BigTerp's Tracker Sportsman 16' O/B Jet build

[BigTerp]

Got the chance to check out the jet last night. It seems to be in good overall shape. Needs new pistons, bearings etc. which was expected. Need to get into the lower unit and hope for no surprises. If the lower unit is in good shape, I'd say we got a steal for $300. My buddy is a mechanical engineer, so he'll be tackling this rebuild with my help (mostly just to keep the beer cold and ready). Forgot to get a few pictures, but I'll grab some as we tackle the rebuild.

Question......I'm going to have to raise this motor 5-6" on the transom to get the jet foot where it needs to be. Whats the best way to do this? I'm trying to decide between a manual (homemade) jack plate, or just raising the transom. I like the idea of being able to fine tune the motor height with a jack plate but am concerned about the stress it will put on my transom. Motor weighs roughly 200#, but I did just redo my transom, so I know it's solid.

 

[T Man]

Terp, get goin on this thing already!

Personally I think you should go the jack plate route. This will not only let you fine tune the motor height, but give you the option to easily re-power in the future.

 

[JMichael]

Boat is looking good. I read what you said about the 5200 not lasting 48 hours and just wanted to say you must not have gotten it sealed right when you put it away. I've got some that I opened last spring and only used about half of and the tube is just as soft right now as the day I bought it. A trick I like to use on tubes like that is to only cut a little off the plastic applicator tip so the hole is small. When I get done, I get a smooth shank nail that has a larger diameter than the hole. Then I squeeze the tube until all the air is out and glue starts coming out. Then force the nail in the tip. As long as there is no air in the tube when you seal it up and your seal is tight, it should keep.

 

[BigTerp]

Terp, get goin on this thing already!

Personally I think you should go the jack plate route. This will not only let you fine tune the motor height, but give you the option to easily re-power in the future.

HA!! I'd like to, but it hasn't touched 30 degrees in the last 2 weeks here and we just got another few inches on snow today. Great for the ducks, but not so much for boat work. Plus, as soon as I cut out my middle bench my boat will be land bound until I get the livewell drain welded. Can't have that during duck season. My buddy has enough room in his garage to work on the motor in the time being though.

How is yours coming along? Haven't been over to check it out lately. I was wondering what you were going to do for hatches and lids. But I think I'm going to just bite the bullet and get some Tempress hatches.

I'm leaning towards the jack plate. Good point on re-powering down the road!!

 

[BigTerp]

Boat is looking good. I read what you said about the 5200 not lasting 48 hours and just wanted to say you must not have gotten it sealed right when you put it away. I've got some that I opened last spring and only used about half of and the tube is just as soft right now as the day I bought it. A trick I like to use on tubes like that is to only cut a little off the plastic applicator tip so the hole is small. When I get done, I get a smooth shank nail that has a larger diameter than the hole. Then I squeeze the tube until all the air is out and glue starts coming out. Then force the nail in the tip. As long as there is no air in the tube when you seal it up and your seal is tight, it should keep.

Yeah, I think I just got lazy and carelessly sealed it up after I read on the tube it doesn't last more than 48 hours after opening.

 

[JoshKeller]

SON OF A! your buddy was the guy who bought that jet off craigslist. I was next in line if he didnt take it.

Also, not too sure what grade aluminum i used, but I just made an entire frame for the front of my new 1648 with about $40 of aluminum angle from tractor supply.

 

[T Man]

Terp, get goin on this thing already!

Personally I think you should go the jack plate route. This will not only let you fine tune the motor height, but give you the option to easily re-power in the future.

HA!! I'd like to, but it hasn't touched 30 degrees in the last 2 weeks here and we just got another few inches on snow today. Great for the ducks, but not so much for boat work. Plus, as soon as I cut out my middle bench my boat will be land bound until I get the livewell drain welded. Can't have that during duck season. My buddy has enough room in his garage to work on the motor in the time being though.

How is yours coming along? Haven't been over to check it out lately. I was wondering what you were going to do for hatches and lids. But I think I'm going to just bite the bullet and get some Tempress hatches.

I'm leaning towards the jack plate. Good point on re-powering down the road!!

Mine is still in progress. I havent put up any pictures since I finished the front and rear decks. I need to get a floor in, and cut my rear hatches out for my rear storage. I would recommend going the store bought hatch route. I tried to make my own and was unhappy This spring sometime I am going to re-do my front deck to get my hatch openings the way I would like them.


