I did it again....

[inlovewithsurfin]

havent done much work on the boat lately... i have sold ALL of my other boats and have been trying to find an outboard for this tracker. (almost all the places i fish are HP restricted...) i havent been successful in finding a long shaft like i want/need for the 20in transom on this boat. and have settled for basically the exact same outboard i had on my 1436...

its a 91 yamaha 15 (labeled 9.9) short shaft... which means i will be cutting my transom down to accommodate the new motor. i know you guys are probably thinking i am crazy!? but i have been doing my research and even looked at another boat that had this done. i feel very confident that this will turn out fine and look factory when done

here is the new outboard and a rolling stand i built yesterday

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

i know this is "tinboats.net" but since i sold all my other boats i had to get something to fish out of while my tracker is in the works....


a friend of mine gave me this 12foot sevylor inflatable for free and i have since customized it like i do all my boats!


built custom flooring and seats...

proof she catches fish!!!

my new personal best crappie!!!

boat is rated for 6 people or 900lbs and up to 4hp outboard...

 

[TimRich]

Nice catch! I'm not sure I'd pack 6 people in that little boat...lol

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

got some more work done today...

as my yamaha is a short shaft i will have to take a few inches out of the transom...

but that will have to wait for another day!

 

[Zum]

Pretty sure if you bought or made a jack plate to move the outboard back a bit,you wouldn't have to cut the transom.
Hopefully some others will chime in on the subject....
I suppose though it isn't the end of the world if you had to do it,can always weld it back.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

well i did it... i traded the Mercury 50 for a Johnson 9.9 (converted to 15) long shaft... even swap! the johnson starts and runs flawlessly! i was able to spray some carb cleaner in the carbs on the Mercury 50 and get it to fire over for the new owner! i think its gonna be a great motor for him!

also doing this got me inspired to start the tear down on my boat! heres some new pictures from today...

next is to take out all the NASTY WATERLOGGED foam!!! YAY!!! haha.... you should have felt how heavy the old plywood was! at least 3x's as heavy as new plywood.

 

[Pweisbrod]

Great work! I'm glad you didn't chop down the transom. That set up will work great.

 

[ifish4redd]

old trackers are great boats,you can do so much with them

 

[pauldanielm]

Great little boat you got there!! I have been trying to find a nice 10hp or 15hp for my 14ft MirroCraft but have been unsuccessful.

 

[ifish4redd]

inlovewithsurfin has a9.9 yamaha for sale he lives in va beach

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

It's actually a Yamaha 15 with a 9.9 hood on it.. (The one pictured sitting on the motor stand with gas tank) Beautiful shape and runs great! You can email me at [email protected] if your interested

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

borrowed the neighbors pressure washer today... cleaned her up a bit!

hoping to get some more work done tomorrow!

 

[Pweisbrod]

Looks good man!

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

busted my butt today...

removed the last sections of rotting foam and cleaned up the inside of the boat. then sprayed the entire inside/bottom of the boat with "bed liner" spray paint. after that i got the major decking panels cut. for materials i used exterior grade OSB 3/4" plywood from lowes for $32 a sheet. and i had a 1/2" sheet of hardwood plywood left over from a previous project so for now this will be used. i have used non exterior grade OSB plywood on my last boat and havent had any issues with rot or swelling. so i am expecting this to last for several years.

 

[ifish4redd]

looking good ,it wont be long till she gets wet

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

getting there... still A TON left to do though!

 

[bigwave]

Each one of your mods are progressively getting better........looks great =D> =D> =D>

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

here we go!!!!! (disregard all the pollen all over everything)





She Floats!!!


I caught the first fish on the boat!


And we caught a few more...



And finally a decent river crappie!


for her first test run i took my buddy and his wife as well as my fiance and i... yes 4 people!!! even with 4 people the boat was a little quicker than i was expecting. with all the wind and chop i would guess top speed was around 12-15mph.

the boat isnt finished by any means... but she is fishable for now! got to put in fish/depth finder, replace the old nasty driving seats and also add a seat on the front and back deck. pole holders and more storage areas, bilge pump and airiator in the livewell, lights.... and im sure some more odds and ends

 

[joseph101088]

nice boat. is it sixteen foot? now that im back in the us im getting ready to buy a new alumacraft 1648 if everything works out. will be following your thread because i will be starting with a blank page. nice crappie to.

 

[inlovewithsurfin]

been awhile since i have been on here... figured id post a few newer pictures of the boat. been working out great for me lately! thinking about re-doing the front deck in the near future... id like to raise it up higher like on the newer model bass trackers and i want to move the front seat further backwards because it is too close to the front right now.