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May be doing the happy dance tomorrow!

F

FP1201

Well-known member
Saw a local ad tonite for an Airboat for sale nearby <30 miles, called the felow up and spoke at lenghts about the boat, we didn't discuss its age, only that hes had it in storage for three years and had it for a few before, this is what he told me:
It's a 13' "Glade Glider" aluminum hull (not positive of mfgr, but that's what he said)
150hp Continental GPU, single Slick mag. 2:1 stainless headers, new Holly carb from Hoffman, fairly new, FAP prop in excellent condition., new starter, from??
new 3/8" poly, some extra cylinders and some other parts.
The owner bought the boat in FL and brought it up here where it was converted to an "ice boat". The rigging was cut down with the seats mounted low, a partial deck over added under the engine, and rigged for canvas covers/partial enclosure. Home-made trailer. Retired gentleman in his 60's ownes it, and indicated he'd always taken good care of it and stored it indoors. He's asking $4,200 or trade for a plow truck.
What say you?
Opinions are welcome and even brutal honesty expected. :wink:
 
On ice it should do just fine. The price is about where I would expect it to be. He will likely take $4,000 even. At that price though, ya can afford to do some mods like a second mag and headers between the correct two cylinders if it now has the headers between the two on each side instead of acrodd from eachother.

Sounds like a plausable deal to me.

Scotty
 
because there are so few airboats up here one has to take what you find or make a 3K mile round trip to Fl. After looking at the ads on Airboat trader, the boats under 5K this one doesn't seem to be too bad (baised on description) I suspect $3,800 ~ $4,000 will buy it, after all "cash talks and BS walks".
The owner told me about another boat up here it's a 20' aluminum boat with a 454 turning warp drive....he says it's a real pig, literally crushes ice his boat slides over, impossible to turn and even harder to steer. It came off the Indian Reservation where it had been used to smuggle cigaretts to Canada. :shock:
 
FP, I'm a long, long way from you so the best I can do is to try and help you second guess this deal.
Look the trailer over good. Just because it's homemade doesn't mean it might not be a very good trailer, but if you should have to replace it there's another $2000.
Look for workmanship in the hull, and any signs of some old heavy damage.

Make him start the engine for you, and listen to see that it doesn't have any knocking sounds, and that it's running on all four. DO NOT buy it until you hear it run. "The batteries are flat" is not an excuse.

If the engine sounds good, the hull looks good, and it's on a trailer that you wouldn't mind towing on a 500 mile trip then the price seems reasonable in my opinion.

olf
 
FP 3/8" poly on the bottom is grate for winter running but dose it have poly on the sides???? (up 10" min.) Also how many T Bars are in the bottom of the hull most boats have --- 7 --- The older boats had 5 if they were 7' 6" wide. but if this one has 11 T bars from the transom to mid ship then 7 running full length to the bow--- that is grate... The T bars give the bottom its strength for holding together when going over the rough ice and help to prevent the bottom from denting upward from the ice pressure. Our first boat had 5 T bars and we run the h___ out of it year around she did have a bunch of big dents in hir when we sold it but it still done the job --- Just did not go as fast because of the dents. Check the welds and sight down the sides from the back to the front if it has been run in ice she will show some inward denting on the sides ---- That ice hase more power than 10 Hurckes when it is pushing on the sides of your boat.. When you get it GO SLOW and Be SAFE .
 
It sounds like a fair deal, if you can get pics we can tell a little more. I've never heard of a "Glade Glider" hull before.

Whitebear, are you sayin on that 4cyl GPU the header banks need to be on opposite sides, like over or under the motor?

Ron, "That ice hase more power than 10 Hurckes when it is pushing on the sides of your boat..."
Being born and raised in Fla, I have very little knowledge of ice (other than what is in mixed drinks and the cooler) Just what is a hurckle? and where would you find 10 of 'em?
 
Went and looked at the boat this morning: "Glades Glider" was painted on the rudders and side of the boat, so I don't think thats who made it. Riveted Aluminum hull with three heavy stringers down the middle, lots of plywood additions made to the hull for boxes, seats, deck covering all of which can be easily removed.
Polymer is heavy duty 3/8" that came from a snowplow company that uses it for commercial/municiple plows (bull dozer size, not pick-up truck size) No poly on the sides. Quarter deck over the front. inside painted with something black and sort of skid resistant.
Didn't run the engine because the boat's inside a barn with hay inside, the owner is makeing arrangements to have it pulled out and he'll install a battery and fuel tanks (5 gallon removeable outboard type) Engine looked good, had a little seepage around a pushrod tube and between the case and oil sump. Holly carb was spotless inside and out. Single Slick mag. cover for second mag, but I thing the jugs are single plug. The owner said he's had problems with the engine "blowing out" oil pressure gauges, so he installed one that'd scale to 200psi. When the engine is hot the pressure is above 80 under power and above 40 at idle. (we shall see next week).
Trailer is big, heavy, and homemade by somebody with my level of skill (just enough to be dangerious) Dexter house trailer axle, without springs...the trailer itself proabably flexes enough to absorbe bumps. ouch!
Starter has a commercial made bracket and a lightweight reduction starter...looks like something a Chrysler Mini-Van uses, forgot what it had for an alternator, proabably a singlr wire Delco. wireing is loose (not good, but fixable) only two gauges: oil pressure and AMPS. Tach drive on timing cover, so a tach can be added.
I think the prop was made by FL AB Prop. out of Davenport, FL 66LXL32 in new looking condition, no dings/dents/de-laminations.
Rigging is conduit and not in great shape, but I didn't find any cracks or bad welds.
Engine stand is 1" box channel built like a bridge, over engineered in my opinion.
Cable steering, arogruto (sp) bearings, aleron shaped rudders, don't know if they're foam filled.
Overall it's not what I was looking for, but it appears to be a deceint starter boat with potential to be shaped back into a grass boat. He firmly and repeatidly stated that it went places that his friendsBBC powered 20' Classic couldn't/wouldn't.
Spend an hour and a half with someone and you'll get a good idea if they're full of schitt or not....this time I think not. :wink:
 
Whitebear":1k5apny9 said:
headers between the correct two cylinders if it now has the headers between the two on each side instead of acrodd from each other.
Scotty
Click to expand...
Please enlighten us: I seem to remember something about balanceing cylinders on things like two-stroke or maby motorcycle engines, but not about a 4cly. A/C
BTW: it was stainess two into one headers on each bank, collectors are 2-1/4" or maby 2-1/2", didn't measure them.
 
