Derek's Tracker TX-17 rebuild

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Derek

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 18, 2010
Messages
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Location
Sterling, MA
So this is GOING to be my ride next year. I picked it up a few weeks ago, It is defiantly a project.
Its a 1988 Bass Tracker TX-17 Tournament. I think what makes this the tournament boat is the large livewell, longer front deck and tons of storage. The motor is a 70's Mercury 40hp, non-tilt and trim. The boat is rated for 80 hp. 40 LB thrust Minn Kota motor. Lawrence fish finder. On the original trailer.

The Good:
The trolling motor is 1 year old and the newer style foot pedal.
The front deck and carpet were replaced last year with marine grade plywood
The controls and steering for the motor were replaced last year.
Bilge, livewell, fish finder and trolling motor all work.
New trailer tires last year.
Its mine :D and I got a good deal.

The Bad:
The bracket for the starter on the motor is cracked, but I can weld that or have it welded. It also looks like the whole part maybe replaceable. Or upgrade?? :twisted:
The trailer is rotted, so I likely will be replacing it rather then fixing it. Craigslist here I come, again.
Some of the wood and carpet are in rough shape, but can be replaced fairly easily
The driving seats need to be replaced. They are hard plastic. The original fishing seats may be used there since I stand while fishing anyway.

The Pics: (clickable thumbnails)












It needs some love, and I have plenty of time before the ice melts. Progress maybe slow, I have it stored over an hour away. I cant wait for soft water.
 
Tear into the boat is right, haha :beer:
Well we did a major deconstruction of the boat 2 weeks ago. Removed the console, seats, hatches, 90% of the carpet, all the wood and wiring. Everything under the decks and floor is all aluminum and the whole rear deck is also aluminum.
The bottom floor of the boat was rotted so bad, I think if it had not been frozen it would have been mush. The foam under the floor was water logged so that will also be replaced.
I was told the front deck was replaced with marine grade ply and new carpet. It wasnt, I found 1/2" regular ply with only 2 screws holding it down.
All the wood will be replaced with 3/4" ply. I am going to remove and seal all the wood after final fitment. Then new carpet throughout. I think the carpeting is going to be the hardest part. Im also going to run all new wire in the boat. Hopefully with a friend that does it professionally.
I need to pick up or borrow a rivet tool. Also need to buy 3 sheets of ply, varnish, carpet and glue, wire, and Im sure other little stuff.

pictures are thumbnails click for larger view




 
Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures, but the deconstruction is 98% complete. Yesterday we tore into the rear deck/storage areas. Basstracker fills the rear with foam. When they did it in 88 they would build the whole rear deck and pour in a 2 part expanding foam. I ripped it all out for 2 reasons, first the whole rear deck was bulged from the foam and more importantly mine was water logged.

The biggest problem with Basstracker's methods is they do not control the foam from expanding. So it expands and fills the channels along the bottom of the boat. This blocks the water from being able to flow back to the bilge area. Seems extremely stupid to me. The bottom 4" of my foam was water logged and frozen solid. It was a b**ch, thankfully I had help. I plan on replacing the foam. I have not decided on a method yet. The foam will be closed cell and I will make sure it is off the bottom of the boat. I may use pool noodles. :+1

All the aluminum panels are out of the boat. To put everything back I have ALOT of riveting to do.

Gentlemen... we can rebuild... we have the technology. :beer:
 
The deconstruction is 100% complete. All the foam that is coming out has been removed. Drilled out all the rivets to be replaced. Cleaned out all the channels along the boat for the water to be able to flow back to the bilge again. I also mocked up my front deck with the crappy piece of ply that was there, so I have a template for the new piece.





Im going to scrub down the inside of the hull to remove any mold/mildew left. Then from here on out Ill be rebuilding and it will start to look like a boat again. I got foam from my friend Todd, its going to work perfect and free.
 
nice looking boat going to be good when you get all done look forward to seeing the progress i have one just like it i tore all the carpet out of it and just painted the inside with a good rubberized paint instead of carpeting well good luck with the build
 
Thanks guys. Going to work on it tomorrow. I plan on adding some extra framing under the front deck. I'm going to frame in a hatch in the front portion of the front deck. There is a ton of room up there but originally there was no way to utilize it. I have 1.5"x1/8" aluminum angle to frame it out with.

Looking to pick up carpet. Anyone have an idea how much I need. I will be carpeting the decks, floor, all the lids and I have side panels in the boat as well. Was thinking the 6' wide but how long? 20', 25' or 30'? They also make 8' wide.
 
Nice looking rig. Measure up all the areas you want to carpet, and you should have a good idea of how much to get.

I have family in Sterling. Small world.
 
If you ever fished out here, I live right around the corner from East Waushacum. Its the only pond with a boat ramp in town.

I forgot to take any pictures. I added extra framing to the front deck. With the vertical kicker I added the framing is solid, even without the wood on it. I also framed out a 24"x17" hatch for the front portion of the front deck. I plan to use this area to store dirty gear (anchor, paddle, beach chair, etc) as the other compartments will be carpeted inside.

Then I moved on to the rear, laid the floor for the rear fuel/battery hatch. Also the baffle between the livewell and fuel area was installed. Started cutting up foam for under the rear deck. I have one side mostly complete but I couldn't finish installing it and that side of the deck until I plumb the livewell.
 
