A Tracker Grizzly question for you please.

[JimInAlabama]

Hey y'all,
A newbie here, first time post, thanks admin for adding me.

I'm shopping a preowned boat and looking for some experienced advice! I'm on Lay Lake in AL and the boat I end up with will spend a fair amount of time at our uncovered boat dock. It'll get rained on occasionally and get a lot of sun.

I'm considering a 2014 Grizzly 1754 SC. I like the idea of not dealing with carpet but how does the camo material on Grizzly decks/floor actually hold up in the sun? Is it really an ok option?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[surfman]

The sun is murder on anything. If you are intending on leaving it in the water all the time I would consider two things for sure, 1. a good battery and bilge pump, not dome cheap 500 gpm little pump, at least the better 1500 models and 2. some kind of cover that will shed water and the sun. Covers may only last a year but it will save your boat in the long run. Make sure cover does not allow water to puddle on it. And a third thing to consider is an anode on the hull.

 

[overboard]

The above post pretty well sums it up, only so much you can do to try to keep a boat in like new condition, especially when exposed to the elements 24/7. A cover will not only keep rain out of the boat but also all the junk that manages to find its way into it, only drawback is if it does get wet under the cover it will probably eventually get some mildew on the interior paint.

 

[LDUBS]

"1. a good battery and bilge pump, not dome cheap 500 gpm little pump"



Going to take a pretty big battery to run a 500 gpm pump. . . :LOL2:

(No worries - just a little ribbing. We know you mean gph)

 

[hipster dufus]

i can tell u that u will be covering those aluminum floors with something before long. it will get too hot to touch. u will feel it thru your shoes. i instaaled cheap carpet on my decks and have vinyl in my cockpit. spray adhesive and carpet tape hold my carpet in. in a couple yrs ill pull it out and redo or use hydroturf. my rails even get to hot to touch in GA. i sometimes have to put gloves on to push my boat around. the non slip finish on my aluminum is also tough on your knees and hands. for what its worth my G3 was very similar in price to a tracker and came with a galvanized trailer. check em out

 

[JimInAlabama]

i can tell u that u will be covering those aluminum floors with something before long. it will get too hot to touch. u will feel it thru your shoes. i instaaled cheap carpet on my decks and have vinyl in my cockpit. spray adhesive and carpet tape hold my carpet in. in a couple yrs ill pull it out and redo or use hydroturf. my rails even get to hot to touch in GA. i sometimes have to put gloves on to push my boat around. the non slip finish on my aluminum is also tough on your knees and hands. for what its worth my G3 was very similar in price to a tracker and came with a galvanized trailer. check em out

Thanks, I’ve been shopping used for months and I’m on a limited budget. Haven’t been able to find a G3 or Xpress in my price range. I’ve heard of people putting down thin compressed foam pads.

 

[ppine]

And keep a cover on it.

 

[nccatfisher]

I don't know the exact compound SeaArk uses but they call it Gator Hide. I have had it in the inside of two boats. They spray it in. It isnt as abrasive as bedliner but it helps as far as sliding around, it is tough as woodpeckers lips and surprisingly cool. I could walk around on it in the middle of the summer in direct sunlight yet if I hopped up on the seats which I didn't have covered I would come off like I had stepped on asphalt.

 

[surfman]

Going to take a pretty big battery to run a 500 gpm pump. . . :LOL2:

(No worries - just a little ribbing. We know you mean gph)

yea and even that rating is a stretch.

 

[gnappi]

I haven't seen solar discussed here, but If I were thinking about leaving a boat in the water again without shore power I think I'd start experimenting with a 50 watt solar panel and a 10-20 amp controller rated for common battery types like flooded, gel and AGM.

1500 GPH? WOW!!! You folks must be getting a whole lot more rain that we do down here. My 500 rule is Waayyy easily enough to keep up with 2+" of rain per hour. Now if I took a wave over my bow, then for sure bigger is better.

 

[lovedr79]

my grizzly floors paint all but wore off. and it gets HOT!!!!!!!!

 

[JL8Jeff]

I have a Lowe 1652 that sits at a dock from Apr through Oct. I have one of the 500 gph bilge pumps and it works fine. My boat had bare floors when I got it and it was too hot to walk on barefoot on sunny days. I bought some of the vinyl flooring and put it down with outdoor contact cement and it looked nice for a month. Then the edges all came undone. It's been like this for a couple of years now and hasn't really gotten worse so I left it the way it is for now. I can walk around barefoot as long as there is flooring. I think some of the boat buildings actually rivet down the flooring material or use small pieces of trim to hold the edges down.

Here's a picture right after I did the flooring and it was nice and clean. I don't know if I stretched the edges too much which caused them to peel back after sitting in the sun for a month. But it hasn't gotten worse so it's better than nothing.

 

[richg99]

JL8...I suspect that the material shrunk some and that is why it pulled up.

I used vinyl but wrapped it around my 1/4 Exterior plywood that I laid over the thin aluminum decking. No troubles with it moving or pulling for two years, most of the time the boat is left outside in the rain, sun, etc.

 

[JL8Jeff]

JL8...I suspect that the material shrunk some and that is why it pulled up.

I used vinyl but wrapped it around my 1/4 Exterior plywood that I laid over the thin aluminum decking. No troubles with it moving or pulling for two years, most of the time the boat is left outside in the rain, sun, etc.

Yes, I think it shrunk or tightened up. I can reglue the edges but they won't reach to where they originally were.

 

[richg99]

Just a suggestion...if you have some left-over material...perhaps you could wrap it around a plastic blind, or some sort of lath...and glue both the edges down and the new "vinyl molding" over the outer edges.

That should cover it up and, being the same material, not appear too bad at all.

 

[LDUBS]

Rich, that is a pretty clever solution.

Not that it is of any help, but the vinyl on my boat wraps over the edges of the ply. I'm pretty sure if I lifted a panel the edges would probably be loose.