There was some discussion on this back early this year on the forum. It was in the threads about crossovers.

In an airplane the headers are between cylinders 1&2 and 3&4, not 1&3 and 2&4. Its my understanding you get some scavenging this way and may even add a souple HP. I'm not an exhaust designer. Let me try to find ya a pic of a set of aircraft headers.

OK here is MY engine, notice how the headers come out of side by side cylinders. This is incorrect but a popular way of doing it.
Engine_2.jpg


Ok, now here is a picture out of Cowboys album. Notice how they cross over to the opposing cylinder on the other side of the engine. Shown up-side-down I guess so its easier to see, unless Cowboy was doin acrobatics at the time.
crossover.jpg


Hope this helps or makes it a bit clearer. There are way more boats running with them on the same side of the engine than the aircraft way but they lack any scavenging. I WILL be changing mine when I get home and caught up on the other 10,000 things I got in the works LOL .

EDIT: I prefer those house trailer axles myself. They were made heavy and to haul a house on. An airboat sure isn't much of a workout for one. Lots of 30-40 year old house trailer axles under airboats cause they last a long time. Get an extra bearing set or two and keep then handy, like any axle they need to be replaced now and then.

Scotty
 
This is way to cool you can just about hear the excitement in FP 's voices when reading his post.... And airboat4fun I once again probably misspelled the name of a guy back in Roman times that pushed the pillars apart and caused the temple to crumble.... You remember that big mussel man that lost his power when that hooker cut his hair. Sorry I am not thinking to good tonight -- Left yesterday 1pm and 1150 miles later back home 10pm with my new airboat hull. But I beet all the Ice and Snow storms that are hitting tonight up here.
 
Ron Miller":2kzu0fhw said:
This is way to cool you can just about hear the excitement in FP 's voices when reading his post.... And airboat4fun I once again probably misspelled the name of a guy back in Roman times that pushed the pillars apart and caused the temple to crumble.... You remember that big mussel man that lost his power when that hooker cut his hair. Sorry I am not thinking to good tonight -- Left yesterday 1pm and 1150 miles later back home 10pm with my new airboat hull. But I beet all the Ice and Snow storms that are hitting tonight up here.
Click to expand...
Sampson was the poor fellow who lost his strength when Dilia cut his hair. (first thought was Herculese, maby Greek vs Roman mythology)
Yes, I am excited after all the two happiest days of a boat owners life are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. :wink:
I've made that LONNNG trip from NY to FL, and I'd imagine the trip from MI to FL wouldn't be any shorter but for a new hull it's worth it! Get some rest and take pictures when you recover. :D
 
boblee74":2r0xt1y0 said:
Samson and Delilah

Judges 16:19
Click to expand...
The problem with history and me is remembering where the story came from. In the last year or so I've been reading the Bible more and more because it speaks to me becoming easier to understand. Always enjoyed mythology and history thruout school (back when it was still taught).
I humbly stand corrected. :oops:
 
Oh ya bunch of bible thunpers, yer ALL wrong ! Delilah did NOT cut Samson's hair. Read your own quotes from the bible. Last I read in the King James version it said something like...and she caused a guard to cut Samsons hair.

ok, right or wrong?

Scotty :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Whitebear":1xmx0uq3 said:
Oh ya bunch of bible thunpers, yer ALL wrong ! Delilah did NOT cut Samson's hair. Read your own quotes from the bible. Last I read in the King James version it said something like...and she caused a guard to cut Samsons hair.

ok, right or wrong?

Scotty :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...
Don't know...I'll have to research it.
Best thing I ever learned was that I'm no-where near as smart as I though I was. :?
 
Oh my, I just re-read my post and I know I better cop some duces real quick.

My post was in jest. I do believe it to be factual though. I certainly had, nor have NO intention of offending anyones religious beliefs, or sensitive feelings. So.....I'll apologise NOW if it offends anyone, it was said in jest.

Scotty :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Whitebear":32xgognp said:
Oh my, I just re-read my post and I know I better cop some duces real quick.

My post was in jest. I do believe it to be factual though. I certainly had, nor have NO intention of offending anyones religious beliefs, or sensitive feelings. So.....I'll apologise NOW if it offends anyone, it was said in jest.

Scotty :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...
Absolutely no offence taken. I take my work seriously, but never myself. :wink:
Found this answer: Samson, the Jewish hero, fell in love with Delilah. She was bribed by the Philistines, and discovered that his strength came from his hair which had never been cut. While he was asleep it was cut, Samson was drained of his strength and the Philistines were able to capture him. Old Testament (Judges 16: 17-20).
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/c...ectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG6461
Oddly enough I don't quite know how the parable of Samson or his strength came into the thread, but that's how conversations tend to go. :)
 
The guys that cut his hair were named Gamble and proctor. they later went into the shampoo business and developed their own line of products, I THINK.

joel
 
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