Tracker Panfish PF16

[jonboatboy]

Thanks man. Where you at? I check your build everyday and havent seen you in a while. Hurry up springs commin!

 

[warefishin]

I have been putting the spar on my transom board so i can install it and take it too the welder. I have done a little work other than that but I found myself going in 10 different directions when I started working on the boat. So I decided to focus on getting the transom put back together so I can get it to the welder.

Here is my plan for the next couple of weeks. I want to have it done or at least fishable by the first of april......

I am going to put the last coat of spar on it today.
Install the transom tomorrow/Sunday Remove stickers...
Take to the welder Monday
When I get it back before I mount the motor I am going to flip it over and paint the bottom.
Check out the trailer and decide if I want to put on new axle springs etc. or If I am going to drop 700 on a new one.
By the 14th I want to have the bottom painted and have the boat sitting on a workable trailer.

So then i will have 2 weeks to put it back together. Floors, carpet, wiring, etc. Also I need to clean up the engine. Replace plugs, impeller, lower unit oil, clean carb.

I am really looking forward to getting it back from the welder So I can start heavy into the putting it back together phase.

Pretty ambitious but I think I can come close.

 

[warefishin]

Here is what I have been thinking about. Where do I put the 2 batteries for my 24v trolling motor.


up front
- me 220lbs
-trolling motor 60 lbs


back
25 johnson- 150lbs?
Gas Tank
Cranking Battery (60lbs)
Fishing Partner-Sometimes 200lb somtimes (70lb
Depends on if my son or my buddies go. I am smart enough not to put my wifes weight online.

I have room to put the batteries in the front but I would really rather have them in the back with the cranking battery so I can use the room up front for storage. Since thats where I will do most of my fishing.

I am leaning toward having all 3 batteries in the back. Let me know if you guys see a problem with this or if you have another solution. I am going to get some of the smaller deep cycle batteries since I rarely ever used all the juice in my single battery when I had a 12 volt trolling motor.

I can't really put them anywhere other than the front or the back because of the open layout of the boat.

 

[warefishin]

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I got some work done today. I put self etching primer on all the aluminum pieces that I plan on carpeting. I hope to the primer adds a layer of protection

I also painted the back of the transom. Before I attach everything.

I started to pull all the stickers. It came off in one piece until I got to the back on one side. The otherside came off easily with a putty knife and my heat gun. I want to have the bottom ready to paint so when I get it back from the welder I can flip it over and paint it before I put the motor back on.

The stickers are so brittle I am going to try to remove whats left with some kind of chemical.

 

[jonboatboy]

Thats what I wanted to see. Lol thought you gave up. looks like you got it al planned out. Weight wise with the batterys in the back youll plain nice because youll be up front to keep the nose down. should be able to plain at low speeds no problem. I laughed out loud when you said you knew better then to post your wifes weight. I use eraser wheels on a angle grinder to remove the stickers on police cars when I get those kind that wont come off in one piece. I think you can buy the whels at harbor freight or your local body shop suppier. Ive used the wheels on a cordlace drill also where I didnt have air access. Its just heats em up and rolls glue sticker and all off into the floor. whole lot faster then heating the stickers to but messier. thats why I try heat first so theres less to clean up.

 

[warefishin]

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I got the transom back on today and I am going to take it to the welder sometime this week. That is going to be a huge relief when I get that done. It should be just putting it all back together after that. The fun part.

Made a little mess but I put the 5200 on all the bolts that go through and the live well and bilge. I went ahead and installed new ones while I had the back open before I got everything welded back. I thought it would be a little easier.

 

[warefishin]

A couple of crude wiring diagrams.1 for the 24v trolling motor one for the accessories.the squiggly lines are the negatives

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[warefishin]

I attached the seats to the army boxes I bought to use as bases. They felt pretty sturdy but just in case I put a piece of 3/4 inch plywood down under them that I varnished while I was varnishing the transom. This will just give the swivel a little extra clearance.

