1984 tracker jon

Hello to all, after many searches onthe inernet I beleive i found the correct place for jon boat info. Anyhow I puchased a 1984 tracker jon boat for a great price. Being thats its 1984 model it obviously needs paint and the transom has rotted. Any information on how to do this right the first time so it will last a long time would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome.

Check the Modifcation links thread for a boat similar in size to yours for Ideas and examples of what can be done.

What size is your boat?

I appreciate that, I actually found all the rebuilds after I posted my thread. It's a 14'

Looks like the first thing to do is rip out that old wood on the transom and replace it with some new Plywood sealed with at least 3 coats of Spar urethane. While you have it off you can sand or wire wheel all the metal under it, along with the rest of the boat, clean it and check for leaks.

Fill in any holes or leaks with JB weld, paint/seal up the transom and install the new wood.

I noticed the wood on the transom doesn't quite mate up to the sides of the boat (specifically the left side of the pic). When you build the new one I would make it fit nice and tight, it will add some structural rigidity to the back of the boat to help support weight and whatever motor you put on, not to mention it will just look more professional.

If the boat doesn't leak I would just prime and paint it. Some guys are putting Steel Flex, durabak, lineX, and other like products on the bottoms to help with sealing rivets, adding strength and durability. Its all up to you.

There are a lot of guys on here that have some serious skill and knowledge about this stuff. Way more than I could ever hope to have.

Take your time, have fun with it, and keep us posted on your progress.

:WELCOME:

Basically there are two questions you should address first. Do you want decking and do you like the middle seat? If you want a high front deck, bottom width of the boat needs to be considered. If you often carry passengers and kids, you may want the extra seating of the middle bench seat, if you prefer the open layout, cut the bench out. Start with that and go from there. Reedjj has it right, fill your boat with 6-8" of water and check for leaks. I filled a few on mine with rivets and covered with JB weld, still going strong. Good luck with your boat.

Reedjj and Ictalurus, appreciate all the info. As far as the middle seat, I believe for now it will stay, got a 2 y.o. that needs to start getting some fishing experience, but I would like to do a partial deck from the bow back no longer than 4' or so. As far as I can tell this jon has never been painted, its unpainted aluminum inside and out. From what I have read all I would need to do is clean and sand real well then primer with the self etching then paint. Is this correct? Not sure about the steellex, as I would want a different color than plain gray. Once again I appreciate all the info. Was set to begin work on it this weekend, but here in N. Georgia it is supposed to rain all weekend.

cactusjack said:

got a 2 y.o. that needs to start getting some fishing experience

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Nice, good idea to leave the middle seat in then. You can always cut a section out of the top and make it a nice storage area. I may not be the one to ask on paint, I just cleaned off the old paint chips on mine, primed and painted. With yours, I'm not sure you need to sand, just clean up, prime and paint. I used Zinzer (sp) primer, not sure if it is self etching. Painted last spring, used all summer and winter and no problems so far. You're probably fine skipping the steelflex. Good luck.