I took my girlfriend out and fished for the first time this year and found an 8" long crack where the transom meets the floor of my boat. I am thinking this is from when I was breaking ice with it a few weeks ago. Cleaned it, scuffed it and am hoping 5200 will do the trick. If not I have to pull the motor and gut the boat so my welder can flip it and weld it. Its always something when you buy a hole in the water.

 

[panFried]

Tman that doesn't sound good and I think putting 5200 on an 8 in crack is like sealing the Hoover **** with bubble gum! Well maybe not that bad but I think that has welding skills written all over it.

 

[BigTerp]

SON OF A! your buddy was the guy who bought that jet off craigslist. I was next in line if he didnt take it.

Also, not too sure what grade aluminum i used, but I just made an entire frame for the front of my new 1648 with about $40 of aluminum angle from tractor supply.

Thanks!! I haven't checked out any of the local big box stores, but I'll have to take a look. Here is the difference between 6063 and 6061. You can see why i want to use 6063.

https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?id=61&step=2

 

[BigTerp]

That sucks about the crack Tman!! Let me know how it works out.

I'm thinking the same thing with the hatches. I can also get store bought with a nice matching liner if I want. Just seems like less of a headache and will probably turn out much nicer than if I tried to make my own.

 

[Ranchero50]

Hi Jamie,

With duck season out and goose season winding down I'm getting closer to tearing into my boat. I'm still planning on removing my bench seat and will need the livewell hole welded, but I now have another sort of problem. My buddy picked up a 1994 50/35 Johnson jet that we are going to rebuild. I know, it's not a sweet inboard like yours, but it'll be MUCH better than my current 1965 5hp Johnson!! My problem is I have a 15" transom and need to raise it a good 5-6" to accomodate the new motor. I'm thinking some sort of transom riser would be better/safer than a jackplate. What's your opinion? Have you ever dealt with raising a transom? I would think some combination of aluminum and plywood would suffice, but I've never done anything like this. Would this be something you can/would be willing to help me do? I'm sure portions of the aluminum would need to be welded. If this is something that seems feasible to you, once I get a plan in place you could let me know how much your welding/fabrication would cost. Just trying to get it figured out how to get this motor on my boat.

Thanks Jamie!!

Derek

I've raised one, it's not a terrible job and since you've already been into the transom once it should go faster. To prep it just use a shallow set skill saw to rip cut the weld where the corner caps meet the gunnel extrusions and cut across the transom cap just below the cap bend. It'll be very loud so wear ear plugs and safety glasses. Remove your wood and make a new taller transom support with a 18-24" wide flat cap 5" higher than the old and angles to the gunnel height and bolt it in place. Next, use an engine crane to set the motor on the transom and verify that your intake front lip is flush to .5" above the bottom of the hull. Use a broom handle or something similar against the hull as an extension. If everything looks good and your controls clear the new transom just transfer the transom wood or draw it out on a sheet of 12ga aluminum. Add an inch or two to the bottom for an overlap and have a local sheet metal shop bend a new top cap and have them do the same for some longer corner caps (usually half way up the incline works well). I'll be on days again in a week or two and can stop by some evening on the way home if you want some help or ideas.

Jamie

 

[BigTerp]

Thanks Jamie. I'll let you know what I get worked out.

 

[jph84]

im in the same place you where with your transom..... you did a fine job. mine is to the first i have done. i have every thing out and clean!

im not to sure on what rivets and rivet gun to go with....i will also be using a few on the hull to replace some that are old and shot.

what size rivet and what type rivet gun did you use. i didn't see it listed in your transom work.

many thanks in advance.

cheers.

JPH

 

[BigTerp]

I used this air hammer from harbor freight.

https://www.harborfreight.com/super-duty-air-hammer-with-chisels-47868.html

And this rivet setting tool. This is for brazier head rivets, yours may be different.

https://www.handsontools.com/Ajax-1611-14-Mod-Brazier-Head-Rivet-Set_p_8794.html

I don't remember the size rivets I used. For you it will depend on the size of your current rivets. Measure the river holes and the length rivet you need and you have your size. Be sure to get some that are a size bigger to. These will be for holes that are a bit walloed out. You can drill those holes to size and use the larger rivets.

