78Southwind
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I really didn't want to post this up on RDP's until the Spectra was completely finished but I figured since we are going to do a shakedown run in a couple weeks now is better than never. It's taken a lot longer than expected with some bad luck health wise but never the less the boat is running and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. For those that didn't know this is Greg's (RIP) old boat with Danny's (RIP) old blower engine. The Spectra was in pieces when I bought it and Gary (Greg's father) who sold the boat to me didn't know much about the boat so there was a little bit of trail and error (ok maybe a lot). However, searching Greg's and Danny's posts on the boards was very helpful. The plan was to finish the boat and take Gary out to Parker so he could spread Greg's ashes but Gary (RIP) passed away a little while ago.
I didn't know Greg on a personal level but I knew him as one of my river buds (someone I always made sure to say Hi to if I saw him at the river). I had only ridden in his boat a couple times once when I saw him at one of our AVI trips and another when he came to one of my Park Moabi trips that I use to throw a couple times a year. He had invited Lisa and I to join him at Parker a couple times but we never made it down with him to his stomping ground. One thing I will always remember about Greg is his smile, that guy always had a smile on his face. I use to tease Greg about this picture and told him that it looked like he was trying to hold down his ice chest.
The following is some of the history of the boat and the process of getting the boat back together. While making improvements where possible.
The first thing was getting the engine and engine plates installed so the boat could be towed home safely. One thing Greg loved to do was to drive his boat which is probably why his good friends called him "Full Throttle Fuller" and "Gas Dock Fuller." Greg would put miles and miles on the Spectra during an average weekend at Parker, Havasu or Laughlin. I remember reading a thread were Greg had driven all the way from Havasu Marina to Laughlin and then to the Springs and back to Havasu Marina. Well on that day one of the bolts had vibrated out and broke the lower bolt boss.
I wasn't sure what the appropriate fix was so since I had decided to rebuild the engine I asked around to a number of engine builders to see what they thought the appropriate fix was. All of them agreed that new plates would be a reasonable fix.
Once the boat was safely home it was time to get the trailer axle fixed and engine rebuilt.
I didn't know Greg on a personal level but I knew him as one of my river buds (someone I always made sure to say Hi to if I saw him at the river). I had only ridden in his boat a couple times once when I saw him at one of our AVI trips and another when he came to one of my Park Moabi trips that I use to throw a couple times a year. He had invited Lisa and I to join him at Parker a couple times but we never made it down with him to his stomping ground. One thing I will always remember about Greg is his smile, that guy always had a smile on his face. I use to tease Greg about this picture and told him that it looked like he was trying to hold down his ice chest.
The following is some of the history of the boat and the process of getting the boat back together. While making improvements where possible.
The first thing was getting the engine and engine plates installed so the boat could be towed home safely. One thing Greg loved to do was to drive his boat which is probably why his good friends called him "Full Throttle Fuller" and "Gas Dock Fuller." Greg would put miles and miles on the Spectra during an average weekend at Parker, Havasu or Laughlin. I remember reading a thread were Greg had driven all the way from Havasu Marina to Laughlin and then to the Springs and back to Havasu Marina. Well on that day one of the bolts had vibrated out and broke the lower bolt boss.
I wasn't sure what the appropriate fix was so since I had decided to rebuild the engine I asked around to a number of engine builders to see what they thought the appropriate fix was. All of them agreed that new plates would be a reasonable fix.
Once the boat was safely home it was time to get the trailer axle fixed and engine rebuilt.
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