[UPDATE]Finally my tracker 1542 is done! well almost........

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Hey leelatt; hope you don't mind a couple of more questions ! What size motor do you use on yours ? The side boxes you made are an excellent idea and am planning on using them as well but only on one side to install a stereo , if I read correctly you said you use square tubing just to run in between benches correct ?
 
not at all.

I have an 80# minn kota terrova on the bow. It seems a bit overkill but most places near me are electric only and I figure I'm gonna upgrade to a larger boat eventually. it moves the boat pretty fast, I can get in and out of places easily.

On the transom I have a 55# minn kota endura c2 which I got for the boat before I did the decking. I keep it in the stern for use as a rudder to run straight, it also helps immensely for getting the boat onto the trailer since the terrova gets in the way of my trailer.

Just got my 1994 15hp rude working and taking it out saturday for the first time, I plan to take some pics saturday and then update this build and provide info on how well it rides and handles with the motor.

yup, 1 inch aluminum square tube, can get at home depot and lowes for about ~$19 per 8 foot long pieces, I used 8 of these (64 total feet) for my entire build. so about ~$152 total for just the frame work.

to attach the square tube to the benches I first took 1 inch "L" angle aluminum (again home depot and lowes have these in 8ft lengths for cheap) and riveted a piece (as wide as the benches) to the side of the bench. then laid the square tubing over these and then riveted them in place once I was happy with the layout.
 
im curious as to the stability of the small triangular casting deck sections on the gunwales- if you step on those do you feel a lot of flex?
 
Ben, which portion? are you talking about the corner braces on the transom of the boat?
 
up by the bow, you have four joists and to the extreme left and right an unsupported triangular area. i didnt know if that section flexed with the plywood. id like to do something almost identical to my boat but i think im gonna use .125 AL sheet. if i followed your pattern im thinking ill need to run some angle along the gunwale as well to support it- or run angled joists through that section.
 
ah gotcha. there's barely any flex if I stand on that portion but I think that's just because of the ply wood. I was going to run a bar along the gunwale when I designed it, however when I laid the plywood on it for a test fit and I walked around on it, that portion didn't flex so I left that part of the build out.

If I ever decide to replace the front decking with something thinner or even aluminum sheeting I will most likely run some angle or a square tube along the gunwale to support it.


I definitely love the side boxes, I think it is an awesome feature for the boat, I store every thing I need (emergency paddle, light pole, water tight box for phones/mp3/etc, scale, grippers and throw rope) all in the left side box, while the right side box houses all the electrical, spare fuses, electrical tape, spare wire and small tool kit. Plan to add a radio and speakers there as well. you can also cut out a hole in the bench and use it as a rod locker, that was my original idea but I like having everything else stored in there.
 
finally got it out on the water with the gas motor but kept having issues with it all day. didn't take any pictures as it was raining most of the day, will try to when I get her out again on june 1st
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=314966#p314966 said:
Leelatt » 16 May 2013, 14:26[/url]"]ah gotcha. there's barely any flex if I stand on that portion but I think that's just because of the ply wood. I was going to run a bar along the gunwale when I designed it, however when I laid the plywood on it for a test fit and I walked around on it, that portion didn't flex so I left that part of the build out.

If I ever decide to replace the front decking with something thinner or even aluminum sheeting I will most likely run some angle or a square tube along the gunwale to support it.


I definitely love the side boxes, I think it is an awesome feature for the boat, I store every thing I need (emergency paddle, light pole, water tight box for phones/mp3/etc, scale, grippers and throw rope) all in the left side box, while the right side box houses all the electrical, spare fuses, electrical tape, spare wire and small tool kit. Plan to add a radio and speakers there as well. you can also cut out a hole in the bench and use it as a rod locker, that was my original idea but I like having everything else stored in there.
good calls there. still laying mine out. your project got my wheels turning though. seeing all these finished jobs makes me so sick... i gotta get mine done! :mrgreen:
 
Don't rush into it is the best advice I can give you. I spent 2 months planning every detail of my boat, must have measured everything a few dozen times just to be as sure as possible.
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=315559#p315559 said:
Leelatt » Yesterday, 22:13[/url]"]Don't rush into it is the best advice I can give you. I spent 2 months planning every detail of my boat, must have measured everything a few dozen times just to be as sure as possible.
no doubt dude. i hate rework.
 
Hey, I have a question about the live well lid. Looks like you removed it from bench and then remounted it to the plywood you put down for decking. Did you just drill out the rivets to remove it or is it attached underneath too. Did you have to do any mods to it to re-attach it?
 
I just drilled out the rivets with a 3/16" bit, then used wood screws to mount it to the wood.
 
SO I haven't been on here in a long time and it's mainly due to my boat and problems with it. Hurricane sandy damaged the boat and I had to redo more than half of it. About a month after I finished redoing all the work, the boat was damaged yet again in a bad storm. We had over a week of rain and 2 chipmunks decided to get into the boat, drown and then block off the drain hole causing the boat to become a swimming pool. If that wasn't bad enough, a tree came down, didn't hit the boat but one of the large branches broke off on its way down and took out the decking in the front. I pretty much drained the water, took the branch out and the boat sat until last week behind my shed, I just had no desire to work on it. Well until now.

To start, I ripped out the entire front decking and decided to go with aluminum sheeting instead. 0.062" 5052 aluminum, was able to get a 12'x8' sheet for $105 which was great. Ran into a small problem, the company told me they deliver to residential, only to get a call a few days later that their small truck was in the shop so I'd have to come pick it up, had to deal with renting a truck to pick it up.

