My Project Begins...Sorta

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possom813

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Apr 25, 2011
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Location
Corsicana Tx
It's about the time to start working on my beloved 16/48 Basstracker

There are a lot of little things to do, and(God Willing) I'm about to have a 1,000 free dollars to put into the boat(not exactly free, have a buyer committed to some traps I built)

So, if you had 1,000 bucks to dedicate to your boat that you're wanting to 'fix up', what would you do?

I need new carpet, and probably new decking, it's not rotten, but it's 3/4" plywood.

I need to readjust my motor/steering setup, but that should be more than a few bucks in parts.

I'd like to convert it to a center console, but have no clue how to even begin that trip.

I'd also like to use aluminum for the floor and rear deck/lids, but not sure exactly how thick, or how to make the carpet stick.

I already have a good depth/fish finder

I have a good trolling motor, but I'm contemplating building some railing up front and getting a tiller steer motor and extending the shaft, as posted earlier this week.

I've got 2 bilge pumps, one automatic 500gph, and one emergency 1500gph

I've also got 3 plugs, 3 batteries(2 deep cycle and one lawnmower size for the trolling motor and fish finder, I don't troll alot)

I have lights bought for the front, and just picked up the red/green and white lights, I could use some deck lights for the floor.

The trailer has new tires, but I still need to get a spare wheel and tire for it and it needs to be painted

I'd like to paint the boat with teflon paint, but I don't see that happening in the near future, big pita to get everything stripped and it flipped over to paint.

The trailer needs new, carpeted side rails



There's probably a lot I forgot, but with the above info, what would you do first(besides the motor/steering kink)

40merc003.jpg
 
Well there are so many things you could do.....I would strip it to bare bones and search for mod like your boat to get an idea of what you could do.....from the looks of her she probably needs to be completely re-wired....etc. You can get all the help you need on this site, just search for your answers and people will guide you on your build. Good luck and :WELCOME:
 
JMO but I would start with removing the decks. Removing the decks sometime reveal other issues that will need to be address before going any further. Good luck with project and be sure to keep us up dated with lots of pics.
 
There really aren't any bad issues, I've been all the way around this boat, up, down, back, forth, and side to side.

It's been *almost *completely rewired, by me, last year, the pic is actually a pic of when I first picked it up. I've had it tarped all winter and haven't taken any new pics yet.

It's not in bad shape, I just want to make it pretty :shock:

I'm going to redo the front deck with plywood, just to keep a little bit of weight up front.

I'd like to do the floor in aluminum, but haven't found out where to buy it at, yet.

I've looked at a few hundred pictures of different boats that have been modded, and a lot of them are beyond my skillset. I can take apart and rebuild, but changing stuff along the way is intimidating.

In a perfect world, I could pay someone else to do everything I want, but I'm a state employee, with no overtime :(

So far, the definite's that will be done

4 new Hunter Green and White seats, Gander Mtn $230 with tax
New Green Carpet, ebay $150 dlvd for 8'x20'(I still haven't measured, just going on a rough estimate)
Carpet glue, Home Depot $20, give or take a little
New switches, ebay $22.95 dlvd(I didn't use waterproof when I fixed it first [-X )
New green paint on the console and interior walls, Tractor Supply $35(industrial elastomeric paint and primer)
Horn, $15(needs a new one, it only has a single tone working)
Vertical fishing rod holder, not sure on the cost, can probably build it from pvc for about $10
Fishing rod rail holders for catfishing and trolling, need 4, $20
Quality compass, for when the gps craps out, $40(may not be that much, but I don't want a cheap one)
2 New, collapsible emergency oars, Walmart, $30
New collapsible fishing net I saw at Gander Mtn last week, $70(but it's freaking awesome)
Spare tire/wheel, should be able to dig this up for around 30 bucks at a junkyard
Install the 'new to me' fishfinder, and move the old one.
New impeller, I still have to check and see if this one went bad, haven't ran the motor since Nov and it was working then(just put it in last February)

And the biggest thing that absolutely has to be done, change out the steering setup somehow. I've got a couple of ideas, I just haven't had the time to put them into action.

Again, I'm out of thoughts.
 
possom813 said:
There really aren't any bad issues, I've been all the way around this boat, up, down, back, forth, and side to side.

It's been *almost *completely rewired, by me, last year, the pic is actually a pic of when I first picked it up. I've had it tarped all winter and haven't taken any new pics yet.

It's not in bad shape, I just want to make it pretty :shock:

I'm going to redo the front deck with plywood, just to keep a little bit of weight up front.

I'd like to do the floor in aluminum, but haven't found out where to buy it at, yet.

