Long term satisfaction with welded cracks in tracker hulls

[mrmr56]

I have had a 1989 Basstracker TXS gutted for a few weeks and I am still trying to determine the best way to repair cracks in the hull at the end of the ribs. All 4 center rib connections are cracked. To those who have had them welded, are you still happy with the decision to weld them, and have they held up as expected. I have convinced myself that they are caused by 2 separate problems. First off, the ribs should have gone up the sides of the boat in that area and number 2 is that the tube type trailstar trailers have way too much flex in them. I have replaced the original trailer with a c channel frame trailer and I feel that the trailer flex is now out of the picture. I will look forward to hearing about your experiences and hopefully that will help me make a decision on how to repair whether it is an overlay patch or welding. Thanks for your replies.

 

[Restrained]

I'm curious is this something that happens to most Tracker's? I am restoring a 20+ year old 16' that doesn't leak a drop.

 

[mrmr56]

This seems to a problem with the 17' TX series. Most of the 16' boats had side support that kept the problem from occurring.