1989 17' tracker pro 17 mod

[rick50]

Welding rivets arent nothing nice and then sometimes you have to reweld the ribs on the inside, because the rivet is holdin it to the bottom of the boat..

Looks like your doing a good job!

 

[dearl]

That was the first thing I did, I wanted her to be solid, and she is just that. Well boys, Christamas came early this year, I got my metal today, 3- 24' sticks of 1x1x1/8th" tubing, 24' of 2x2 angle 1/8th" and 2 - 4x8 sheets of .125 aluminum plate. All total I have a hair under 300 in the metal alone. Now things should start rolling along pretty quick ( I hope ). I want to get everything fabbed up and welded in by this time next week, calling for a lot of rain between now and next wednesday, I do have a good size shed to work in, but its a pain moving everything in and out but it will be worth it.

 

[Rat]

Sweet! Let the cutting (and measuring, and fitting, and sanding, and grinding...) begin! :mrgreen:

 

[huntinfool]

Yes sir, Christmas came early. Now comes all the fun parts. Remember measure once and cut twice :LOL2:

 

[dearl]

They are real proud of this stuff, I might measure three times before cutting.

 

[dearl]

Finished welding the bottom yesterday, I still have to buff down the high spots. Cut some angle to make my deck supports for the front and rear decks. Turned out pretty good, I should be able to get these welded in place this weekend, and get some plate cut for the vertical supports. I want to start installing the fuel tank and 1x1 cross members next week. I still have to fab up the live well and get it set in place before I put the rear deck in place. My son and I fish a lot of catfish tournaments here locally, I wanted a large livewell to hold some serious fish, I have boat some 41" blue cats that can be a hand full on a stringer. Also the stress that a stringer run through the lip of a 40lb fish can be huge. Also it will be used for keeping large numbers of gizzard shad alive. Thats a challenge in itself. More to come next week.

 

[huntinfool]

Lookin' good, keep 'em coming.

 

[Zum]

Looks real nice,you'll be using her in know time.

 

[Rat]

Lookin' good, that is going to be a great catfishin' rig.

 

[dearl]

Got the cross members welded in, and the front and rear bulkheads cut to fit. I also set the fuel tank up front to get a fill for how it will set. I have a few inches of clearance to run the fill line, but I need to put a plate and some bracing under it so i will probably lose those few inches. I want to get these bulkheads welded in this week, and hopefully some floor supports. I don't wwant to start putting to much in, I still have to flip the boat again and put my steel flex on.

Rear bulk head


Front bulk head


Fuel tank

 

[dearl]

Got some work done yesterday, Welded the bulkheads in, and the 1x1 floor supports. This made the boat alot more rigid. I really like the way the boat feels after doing this, this can only improve the performance of the hull. I plan to do a little more to the inside before I flip it. weather is starting to cool some here in central North Carolina. Highs in the upper 70's today, probably the rest of the week. I want to put my Steel flex on by next weekend so I can get some painting done. :mrgreen:
Rear bulk head welded


Floor supports


More shots of floor supports

 

[danmyersmn]

It looks like the 2 x 1 channel that you welded to each of the floor supports is 16" OC? It also looks like the smaller tube 1x 1? is about 12" OC? What was the reason for this? to bring the floor up higher? I would think that channels are close enough for the span?

 

[dearl]

I wanted 1" span betwen the channel so I could run the control wires etc under the floor. I also wanted to bring the floor height up an inch to give me more clearance to walk around the center console that will be installed later.

 

[dearl]

Been awhile since I have done anything to my boat, bow season is in here in N.C. and thats my other passion. Got 1 already, my son arrowed a nice doe Saturday, his 2nd deer ever, and both were with his bow, and he's only 12. I ordered my steel flex today, should be here by Friday, I hope to get it on sometime this weekend. We are going to Northport on Saturday to Hopefully pick up my new to me power plant for the boat, a 1990 60 h.p. evinrude. The guy repowered his boat and I got good deal on it. It has tilt and trim, and a stainless prop, something I always wanted with my 40, but I sold it to a friend. I hope to have some progress pics for you guys first of next week. :mrgreen:

 

[CRAPPIE_SLAYER]

Congrats to you and your son!

 

[dearl]

Thanks crappie slayer, I forgot to mention that we love to fish for crappie during January and Febuary on lake Tillery. Get a lot of 2 lb slabs while its still cold. Don't have to worry about jet ski's either! =D>

 

[dearl]

Got the boat flipped aaaaagain, finished buffing down the high spots were I welded it earlier this month. I have the boat in the barn, I don't know that it will be warm enough to put my steelflex on, so I may end up putting plastic up around the shed, and using a heater to get the working space up to 70 degrees. By the time I get home in the evening, it is already starting to cool back down, plus its been raining here for 2 days. 54 degrees today, calling for mid 70's tommorow and Thursday, but it wont cure before it starts cooling off for the night. I bought some stuff from the local auto store called all-metal, 2 part compound, suppose to be able to fill in dents and scratches in aluminum and sheet metal. I tried it in a few spots and it goes on easy, I will let you know how it sands tomorrow. Took a few shots of my 1990 - 60 h.p. rude I went and picked up over the weekend. Its a little sore on the eyes right now, but she will shine like a new penny when I'm done.

 

[dearl]

Finally got some warm weather so I could put my steelflex on, and I think it turned out pretty good. For anyone that is thinking of putting this stuff on, DONT MIX MORE THAN YOU CAN USE IN 30 - 45 MINUTES! First batch i mixed started real good, and 3/4 thru, it started going on real thick, and not very easy to work with, Word of advice, mix small batch's and you want have any issues. I didn't have anyone to help me so it took me longer to work it in to the cracks. I'm happy with the application, did the whole bottom, and 8" up the sides, and had some left over.I have the whole week off, I hope to get more structual stuff done to the inside this week so I can start putting her back together.

First coat






Second coat

 

[CRAPPIE_SLAYER]

Looks great!

 

[dearl]

Worked on the ole girl some today, got all my front bracing welded in, new fuel cell is in place, and the rear deck supports are in. I will probably install some more braces in the rear just because I have a whole stick of 1x1 tubing left over. I will start installing the conduit for the wire runners, and I have to get some pipe ran for the front baitwell water supply, and drain. I want to have as much as possible done by Saturday, my plan is to get the boat off the trailer (hopefully for the last time) and get some paint on this thing. I ditched the plan of putting the fuel cell up front, and put it under the back deck. The bait well up front will be for blue gill, and a small amount of shad. I have a 30 gallon portable baitwell, I will use it during tournaments if need be. My original plan was to keep this boat as light as possible, and I think she will be very light after everything is installed.