'83 Bass Tracker Revival

[BYOB Fishing]

Here is the boat I have to work with, a 1983 Bass Tracker Tournament TX. It's 17ft long. I plan on setting it up for bass fishing. My wife actually worked the deal to get it for my Father's Day/B-Day gift for $400. After getting it home and looking it over in my own garage, I noticed a couple of problems. First, the bow eye is cracked and in need of repair. I'm not sure what that will cost. Also, the transom is pretty soft and in need of replacement. I don't know how difficult that will be; there looks to be quite a bit of aluminum bracing holding everything together, all riveted in. I don't know how comfortable I am with working on that...But I'm sure with everyone's advice, I can get it done. Other than that, I plan to do the standard mods for turning this into a good bass boat. New carpet, seats, wiring, paint, etc...I don't have much time to work on it this week, so for now I will put up the photos and see what you all think! Plan on starting the demo next Sunday/Monday. I'm pretty excited, I've wanted a Bass Tracker for quite some time! Oh yeah, it's rated for 80hp. I plan on looking for something that's 50-75hp to hang on the back once completed...

 

[belliott]

It has potential, for 400 bucks it looks like a great boat.

 

[skip]

i love the bass tracker insert in the back! that alone makes it worth it to me!

 

[Troutman3000]

Just picked up a 99 Tracker V-hull. They seem to be made pretty solid from what I have seen.

 

[Queencitybassman]

Nice find I am in the process of fixing up something I got that is very similar... 79 tracker i got for $450 with a 50hp mercury on it.. Trackers are solid boats

 

[bobberboy]

That's going to be nice when you're done with it. It looks like a lot of work but when you get the carpet and crud out of it I bet you'll find a good boat to work with.

 

[ober51]

What a great gift! It's going to be a great rig once you put some elbow grease into it and clean the aluminum. I wouldn't paint it, just clean that oxidation/dirt off and put new stickers, and you have a great new boat. That grate in the back is awesome, I can't wait to see that restored, good luck buddy.

 

[BYOB Fishing]

What a great gift! It's going to be a great rig once you put some elbow grease into it and clean the aluminum. I wouldn't paint it, just clean that oxidation/dirt off and put new stickers, and you have a great new boat. That grate in the back is awesome, I can't wait to see that restored, good luck buddy.

Well, I was planning on painting the top half...Kinda like the newer bass trackers are. I was thinking black, and replacing the decals with newer ones just like them. I'm going to shine up the exposed aluminum. As far as the grate goes, I'm probably going to take that off too. It's a little flimsy, and I'm afraid it will break if stepped on accidentally. I will probably paint it up and hang it on my garage wall, in place of all that golf crap! hahahaha!

I'll probably get started on it next week. Any advice on replacing that transom?

Thanks!

Matt

 

[Hanr3]

nice find.

is that a crack in the bow eye where it meets the boat?

 

[BYOB Fishing]

nice find.

is that a crack in the bow eye where it meets the boat?

Yep. So far that crack and the half-rotten transom are the major issues I have to get fixed.

 

[ober51]

I can't help with the transom other than it looks like you will have to remove the corner braces, which won't be fun. I am sure others will chime in, good luck.

 

[BYOB Fishing]

I've taken some photos of the transom, and my plans to replace it. First, it looks like I will need to cut the welds that hold the rear cross member and corner caps. After that, I can drill out the rivets that hold the caps and cross member, and lift the whole assembly off. From there, I should be able to drill rivets to remove the angle braces on the bottom of the transom. (The top is rolled over, so the new transom will have to be slid into place from the bottom up) After that, I can drill the rivets on the access panels on both sides of the bilge. From there, I should be able to pull the transom down, over the top of the lip, and out.

That's probably the easy part....I'll still have to find someone to re-weld everything I cut up.

Let me know what you think of that plan...Here are the photos:











Thanks,

Matt

 

[Brine]

I can hear the guy building the boat on the assembly line... "I feel sorry for the guy who ever wants to replace this transom board..." :LOL2:

I've got similar corner caps on mine, and was wondering the best way to cut them off if I ever had to, to be able to reuse them knowing I wouldn't want to have to replace them.

Good luck!

 

[bobberboy]

It's going to be a pain now but a really sweet boat later.

 

[rook]

BYOB Im in the middle of a re-build on the same boat (1983 Bass Tracker Tourny TX) check it out, in my signature below is a link. I didnt have to replace the transom in mine but I can tell its gonna be a pain in the arse if I ever had to replace. I will be following your build, its always interesting to see what 2 different people come up with on the same hull. Good luck with your build and if you run into anything just let me know, I may have already had to deal with any issues. And I will be doing the same, already got some questions floating around in my head. I will take a good look at mine tonight and see if any ideas come to me on replacing those transom board. Ill let you know if I come up with anything.

 

[Loggerhead Mike]

those trailer wheels are awsome

 

[BYOB Fishing]

BYOB Im in the middle of a re-build on the same boat (1983 Bass Tracker Tourny TX) check it out, in my signature below is a link. I didnt have to replace the transom in mine but I can tell its gonna be a pain in the arse if I ever had to replace. I will be following your build, its always interesting to see what 2 different people come up with on the same hull. Good luck with your build and if you run into anything just let me know, I may have already had to deal with any issues. And I will be doing the same, already got some questions floating around in my head. I will take a good look at mine tonight and see if any ideas come to me on replacing those transom board. Ill let you know if I come up with anything.

I've been watching your build as well. It really looks like you're doing a great job making that boat your own, the center console setup is pretty cool. Did you notice that the original console was really far away from your original drivers seat? I want to remove my console and move it back a few inches, so that I can actually sit back in the seat and drive..

 

[BYOB Fishing]

those trailer wheels are awsome

I must not be much for nostalgia. :LOL2: Changing out those old wheels was another thing on my list...Along with removing the grate in the back and painting some of the bare aluminum.

 

[BYOB Fishing]

Over the last few weeks, I've been able to remove the rotten wood transom. I started by drilling out and removing the rivets that held on the brackets and caps. That was very easy, I center punched the rivet head, drilled an indentation onto the rivet head, and then used a chisel to peel the rivet off. I then used the punch to push the rivet out. It took maybe 20min to do all of them. I had to move the boat around to the front of the house to use the angle grinder and cut the cap and brace off. I went a little deep on the first one, but it should be OK once it's welded back together. I chopped out some of the foam, and I found that the foam was soaked and the wood behind the foam was nearly dirt. I really think the foam helped cause the rotting problems. There was literally water running out of the foam chips I was removing, and it hasn't rained here in weeks. I went ahead and cut it back several inches away from the wood. I did end up having to cut the top cap that was rolled over the top of the transom. I was really afraid of hammering too much more on the hull in an attempt to remove the rivets, as I thought I might cause the ones I've left alone to leak due to vibration. I figure I can recover it with some aluminum U-channel and be just fine. With some help from my wife, we were able to pry the wood out in nearly one piece. After a little bit of vacuuming, here is the result.

 

[rook]

By the looks of that, i think if my transom goes Im just gonna sell the sucker. :mrgreen: :mrgreen: That looks like a pain in the rear. You are doin a great job, keep it up.