1980 Bass Tracker Rebuild Tips...

TinBoats.net

Help Support TinBoats.net:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BassNstuff

New member
Joined
Jul 15, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Ocala, Florida
Hey all, My first post :D

Recently purchased 1980 Bass Tracker 2 with Mercury Force 50HP 2 stroke (Its actually a Chrysler :wink: )...
Ive owned small jon boats when I was a teenager but this is my fist serious boat project! Bought this Tracker couple weeks ago and have been working on it quite a lot. I recently discovered that the source of an "old gas smell" was coming from the foam in the rear compartments. The original tank was removed (guess it was leaking?) and so I just ripped out all of the fuel/water soaked foam from the rear, and the foam is ready to replace.

Now, before I re-foam the issue I have is with the Transom... Everything I have seen online so far with these old trackers requires cutting the welds and removing all of the rivets to get at the transom.

Can anyone confirm that this is indeed the ONLY way for me to replace this rotten transom? Id really rather not have to find a good aluminum welder as Im trying to do the project myself, but don't have a welding setup anymore... The transom is terribly rotten and I'm wondering how the previous owner even used to take it out (often) without any concern about this. I think that aluminum back plate/motor mount might have been added aftermarket due to the rotting?? Also if you look at the corners of the rear triangle you can see where the welds have cracked on both sides, and Im guessing this was caused by the rotten transom, OR the very large 50HP that was added... The literature I've read shows the max HP for this tracker as 40, so I don't know if this is a 40hp with a 50hp carburetor added or a physically larger/heavier engine, all I know is this is not the original engine... Already did the water pump replacement and handful of other items to the engine, she runs like a top!

Also, can anyone recommend what kind of wood I should use to replace the transom once its opened up? Thanks!

IMG_6364.jpeg

IMG_0236.JPG

IMG_0237.JPG


And this is what she looks like during the float test day I got-er!

IMG_0223.JPG


P.S - Sorry for the rotation of the photos!
 
BassNstuff said:
Also, can anyone recommend what kind of wood I should use to replace the transom once its opened up? Thanks!

Use exterior grade plywood, coat it w/ spar urethane or paint to seal.

I don't have a tracker, but have seen many, many rebuilds on this site. All of them went through a transom removal like you are not wanting to do. In addition, the foam throughout most of the boats had been waterlogged.

Looks like you have a nice project, good luck to you.

Oh, and :WELCOME:
 

Latest posts

Top