 

[BigTerp]

Just a quick update. I've STILL gotten nothing done with the boat. Truth be told I've been waiting since September to get the boat and trailer registered. Long story short is that the paperwork from the PO was severly out of whack. The PO has done ALOT of work to get things squared away and I finally got confirmation from her that she has new titles in hand and will be mailing them to me this week. I can't believe how helpfull she has been, especially since it was no longer her problem. Hopefully I can get to the DMV on Saturday and FINALLY get everything transferred to my name and legal. Yes, I used the boat quite a bit during waterfowl season while it was unregistered. Pretty dumb move, but I have private river access in a secluded part of the river so I just stayed close to home and somehow got lucky and avoided a ticket from Mr. Green Jeans [-X . It would have been way to hard to let her sit in the driveway for 6 months :lol: This was part of the reason I haven't torn into her yet. I was afraid the registration issues wouldn't get resolved and I'd have to sell her . The weather hasn't been very helpfull either. We just got 6" of snow the first part of the week.

I'm hoping to get things registered and legal this Saturday. If I can get that squared away I will immediately be removing my middle bench seat and getting some solid measurements for the amount of aluminum stock I'll be needing. Will also go ahead and get the outside hull cleaned, prepped and painted with my base coat once the weather cooperates.

My buddy and I had the chance to tear apart the jet the other week. It's in pretty good shape minus the powerhead, which was expected. It is heading to the shop, hopefully this week, to have the cylinders bored out to .30 over and getting new piston sets. Other than a few minor things that need replaced the only other thing that needs attention is the water pump assembly. That will be replaced during the rebuild.

Things should start moving fairly rapidly from here on out. Would like to have her ready to chase some smallmouths, catfish and muskies by late spring/early summer. Hope to have some updated pictures to share shortly!!

 

[BigTerp]

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to be doing for the captains seat. I have a thread in the boat house that maybe one of you guys could help me with some answers.

https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=29825

 

[BigTerp]

Was FINALLY able to get the boat title transferred in my name last week after being at the DMV for over 2 hours. Such a relief!! This weekend my wife and I took the boat out to gather some river rocks for a little garden project we have going on and take one last ride before I really start tearing into her. Managed to shear 2 pins in the 5hp Johnson and broke the pin on my trailer jack as well. It was an interesting day.

Anyway, yesterday I took the step of no return by removing my middle bench seat. Was a pretty straight forward and simple job. It really opened the boat up like I was hoping it would. Now I'm just waiting to get the livewell drain hole welded closed before I paint the hull. My plan is to take the boat off the trailer and flip her so I can prep and paint the bottom hull up to the gunwales. This way everything else should be able to be done with the boat on the trailer. Getting lights and seat mounts ordered today. Once my buddy can help me confirm some measurements I'll be getting my aluminum stock ordered as well. Stay tuned..........

 

[BigTerp]

With help from Jamie (Ranchero50) I got my livewell hole and rivet holes from my bench removal welded closed over the weekend. Thanks again Jamie!!! He did an awesome job. I have pictures of his work, but Photobucket is now blocked on my work computer :x I'll try and get them up from home.

Next step is to get the boat off the trailer and flipped so I can prep and paint the outside of the hull. Also got my measurements for the amount of aluminum angle and sheet I'll need. Will be getting all that ordered soon. I have a busy month, but hopefully I can make some major progress in the next few weeks. Been a long time coming!!!

 

[BigTerp]

A few shots of the work Ranchero50 did. I had originally planned on him only to weld the livewell drain hole shut, but he went ahead and welded up all the rivet holes for me as well. Much easier than me having to replace 22 solid rivets. And he did an awesome job!!!

The bottom weld second from the left was where the livewell drain hole was. Ranchero50 left it nice and thick since the hole was rather large. This is looking at the starboard side from inside the boat.

Outside starborad view. I've since added a bit of 5200 to each side of the welds. Just for a bit of insurance.

Outside starboard view after removing the bench and before Ranchero50 worked his magic.

A little better view of how nicely removing the middle bench opened up the boat.

Another view. I'll be extending the bow deck back about 18" or so.

Removing the middle bench definitely allows a bit of flex at the gunwales, but nothing bad at all. Once I tie in my floor and deck it should solid things back up. I'd suggest anyone else considering this mode that they make sure there ribs are spaced out evenly like mine are. If there was a rib missing due to the middle bench, my bench would more than likely be going back in.

 

[panFried]

Nice! I'd love to do same thing except my LW is in middle floor. I just need to get thing in water first. Awesome job! That will get you atleast 10 more decoys in there