Tracker 1542 Upgrade

[bobby_bates]

Hey Guys and Gals,

Just dropped the boat off with Dawson at Fish On Fabrications down in Cartersville, GA. The plan is to fabricate a front casting deck with a lockable storage area below, and to turn that unusable center seat "livewell" into a battery compartment. I already have a G5 Slider on the aft bench, and want to put one on the center bench, but the "livewell" hatch is in the way. Dawson is going to remove that hatch from the top of the bench, and install a different hatch on the aft vertical area of that bench, install a "blankoff plate" in the void, and install a G5 Slider seat on the center bench. With the new battery compartment, I'll have more floor space for tackle boxes or decoys, depending on what I'm using the boat for on that particular day. Here are a few "before" pics. The last picture is my rendition of what is getting done to the boat. The "after" pics will come in a few days when the work is complete. I hope to post "in progress" pics as well.

 

[bobby_bates]

Here are a few "in work" pics. I got the boat back, and I am very pleased with the work. I'll give a plug to Fish On Fabrications soon. I've had some rain here in KY, but hopefully tomorrow will be better, and I'll get some pics of the finished product, before painting.

 

[derekdiruz]

I love the middle bench battery. I may end up copying this design for my boat!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[BigTerp]

Dawson is the man!!! He made me a custom hatch with 3 lids for my bow deck extension and a custom waterproof hatch with drop in liner for my rear bench a few years ago. Sent him my measurements and they were perfect. High quality stuff and work for sure.

 

[wmk0002]

Nice!

I have a custom hatch currently on order with him. Can't wait to get it!

 

[bobby_bates]

I agree, Dawson does fantastic work. I would recomend him for any work needed on a jon. Here are more pics, all work is completed. I am in the process of priming/painting the bare aluminum. I'll send more pics as the work progresses.

 

[bobby_bates]

I have another slider seat for the center bench, and plan to have a pedestal seat on the castng deck. Again, as work moves forward, more pics will follow.

 

[bobby_bates]

Boat is all painted up. Pics shown below.

 

[griz]

That's a good looking boat. Do you like those seat brackets? I was looking into those for my 1542 but they seem to have very mixed reviews.

 

[bobby_bates]

Seat brackets are fantastic. The design is awesome, and aluminum is thick and sturdy. The only drawback is the powdercoating; it didn't last s long as I thought it would.

 

[griz]

Eh, I'm more of a function over form guy so the powder coat wouldn't bother me. Do they require a little oil/grease from time to time? Also, how'd you attach them.

I'm just getting in to modding my boat so I'm trying to soak up all the ideas and techniques I can.

 

[bobby_bates]

Zero grease. They just slide on a plastic wedge. Mine have beenin use for 3-4 years now, only issue is the powder coating. I installed them using the included stainless screws. I believe it takes about 8 screws for each slider bracket.

 

[griz]

Cool. Thanks. I think I'm going to try them out.

 

[Basstrackertx17]

I like the idea of the extended deck and not raised.
Battery box great.
Been thinking of a long tail project for years and been gathering info for it.
These will definitely be added to the list.