1989 17' tracker pro 17 mod

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dearl

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Jun 21, 2009
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Location
Rockingham, North Carolina
Been watching you guys for a while, thought I'd give everyone a peek of what I will be working on this winter. It started out a 17' pro 17 bass tracker, and was modified before, but I intend to do it right this time. This is a rivited hull, and it does have some leaks in it, but that will be a thing of the past. My intentions are to convert this boat into a center console, with front and back decks. I do alot of river fishing, and most of the good spots are on the other side of some very shallow water. I intend to distribute the weight in this boat and have her float in 8" of water. I have a 40 h.p. johnson on it now, which runs very well, it will push this boat at 38 mph with me in it alone. Only problem is It doesn't have tilt and trim, plus I got a sweet deal on a 09 Yamaha 70. I will be working on this one steady till done so I will update as much as possible.0816091800[1] (2).jpg0816091800a[1] (2).jpg0816091801[1] (2).jpg
 

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Nice boat to work on.
Putting a 70hp on her....4 stroke?
Probably still float in 8inches.
Are you fishing now in another boat?
 
I got a 70 h.p. 2 stroke for 5000.00 still in the crate. I thought about a 4 -stroke, but there was a 118 lb diffrence in the 2. The 2 banger weighs 228 lbs so i opt for the 2 stroke. I don't have another boat, but a good friend of mine does, and we normally fish together anyway, in his boat or mine so when he goes, I go. If he don't go, my son has a 1436 jon that we can paddle around if we get desperate. That will be our next project. What gauge aluminum is best for floor and decking? I have a machine shop that I do alot of buisness with and he can get my metal at cost. I was thinking 1/16th" maybe 14 gauge, any thoughts?
 
Haven't done to much in the past couple of days, got the floor braces ready to weld, sanded some areas where there used to be rod holders, I plan to have all the braces ready to weld by friday evening. I will be taking the boat to work with me and using the aluminum wire welder to do most of the structual stuff, but a friend of mine down the road has a tig welder when I get ready to do the decks, and console stuff. There was some awful black stuff that sanded like tar in the bottom, gummed up my buffing pad pretty quick.0819092001[1] (2).jpg0819092001a[1] (2).jpg
 
Got some of the paint off the transom and rear cap, I bet theres 4 coats of paint on this thing, and the last coat sands like epoxy. Its all got to go though, starting with a clean slate this go around. I should have all the paint off middle of next week, then I'm going to tackle welding the 6 leaks that I know are in the bottom. My metal guy recommends 3/32nd plate for the decks and sides, He can get it at a good price, but I'm about a month away from that. I got some bad news about my motor, I probably wont be getting the 70 after all, but thats o.k. my 40 still runs good, and its paid for. Put a good camo paint job on it to, and you'd never know its 22 years old.transom pic.jpgrear gunwale.jpg
 
Looks great,so far.
Atleast with your 40hp you know what it's problems(quirks)already are.
Theres a post on here,where a guy used air craft stripper and saran wrap,to remove paint....don't think he had 4 coats to go through,sure did a good job on his though.
 
I see you have the front deck removed...did you remove it yourself? I have a tracker 1564 AW that I'm looking for ideas for and I'd like to remove the front deck and not trash the boat or its structural integrety. I would replace the front deck with 3/4" marine grad ply but I'm just not sure if I can do it. Any suggestions are appreciated.
 
I did remove it myself, but it is going back on. Only reason was to weld the floor supports to the hull, and install a 15 gallon permanent fuel tank in the front. It was easy to get out, a few screws here and ther, but mine was wood to begin with, 1/2" ply. If yours is aluminum, it may be a little more difficult. Iplan to redo all my decks with 3/32nd aluminum plate, and tig weld all the seams, other than the few that will be rivited so I can get to the rigging if I have to, I hope after this mod, I wont need to for a long time. If you have ever seen a Alumacraft 1756 center console, that is where I'm headed with this one. Wish me luck! :D
 
Got some work done today, Got the cross members welded in, also welded up the old rod holder holes on one side of the boat. I was really pleased at how much more rigid the boat seems after I welded all the cross members down. I know an aluminum boat is suppose to flex some, and this one still does, but not much. I plan to have all the paint off the topside, and the boat flipped by Wednesday of this coming week. I hope to be able to take the boat back to work with me next week, and finish welding the holes in the other side, and maybe get my frame work in for the new 15 gallon fuel tank that will be in the front.deck crossmembers.jpgfront cross member.jpgrod holder holes.jpgfront view.jpg
 
Got the top side sanded and the boat flipped yesterday, Started working on the bottom side today. I found out why its been so hard to sand this thing, It has a very thick layer of glovit on it. I have used this stuff in the past and it works really well, makes me wonder exactly how many leaks are going to be found once I get the whole thing sanded. I did find the major source of all my problems. There is a 3 " crack in the side of the boat that was some what consealed under a layer of fiberglass that was a temporary patch during fishing season. Once I ground the glass off, oh crap :shock: If I had know it was that bad I would have started sooner. But we made it, and honestly it didn't leak that bad, just annoying to have to run the bilge pump every hour or so. I am seriously thinking about welding all the rivets in the bottom, anyone ever seen this done. If I counter sink all the rivets, and weld the rivet to the hull, and then sand some what smooth, this should fix my problem right, it would be an all welded hull then. I will be thinking about that while I'm sanding the rest of the bottom.bottom sanding.jpgbig crack.jpg
 
Some rivets on my hull were welded, didnt leak at all. I think you can do it, but probably a lot of work. I would juast rebuck the ones that need it or leak and then Steel Flex, seems like a perfect candidate for it.
 
I work on it about two hrs every day after work. The bottom has taken about 4 hrs total, Took today off to go fishing with a friend of mine, didn't do much good, should have stayed home and worked on my boat. I have been using some 60 grit sanding pads that fit on a 4.5 " grinder. Makes short work of paint, but the glovit is alittle tuff. If I decide to use steel flex, can i apply it first and then paint over it, or is this more of a final step? Just curious.
 
Been sanding for a couple days, feels like years. Got one side completely done, got started on the other side today. You can see from the pics, I have several section in the bottom that is cracking around and between the rivets. That was my reason for welding everything up, and being done with it. Someone mentioned steel flex, I need to do some research on this stuff because The more I hear a bout it the more I like it. I hope to have the whole boat done and back on the trailer by friday. I talked to my metal guy and he has a spot picked out in his shop already so I can leave it until I get done with the welding. Probably take a couple of weeks to get everything welded in, working a couple of hours everyday after work, but it will get done.more sanding.jpgfront.jpgcracks around rivets.jpg
 
That looks like alot of pain in the butt work.
getting er done though,nice job.
 
I don't believe I would use 3/32 without additional support. I have .090 (3/32 is .093) 6061 T6 in my rig, and I had to put my rib spacing much closer together to make a solid deck. I would probably use .125 (1/8), on top of the ribs.
 

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