New member, New Boat, 1st Boat!

[mcateercustom]

Hey guys! Just joined up to this great looking site, tons of great info. I just traded for a boat. This is my first one. I was so disappointed when I found out I really can't use it yet. It needs some transom work.
It was very disheartening. But after I kicked myself and cried a little I have decided to bite the bullet and fix it up. I got some much needed inspiration needed from A post on here. So here is the start of the long road to recovery.

Trolling mount defiantly needs a little tlc.

That crack there didn't get seen until the guy that sold it to me was long gone. When I initially looked at the boat it wasn't there I think it happened when he delivered it to me cause I noticed the motor was down. Probably a lot of bouncing around put that rip there. I guess since I have a rotten transome to replace it won't be that bad. :mrgreen:

You know you never really notice everything until the deal is done! Notice the tie down loop. #-o

Also on the side of the motor it says classic fifty. But the cover say 45.

Here is the worst part.

It all seems pretty great except for the transome which is pretty dern important!

Defiantly some console work to be done. New steering wheel and gauges are in order. A CD player would be ok as well.


Any and all recommendations will be much apprecaited like I said this is my first boat and so I dont know a lot about them but I pretty handy. Built houses since I was fourteen 29 now and not finished learning yet! Thanks in advance.

 

[mcateercustom]

Well I got the motor all disconnected ready to pull off. And got the console out I was thinking about some sort of bed liner to cover the console. Something like rhino or the like, any ideas? I also wanted to go around the aluminum on the inside top of the boat I like the none slippery bumpy fill of rhino liner. Are there any specific brands to lean towards?

 

[muffin]

congrats on the boat. i may have missed, but what size is it? im not good enough to tell from looking

 

[mcateercustom]

Hey thanks! If you hold your mouth just right close your left eye and look cross eyed you'd be able to see its a 16ft! Well maybe not all that but the registration says 16 lol. :mrgreen:

 

[muffin]

Hey thanks! If you hold your mouth just right close your left eye and look cross eyed you'd be able to see its a 16ft! Well maybe not all that but the registration says 16 lol. :mrgreen:

i tried, got nothin #-o

 

[Captain Ahab]

Good stuff and welcome to TB


Avoid BassAddict if you value your sanity

 

[freetofish]

welcome aboard! That is a very nice looking boat... Looks like you need to find a good Alum. welder that can fix your transom right up... probably not as bad as you think... The trick here is finding a good welder that can weld Alum.

 

[mcateercustom]

Thanks guys! Captain Ahab, I don't know what that is but from the sound of your experience if I see it I will run the other direction!

I think I found a guy that can do the welding. He charges $65 an hour. Does that sound good? I heard he was really great. Also I crawled under the stern and there is a bondo spot about as big round as a cereal bowl. My thinking is grind/scrap/chisel/sand or whatever else takes it off, and get him to weld whatever damage maybe underneath it. Does that sound right? I figured I don't want to pay him for sanding lol. The rest of the bottom looks pretty good. I'm excited now that I know people who know stuff :mrgreen:

 

[user 7806]

Your on the right track, do as much of the prep work as you can like grinding out the bondo so all he has to do is weld.

BTW: Welcome to TinBoats :WELCOME:

 

[mcateercustom]

Great! I'm gonna work on pulling out the old transom today. What are the big vents on the stern? Do I need them?

 

[spotco2]

The big vents allow air to circulate in the area under the rear deck where the battery and fuel tank is. If you keep them back there, then yes you need to keep the vents.

Those cracks are pretty big but it looks like someone has been in that transom before.

There are plenty of well documented Tracker transom rebuilds here, so you're in luck.

Under those decks you will find the nastiest bunch of waterlogged foam you have ever seen. I (and everyone else) would suggest pulling those decks and floor and getting that stuff out and replacing it.

Congrats on the boat. It can be a very rewarding project to rebuild it.

Those old Trackers are fishing machines.

 

[mcateercustom]

Hey thanks spotco2! I know now that someone has been in there. I am still super excited can't wait to get it back together! I would have never been able to tackle this without all the great folks on this forum! I worked about 7 hours on it today, here's what I got done. Oh and that water logged foam junk sux! #-o

Pulled the cables out. Somebody had some junkie wiring going on!

Pulled motor off.

Plan on putting some good bracing here, and a thick plate for the motor bolts.

The motor was just as freakin heavy as I thought it would be! Thank goodness it runs good!

Got the top cut. I wish there was something creative I could do with the huge looking vents open to ideas!

Got that transom out not to much a problem. I think I got lucky. It was pretty rotten though. I cut all the rivets pretty easy with a hammer and an old 1 1/2" wood chisel. Popped me right off.

Old and ragged! Try and keep it in one piece so I can trace out the new one. My idea on the new one was to take two 5/8 plywood, put fiberglass mat between with resin, fasten together with screws and then cut to shape. Then I was going to resin over the whole thing. Think this will work?

Cleaned out the back. Grinder with 1/16 inch wheel works great to cut aluminum!

Pulled seats and carpet out and HOLY COW!!! No rotten wood!! Instead it has a wonderful aluminum floor =D>

In fact everything is aluminum even all the front.

Pretty clean underneath. Won't take much prep.

The rivets on the bottom look great needs a good washing!

Finally ready to deal with that crappy foam!

Tons of that junk!! If anyone ever does this, let me recommend a sharp shooter shovel, it worked wonders!

7 hours later it is finally gutted!

Next I plan on doing the sides and the front. Then on to a great pressure washing bath!
I'll post some more pics when I get there! Thanks for the support guys and I'm still open to any suggestions of advice! If anyone is new to this, know that you can do it with just a little drive and determination. Oh and tears to if you pull the motor off by hand! :mrgreen:

 

[spotco2]

WOW! You've got some mad demo skillz to get all of that done so quick.

Those aluminum floors are great. Check the ribs for cracks.

What did the inside of the floor look like where that bondo patch was?

 

[mcateercustom]

Thanks man I am very driven since this is my first boat. I am ready to fish!! I haven't inspected it real close back there as when I got this far I was tired and ready to go home lol. I'll check though. Say I fill it with water and find some leaky rivets, whats the best way to fix one? Or 15 :mrgreen:

Also anybody know the best way to clean the aluminum? I want to paint or coat the inside under the floor with something, considering I plan on keeping it forever and want the hull to be well protected.

 

[Zum]

Nice job on the demo.
Was the foam really wet?

 

[mcateercustom]

Yes sir Zum!! It was wetter then water! Maybe the bottom 4 inches were soaked! It was pouring out. I was planing on putting some 2 inch closed cell building insulation in there to replace it all any suggestions on what kind are welcome. Or if any of you know a good forum post.

 

[f4imatt]

Looks like you are on the right track! Cant wait to see all of the updates!

 

[DaveInGA]

You're doing great, don't get discouraged and keep working on it. Eventually it'll get done.

 

[Captain Ard]

Lotta work done so far....great job.

I've been thinking about what and how to put the foam back in on my boat. I was thinking I could use a 2 part urethane foam and encapsulate it in some sort of bag so it won't ever get wet. Problem is the foam can reach like 250 degrees and I dont know if a plastic bag can withstand the heat. Looking forward to your solution.

 

[mcateercustom]

Thanks for all the encouragement! It's great to have great people to help. I have also been wondering about foam I plan on researching alot today. Maybe something willcome up. Do you have a link to your restore?