Show me your Tracker Crack fix

[bronco]

I have a tracker with the same stress cracks as everyone else seems to have. I have read a bunch of posts showing different fixes but.......What I'm looking for are some posts from guys who have extended the aluminum ribs up the side of the boat and strengthened the hull.

I can weld aluminum but I need to educate myself more on the different aluminum braces you guys have used to fix this design flaw.

Pictures, links to posts, or just comments would be a great help.

 

[huntinfool]

I'm not sure what crack problems they are having. One thing I do know is the machine they use to weld the ribs in turns the gas off a second or two early and the aluminum boils at the end of the weld. Eventually these will break out and the boat will start taking on water. I just got one of their boats that has this problem. I might have 30-50 small holes that I will have to repair.
Post up some pics of your problems and someone will have an idea to fix it.

 

[typed by ben]

huntinfool » Today, 07:56[/url]"]I'm not sure what crack problems they are having. One thing I do know is the machine they use to weld the ribs in turns the gas off a second or two early and the aluminum boils at the end of the weld. Eventually these will break out and the boat will start taking on water. I just got one of their boats that has this problem. I might have 30-50 small holes that I will have to repair.
Post up some pics of your problems and someone will have an idea to fix it.

craziest part is anybody who knows anything about welding aluminum SHOULD have caught that right away. thats either cutting corners or ignorant, not sure whats worse.

 

[bronco]

The cracks I'm speaking of are the ones that develop on the hull of the boat "usually in the bow" that form between rivet holes right at the end of the structural ribs on the bottom of the boat.
Tracker, doesn't run the structural supports up the side of the hull like other boats. And "from what I can determine" it allows to much flex and metal fatigue forming small cracks.

What I'm looking for are others who have fixed this excessive flex by extending the structural horizontal supports by extending them up the side of the boat.

I'll go take a picture of the cracks.