Got it home, measured it, drew the deck pattern and cut it to shape:
IMAG0270.jpg


got the other side lined up and cut, fits like a tight glove:
IMAG0272.jpg


Live well cut out lined up perfectly.
IMAG0273.jpg


With the aluminum sheeting, the edges were a bit flimsy, I had to add in another support towards the walls to support it, I also used some DTM marine paint to repaint the inside as most of the factory paint had chipped off over time:
IMAG0276.jpg

IMAG0282.jpg


once the supports were in, I decided it's time to cut the doors out, jigsaw cut like a hot knife through butter:
IMAG0278.jpg


Once the doors were cut out, I clamped it in place and began drilling all the holes for the rivets to lock it down, I also move front seat back about a foot and a half:
IMAG0280.jpg


Measured and cut the carpet with 2" on each side to be folded over, I used locktite spray adhesive to glue the carpet to the sheeting, it works incredibly well.
IMAG0281.jpg

IMAG0283.jpg


After the carpet was fully glued I placed the sheet into the boat, and began putting the rivets in place, tried to space them out and not over do it:
IMAG0284.jpg


Unfortunately my rivet tool (arrow brand) broke half way through and wouldn't eject the rivet mandrel or it would break the mandrel half way, got fed up and had to buy a new rivet tool, went with the one from stanley.
IMAG0285.jpg


Once the decking was in place I put the front platform back in place, I had originally made this platform so that my trolling motor was level with the front rail. I plan on replacing the navigation light as the trolling motor blocks the red portion of the light. I will probably go with a green LED strip and a red LED strip and mount them on the sides of the boat. The small outlet in the right of the image is for the bow trolling motor which is an 80# MK Terrova, circuit breaker, wiring and 2 deap cycle batteries are hidden underneath.
IMAG0292.jpg


Next up was the side boxes, I had to replace them as well, and I also decided to reinforce them with a vertical support so that the boxes can be utilized as benches as they were a bit flimsy before.
IMAG0295.jpg


complete view of one side box, even added pole retainers, a small ruler and a utility box to hold pliers, knife, etc.
IMAG0297.jpg


The other side box, has 4 cup holders, 2 clip on and 2 in the lid. Unfortunately the 2 in the lid won't hold cans so I had to go with the clip on ones, gotta have the beer sitting somewhere safe.
IMAG0299.jpg


Installed the new doors and the live well lid, rivets made the installation incredibly quick and easy, and it looks much nicer. I also decided to carpet the interior walls above the decking, it looks much more professional and more aesthetically pleasing than seeing the bare metal.
IMAG0298.jpg


The rear electrical compartment, the smaller circuit breaker (left) goes to the rear trolling motor which is a MK 55# endura C2. The larger circuit breaker (right) powers the rest of the boats electronics which is: Humming bird piranha max 170, lowrance mark 5x dsi, navigation lights, bilge pump (seen below), aerator in live well, accessory outlet, and soon to be the interior lights and exterior black lights along with the horn.
IMAG0288.jpg


More shots of the carpeting around the interior:
IMAG0301.jpg

IMAG0302.jpg

IMAG0303.jpg


And now it's done, well almost, just need to install the interior and exterior night lights.
IMAG0305.jpg

IMAG0306.jpg

IMAG0307.jpg
 
Just an idea for nav lights on the bow...I got waterproof silicone LED strips from Oznium.com ( https://www.oznium.com/waterproof-marine-leds ) and took 3/8" aluminum flat bar and cut the bar about 2" longer than the strip, lightly sanded, wiped with acetone then peeled the 3M protective strip off and stuck them to the strips. Pre drilled rivet holes in the ends of strip, drilled hole in boat for wires to pass through, riveted strips under gunnel caps, ran wire through and siliconed holes up. Worked great.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1404617755.515365.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1404617772.548477.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1404617785.032386.jpg
 
Nice job redoing your boat. It looks really good. I'm thinking of laying out my boat like you did. It will be nice to have storage below deck so you can move around the boat without stuff all at your feet. Thanks for sharing the pictures.
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=358425#p358425 said:
smackdaddy53 » 05 Jul 2014, 23:37[/url]"]Just an idea for nav lights on the bow...

Whoa, I think I might get busted for jacklighting here in NH if I had those lights! They look bright!
 
That's exactly what I was thinking of Smackdaddy, I ordered a set of white and a set of UV for courtesy lights inside the boat and then night fishing lights on the outside, figured I'd order red and green if they came out nice. But after seeing yours I think I'm just gonna go ahead and order them now, those look bright and well done.

Now I just need to remove the exterior paint from the hull and re-do it as it's missing in a good amount of places. Any suggestions on paint strippers? I tried the drill and wire brush method but it's not worth the time it takes. I was thinking of the rustoleum auto paint stripper or the aircraft stripper but not sure how effective it would be on a tin boat.
 
[url=https://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=358703#p358703 said:
Leelatt » July 7th, 2014, 6:52 pm[/url]"]
Now I just need to remove the exterior paint from the hull and re-do it as it's missing in a good amount of places. Any suggestions on paint strippers? I tried the drill and wire brush method but it's not worth the time it takes. I was thinking of the rustoleum auto paint stripper or the aircraft stripper but not sure how effective it would be on a tin boat.

Hope someone can answer that last ??? of yours, cause I'm in the need to know on that one my self.
 
Wire cup brush and good grinder. Here is how it looked after three days. If you want paint to stick do it right! The best part is that tge aluminum is roughed up after a good wire wheeling and the paint sticks like it should.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1404960257.939175.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1404960352.537486.jpg
 
I like the dual seat mount in the rear bench - I think I'm going to go one further and put a 3rd seat mount so both passengers can sit on the rear bench while underway on the gas motor.
 

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