I've looked at a few hundred pictures of different boats that have been modded, and a lot of them are beyond my skillset. I can take apart and rebuild, but changing stuff along the way is intimidating.

In a perfect world, I could pay someone else to do everything I want, but I'm a state employee, with no overtime :(

So far, the definite's that will be done

4 new Hunter Green and White seats, Gander Mtn $230 with tax
New Green Carpet, ebay $150 dlvd for 8'x20'(I still haven't measured, just going on a rough estimate)
Carpet glue, Home Depot $20, give or take a little
New switches, ebay $22.95 dlvd(I didn't use waterproof when I fixed it first [-X )
New green paint on the console and interior walls, Tractor Supply $35(industrial elastomeric paint and primer)
Horn, $15(needs a new one, it only has a single tone working)
Vertical fishing rod holder, not sure on the cost, can probably build it from pvc for about $10
Fishing rod rail holders for catfishing and trolling, need 4, $20
Quality compass, for when the gps craps out, $40(may not be that much, but I don't want a cheap one)
2 New, collapsible emergency oars, Walmart, $30
New collapsible fishing net I saw at Gander Mtn last week, $70(but it's freaking awesome)
Spare tire/wheel, should be able to dig this up for around 30 bucks at a junkyard
Install the 'new to me' fishfinder, and move the old one.
New impeller, I still have to check and see if this one went bad, haven't ran the motor since Nov and it was working then(just put it in last February)

And the biggest thing that absolutely has to be done, change out the steering setup somehow. I've got a couple of ideas, I just haven't had the time to put them into action.

Again, I'm out of thoughts.


Alrighty, I've been tinkering on it for the past week or so(vacation is lovely).

Things got modified along the way, simply because I'm thrifty(ie, cheap)

So far, the definite's that will be done

4 new Hunter Green and White seats, Gander Mtn $230 with tax
****Didn't happen, 2 new grey/dark grey midback chairs on sale at Basspro for 49 bucks each and recovered one of the old ones in a solid grey(I had another grey in good shape that stayed)

New Green Carpet, ebay $150 dlvd for 8'x20'(I still haven't measured, just going on a rough estimate)
Carpet glue, Home Depot $20, give or take a little
****No carpet yet, I want to fish this year, sometime

New switches, ebay $22.95 dlvd(I didn't use waterproof when I fixed it first
****Switches replaced with a new panel, water proof switches and all that jazz, it actually cost about 30 for the switches and panel(4 switches at 5 each and a 1.5"x8" pieces of 1/8" aluminum for the mount)

New green paint on the console and interior walls, Tractor Supply $35(industrial elastomeric paint and primer)****Not happening this year, it went the way of the carpet


Horn, $15(needs a new one, it only has a single tone working)
****Picked it up today, it's a standard automotive horn, but it will do until I can find/afford a nice, shiny chrome horn

Vertical fishing rod holder, not sure on the cost, can probably build it from pvc for about $10****I haven't built it yet, haven't had time

Fishing rod rail holders for catfishing and trolling, need 4, $20****I've got to find a different type, the ones I wanted to use won't work on my boat

Quality compass, for when the gps craps out, $40(may not be that much, but I don't want a cheap one)
****On order, hopefully here this week

2 New, collapsible emergency oars, Walmart, $30****I'm too cheap to buy the new oars when the old ones aren't much bigger and still work fine

New collapsible fishing net I saw at Gander Mtn last week, $70(but it's freaking awesome)****I still want this, but can't justify it yet

Spare tire/wheel, should be able to dig this up for around 30 bucks at a junkyard
****Found a wheel, but it's a 15" instead of 14", but it's the only one that I could find with the same bolt pattern. I just have to get a similar sized tire for it pretty soon.

Install the 'new to me' fishfinder, and move the old one
.****On the 'to-do' list

New impeller, I still have to check and see if this one went bad, haven't ran the motor since Nov and it was working then(just put it in last February)
****Checked out the old one and it's still pumping like it always has

And the biggest thing that absolutely has to be done, change out the steering setup somehow. I've got a couple of ideas, I just haven't had the time to put them into action
.****I moved a couple of pieces around and raised up my teleflex clamp, it's tilting a little higher, but not there yet. FYI, the steering works like a champ, the problem lies when I attempt to tilt the motor up.





That's about it, so far. I currently have the old fuse panel out and am cleaning it up for reuse with the new switch panel. I've still got to run the wires to the dash for the horn, nav lights, emergency bilge, and courtesy lights. Also, I picked up an automatic anchor, Minn Kota Deckhand, I have to run that switch as well. That sucker is nice, never new what I was missing :mrgreen:
 

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