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fishinfool

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Hey guys, been lurking on the board for a few days reading all the posts and ignoring my work as much as possible...man I'm already addicted. I found the forum after a google search a couple days ago. Just bought a 12ft. bass tracker with trailer a couple days ago and it needs work. I plan to start the cleanup tomorrow by pulling up some carpeting that's been glued to inside of the hull..just a small amount. But really my question is about the hull itself...one of the previous owners put about 30 bolts in the sides of the hull for some reason and has gooped the heads on the oustide of the hull, in addition to that someone also put pedestal seats in and bolted them through the floor of the boat...I've included images below of all the issues I've mentioned. So, now my question. Should I take out all those bolts and the pedestals (which definitely have to come out) and have all the holes welded or can I use a bunch of that Aluminum Epoxy to plug all the holes. I really want to paint the boat and make it look nice. I'm not sure that long term it's going to be big enough for me and my anxious fishing buddies that you can see pictured below but I figure I can put a little money it and sell it for a good bit more than I paid for it. Sorry to have such a long post as my introductory post but I need to get working on this tomorrow while work is slow.

Sidenote: I did talk to a local welding shop yesterday and the owner told me he could fix all the holes and would charge me $50/hr. Then he reassured me that he wouldn't "hurt me". Just trying to figure out how much is too much to put into this boat.

The boat and my very anxious fishing buddies
Boysintheboat.jpg


Blurry picture of the bolts in the sides of the boat, I counted about 30 of these
boltheads.jpg


Picture of the bolts from the outstide of the boat complete with a generous heaping of silicone goop
outsidescrews.jpg


The underside of the boat where the pedestals are bolted thru the floor and goop all over the heads
underside.jpg


Thanks for your help and I look forward to getting to know you guys
 
If you're keeping it I would have it welded.If you're selling it,I wouldn't bother with welding.Welding would be the best solution to stopping any leaks.
 
So then I should just take out all the bolts, brush the holes, clean it up really good and take it to have all of the holes welded up? How much would be too much I wonder?? I paid $500 for boat and trailer together...seemed like a great deal at the time but I didn't notice all of the bolts in the side walls and I have no idea what purposed they served.
 
ben2go said:
Welding would be the best solution to stopping any leaks.
Not necessarily. Welding is not always a great solution in aluminum that thin.

Rivets would be a great option. The boat is built with them anyway.
https://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/guideBrowseMatches.shtml
The link I posted is for 3/8 length 1/4 inch diameter. But you can get them in millions of sizes. If you get flat headed ones, all you need are 2 heavy hammers. One person holds one against the head, and the other peens the other end down flat on the other side. Or, with an pneumatic hammer and the right tip, you can use any head shape.

You don't need sealant. just flatten the side over nicely, and it will be great for a number of years.
 
The holes that are filled with bolts are probably where the bench seats used to be riveted in.A good shop wouldn't take around 1.5 to 2 hours to weld those up.If it was my boat,I'd remove everything that I wanted welded up,clean the hull really good,lightly sand the holes to remove paint,and wipe down with white vinegar.The more prep you do the less time it will take them to do the welding.
 
I do agree with bassboy but looking at the pics it doesn't look like the aluminum is that thin.bassboy has more experience with with Tracker than me.
 
I saw that boat posted on a ga website and passed on it because I didn't think it was wide enough for what I was wanting - glad you found it and get a good deal on it.

Where bouts in GA are you? I'm in Canton
 
Bassboy, I'm confused about the rivets...never seen a rivets like that one, how does it attach itself?? Are you just basically beating the crap out of it from one side until the aluminum flattens out because it is softer than the head of the hammer? Sorry if that's a dumb question but my only experience with rivets is using a rivet/crimping tool that you squeeze. I don't have anyone that's willing to hold a hammer on one side and let me beat on it, especially considering I'll have to do it 30-40 times. Thanks for your help.
 
ben2go said:
I do agree with bassboy but looking at the pics it doesn't look like the aluminum is that thin.bassboy has more experience with with Tracker than me.
I would guess it is around .080 or so. Never actually messed with an older Bass Tracker jon, so I haven't a clue if they use the same stuff as now.

Could probably be welded fine by someone who knows what they are doing, but you are looking at 100 - 150 or more (a lot of time is taken in the prepping process, and you can't do that before hand, as aluminum has to be prepped right before it is welded, as it starts to corrode immediately after being exposed to air), and in my opinion, welding is not the right choice for fixing small holes. 13 bucks and 1.5 hours will get him where he needs to be as well.

I just nabbed your post while I was posting this.

Basically that is how it works. It is actually a little easier to hold the bucking bar than you would think. We use the air hammer here at the house, and after I got all the holes I drilled out, it took us maybe 15 minutes for 35 - 40 rivets on my rig.
 
Bassboy, does an air hammer still require two people...I have a compressor etc. and I'm assuming I can buy an air hammer
 
Thanks for the help guys, I'll post updates on the mods section as I make progress over the next couple weeks.
 

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