 

[jonboatboy]

I really like the army boxes. Those are cool. Thought about mounting a ammo can myself for a sure dry storage. Man Ive been on the lake the last 3 days and had 2 monster bass. Well their the biggest I've ever caught. Phone went dead so I didnt get a picture of one but my buddy has one of it but I got a nice one saturday before my ole lady and my boy met me at the boat ramp and joined me on the water. Better hurry your missing them line burners! LOL

 

[jonboatboy]

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[jonboatboy]

Check me out.

 

[warefishin]

I see you doing work. HAHA. Man its shorts and t shirt weather down here right now. It will change in a couple of days, but I am getting the itch.

I took the boat to the welder today he said it was going to cost me about 120 at 60 dollars an hour to do everything I wanted done. I am going to get the transom stuff welded back together and get about twenty holes filled in the back from where the old floor originally attached, and the transducer and a couple of holes that were just rivets to hold the extra pieces to the transom. I don't like the idea of drilling half way into my just varnished transom to put a couple of rivets in when I can just get him to hit it in a couple of spots.

He also said he might have some trailer stuff laying around we could use to get the trailer up and running, so If I can do that and just add a couple of new bunk boards I might be in business.

 

[jonboatboy]

Dont blame you. Welds are always better then rivits. I just bought a new fishfinder and trying to decide how to fix the holes in the transome from the old one. A buddy of mine had a hummingbird 597ci I got for 170. It has gps temp speed and all and its color too. Its 450 new at gander mountain. He split me on a new transducer so I ended up coming out another 20 bucks but to have 190 in it and I have all his fishing points also. I think I did pretty good. Keep me posted on the tracker.

 

[warefishin]

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Built a outboard stand tonight while the boat is at the welders. Its just screwed tofether now but I am going put a bolt in at the intersections .

 

[warefishin]

I am waiting on the boat to get back from the welder and I am doing a little wrok on the motor to pass the time. I ordered one of the clymer books and I have found the manual online. These are both going to help me out I think.

 

[onthewater102]

Be careful with that insulation board that you never spill gasoline on it or it will instantly dissolve into basically napalm...

try a piece in a coffee can to see -

Boat builders use a poured expanding urethane foam for a reason - a bit harder to work with, but doesn't react to gasoline.

https://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html

mixing in small quantities will allow you to fill all the voids in stages rather than having a mushroomed mess all over the place.

 

[warefishin]

Thanks for the tip otw, I will test it for sure especially since I had planned on putting some foam under the fuel canister.

 

[warefishin]

Tonight i cleaned the carb and put it back on, I still am planning on replacing the impeller, plugs and Lower Unit oil this week While I wait on the boat to get back from the welder.

I had to remove the starter and bracker to get to the carb. I hate having to install the carb without knowing for sure if I got everything.

 

[onthewater102]

Could be much worse...the carb for the motor that came with my boat was disassembled and in a child's sandcastle form/pale ... now it's in a zip-lock freezer bag. I pulled down the parts list and diagram but still haven't had time to sit down & order everything I'm missing or wanting to replace anyway since it's already in pieces.

Looks like someone used a dremel to get the plastic cover that the pull-cord passes through off as well - with all these genius backyard mechanics roaming the world how will I ever keep up???

 

[warefishin]

I took off the lower unit tonight, and Tomorrow I am going to replace the water pump and then change the oil in the lower unit, I was going to go ahead and change the lower unit oil but I couldn't get the plug screws out, I am going to try one of those manual impact deals tomorrow, I hit it with some pb blaster tonight a couple of times and tapped on it with a hammer a couple of times but It still wouldn't budge.

on the boat, It has been at the welder the last 2 weeks, its driving me crazy I have a weeks vacation coming up and if it isn't back by friday I am going to go crazy. He is giving me a good deal on it or I would have gone and gotten it already but I can't wait the whole break and not get anything done. lol. My Wife might have paid him to keep it up there.. haha