Yesterday I didn’t get as much work on the boat done as I had planned. Instead I drove over 350 miles around the great state (ha) of Massachusetts. It was worth it though since I picked up a FREE 18’ glass boat on a galvanized trailer. :mrgreen: for craigslist. It’s a 18’ Renken bowrider set-up for an outboard motor. Boat is junk only thing I saved from it was the glove box, which I may or may not use. But the trailer is going to work out perfect. It is defiantly more trailer then I need but will still work great and towed awesome. It needs lights and I’ll be moving the tires, winch, and jack from the rotted trailer to the galvanized one. Need to figure out disposal of the junk glass boat, hopefully for free at the town dump.

After my travels I only had a little time to work on my tracker. I the cut foam and re-installed one side of the rear deck. The other side is ready as soon as I get the right tubing to plumb my livewell drain line. Its 1-3/8” which is a weird size. Again I forgot to snap any pictures. ](*,)
 
Good news. I am going to be able to bring the glass boat to the dump for free. Just got to make sure it doesn't have fuel in it, but I am going to have to take a weekday off from work as they will only accept it on weekdays. Heading out to Granby to work on the boat tomorrow, Ill make sure I take some pictures.
 
Looking good!

Do you think you might be able to use any floatation foam from the glass boat in the Tracker? Maybe if you could cut out large squares and re-use them in some way?

Skidz
 
Id be willing to bet the glass boat is as bad or worse inside then the tracker was. I have sheet insulation that I have been cutting into pieces and stacking in the rear deck area. I will also put it under the floor.
 
Going back together. Pictures of the boat I picked up for the trailer. Taking the boat to the dump this coming week. Then I will overhaul the trailer, adjust it to fit the tracker and swap my boat onto it.


This guy showed up shortly after I arrived. I was able to close the distance to about 40 yards when he heard me and took off. Its getting towards the end of mating season here.


Got the tubing to plumb the livewell and hooked that up. Then I got the rear deck going back together. There is a piece of wood that belongs under the pedestal mount. Once the wood is sealed I can put the rear together for good. Hatches are just resting in place. Livewell is between the seats running parallel to the boat.


Old piece of wood cut up for my trolling motor tray and hatch. Just going to be used as a template for the new plywood I have going in. The rear piece of the front deck is not show. You can see the areas where the hatches will be in the deck. Makes the front deck about 6 feet long.


With the wood removed you can see the extra bracing I added under the front deck. Stiffened it up and framed out the extra hatch.
 
Quick update from yesterday. I got all the wood for the boat cut out. Used 3/4 ply. Put the first coat of Spar Urethane on. Going to get a few more coats over the next few days. I didn't go to Granby so no other work on the boat or trailer.

 
Took the day off and went out to Granby yesterday. I wanted to get rid of the glass boat. When I showed up there was so much water in the glass boat that the tires on the trailer looked like they were going to pop and the jack had sunk 4" into the gravel. I quickly drilled a bunch of holes in the transom to get the water to drain out. After an hour of draining the water was still coming.
Hooked up and headed for the dump. When I chained the boat to a dozer I ripped the tie down rings out of the boat on the first try. Then I chained it up through 2 holes in the splash well and pulled the trailer right out from under it. Apparently the guys at the dump love crushing boats, but I didn't have time to stay and watch.
When I got home I started working on the trailer. I have decided to just adjust it for the tracker and get it road worthy. I will go through it completely at another time, water is starting to open up. I noticed that the axle didn't look straight and after measuring I confirmed that. The trailer is fully adjustable so I only needed to unbolt some u-bolts and adjust it. I broke a couple so I had to pick some up at Tractor Supply. Got the axle square and the bunks adjusted. The bunks that were there are in good shape so I just turned them around and reattached. I also wired the trailer with new lighting kit. Walmart submersible trailer lighting kit comes with wire nuts??? :wtf: for connections so I used weatherproof butt connectors instead. I also swapped on the nearly new jack from the tracker trailer.
I finished sealing the wood last week and test fit it yesterday. Time for carpet. The trailer still needs a winch post, which will likely come from the tracker trailer. I have newer tires to put on it as well. The fenders will be salvaged off the tracker trailer, so I have some welding to do.

 
Long but productive day yesterday. I got the winch post together and mounted up on the new trailer. Also got the new tires swapped over. Im going to just get new fenders for the trailer. Found them for 20 bucks apiece. I also cut about a foot off the tongue of the trailer and it will get a new coupler. Then we hoisted the boat off the old trailer and hung it from the garage. Easily swapped trailers and got the boat to its new home. Holy crap was the tracker trailer rotted, Without the boat on it I was able to bend it in half. Thank god I made it home. A bunch of cutting and the rotted trailer ended up on a pallet.


Got the rear deck all put back together. Just needs carpet.


Test fit all the wood and aluminum pieces. Everything fits well. Nothing is attached, thats why the console looks crooked. Trolling motor tray is nice. Thanks Bassboy


Next is carpet. I also am going to refinish the console as it is old and cracking and repair the cracked windshield.
 
I am def getting anxious. I even brought "homework" back from Granby this week. Here is the windshield in partial repair. The lower half (its upside down) will get sanded and painted on the outside. That way the crack will not show, once sanded smooth, and the top portion will still be see through.
 

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