well i officially got my tracker 1542 home

Congrats on getting the boat. I know what you mean about it looking bigger in person than in the picture. I remember when I first layed eyes on my 1442, the first thing that popped into my head was, "d$#@... that thing is big" Don't worry, that will shortly wear off.

I drove a 175 miles to get mine, so you're not the only crazy one in the group ;-) I can't really say much about the foam other than you need it. It's the only thing between you and the bottom of the lake in the unlikely event that you capsize the boat.

Post some pictures when you get a chance. You will some discover that we love pictures.

Congrats on the new boat....

boater1234 said:

I also forgot to mention i wanna paint the outside better because it is a very cheap paint job.What is the best paint to go over painted aluminum with and why?I'm going to put a light sand on the paint and then clean real good to get dust off and repaint,i also don't want to go crazy with the paint just a nice decent paint job it's only a jon boat and it will get really scuffed up because the type of fishing i do,saltwater and rocky areas,oysters bars,and sandy bottoms in about 5 inches to 4 feet of water.so any help thanks

Click to expand...

One of the reasons I purchased my Tracker Grizzly was you don't have a fancy paint job. I do everything from drag it up onto the shore to rubbing against exposed stumps. A boat is just a tool to get you to the fish, if you worry about the paint, you're going to miss a lot of fish :mrgreen:

I myself like stuff to look good, At least the first time it hits the water, I painted mine nice, and it definitely shows signs of usage now, but that doesn't bother me at all, because almost every mark on it has a story to tell.. :mrgreen:

If I understand you, the foam flotation blocks are too small and rattle around in the cavities where they are located. This will make you crazy with that terrible squeaky sound that foam makes when it rubs against something else. It will probably squeak with every movement of the boat. Maybe that canned foam with the plastic tube would help. You could shoot it in around the blocks to fill the area and glue the foam blocks in place. I thought most of the flotation foam was foamed in place, and if so, maybe the kind they used on your boat shrank.

I drove to Rochester, NY from NNJ to get a great deal on a boat, motor, trailer :LOL2: Post some pics when you have a chance. Oh, and you never have to worry about the size of the boat - since you'll always want bigger.

rule number 1... pics or it didnt happen! 8)

niccccce

That's a nice boat.

are you going to deck it at all?

If it were me, I'd all together skip the foam crap and put me a carpeted piece of 3/4" plywood - even if it's just to cover the bench top. Remember that even if you put more foam underneath, it's very doubtful that it's going to sturdy it up enough to your liking.