reading here it seems so.

A little about my boat. When I got it, I traded an old motorcycle I didn't want for it. At the time, I was told "it only needed interior and an alternator." Well, judging by the ants living in the transom, the Charlie foxtrot of wiring I've sorted, and the fact the cooling system seems to leak air like a sieve, I'm in for a haul... it seems, that the 4.3L in it was bad, and at some point replaced with a truck block. I believe, that engine was overheating judging by the new recirculation pump and auto temp sensor and gauge "rigged" in the engine. The core plugs had been replaced with the cheesy rubber ones on the block sides and all four of them had came out. I'm unsure if the block froze and pushed them out, or if the rubber dried up and they fell out... they are dry and hard... I do finally have the wiring sorted enough to to fire the engine up. I'll be pulling the carburetor and going through it shortly and hooking up the fuel pump to actually run it and see if the engine is bad. Lower water pump is good and recirc pump is new, so we shall see...

Drat, I've drifted off into boat stuff. Anyways, I'm married, so honey do's take more time than boat work. Having basically grown up on the water like I did though, I terribly miss it. The old ski block cracked two winters ago, and I've been dry legged for a while now...

When I got the boat, she'd been stripped of placards, decals, everything basically. I just recently ran the haul numbers through the Coast Guard and found out she is an 88 Glassport. Built in October of 87 as an 88 model. Originally equipped with a 4.3L OMC. Glassport was a short lived boat builder in Kentucky, not to far from Ft. Campbell. Judging by my example, they weren't a very good boat builder either. While she's probably not even worth a rebuild, I'm known for my strong willed love of defunct vehicles. 07 Victory Vegas, 04 BuellXB (X2), 94 Lotus, 92 Polaris Jetski...

I've already named her; Glassy Lady. As by the time she's splashed, there's going to be a lot more glass in her.

Thank you for chapter 1 through 7 of my book lol
 

southkogs

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Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,784
LOL ... great read. Welcome aboard. Thanks for your service.

Looking forward to seeing the "Glassy Lady" splashed.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
18
It'll be some time. I have about 30 hours one weekend a month to work on it, though it is a climate controlled interior setting. Still, she needs a lot of work.

Thank you, always glad to have a project to work on and all the knowledge here helps so much. Reading here is why I decided to go through with restoring her.
 

aspeck

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Joined
May 29, 2003
Messages
18,588
Welcome aboard fellow firefighter! Always good to have another heat seeker and water lover on the fora. Enjoyed your read, and from it I think you will fit in well here. Looking forward to more chapters!
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
18
Thank you aspeck. I was paid on call for a few years at a small department. Municipal, two stations and only a handful of full time guys.

I never did training pass firefighter 1. Well, I did hazmat to ops lever, and the technical rescue stuff, ropes one and two, trench, vehicle extraction, etc. Been out of it for around 5 years now, but it's been my online identity for as long, so I never change it.
 
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