# 1990 Tracker TX-17 Toiurnament Rebuild



## thill (Feb 26, 2015)

Seems that I can't keep away from the projects. I got a trade offer for my 16 Alumacraft, and I took it. 

The new project boat is a 1990 Tracker TX-17 Tournament boat with a 50 HP Evinrude outboard, and a galvanized EZ Loader trailer. The previous owner bought it and discovered that the plywood was soft, so he pulled it out. 

But the boat seems to be in very good condition, and everything seems to be there, so I'm happy. 

Here are a couple of pictures:














I have read a number of TX rebuild threads, including Derek's, BYOB's, Cooter's and MMF's.

After reading these four from start to finish, I have a few things I need to figure out before starting...

*Decking*
1. Do I go with Ecolife treated wood that is rated for direct contact with aluminum, including wet locations? 
2. Do I use untreated plywood and soak it down with many layers of urethane or other protectant? 
3. Do I install the carpet to the plywood before screwing it down, or after?
4. How much is aluminum sheeting? Can I afford it?

*Layout*
1. Do I keep the original front layout, with the rod tubes? 
2. Or do I change the front layout completely, adding storage?
3. Should I add hatches to the front section, which currently has DRY original foam. (which seems rare)

Right now, I'm unsure of everything. But in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, "worst-case, I'll slap in two pieces of Ecolife ply, put it back together quickly, and install carpet and call it a day.

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions or opinions? 

I am all ears, and will listen to anything you have to say.
After thinking it over, I posted these questions in the boats forum, but this is the one that I'll show all the work on.

Thanks in advance.

-Tony


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## kofkorn (Feb 27, 2015)

Definitely add a hatch. I LOVE mine. It makes for so much more usable storage. 

As an additional note, for it appears that the front foam on these boats never seems to waterlog. I guess it's high enough and far enough forward that it doesn't seem to collect much. Plus the deck seems to keep the water flowing rearward instead of collecting. 

I stayed away from the carpet and went with marine vinyl instead. I like it much better, and I'm certain that it will keep the wood lasting much longer.

Good luck with your build!


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## thill (Feb 27, 2015)

Thanks for the reply. I found your thread and read every page. Really nice looking work! 

Does that marine hatch keep the inside of the bow pretty dry?
What kind of speed do you get out of the 40 HP?
Did you ever fix the issue with the edges of the vinyl curling up?

Thanks!

-Tony


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## Skiffing (Feb 27, 2015)

store dot buymetal dot com

5082 sheet aluminum 48X48 x0.10 $96.39

Free shipping on orders > $100

I found some 6061 sheet at the scrap yard - $2.00 / lb. You can get a fair amount for that money.


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## kofkorn (Feb 27, 2015)

The hatch works perfectly. The lid has a gasket, and I used 5200 between the deck and the frame. I've never had a drop get into the compartment from the hatch. 

I haven't done anything on the curled edges. There's really only one of them that is exposed normally (left side of the lower console), and the rest are only visible with you open a hatch or lift a seat. I had one set of edges that run along the hinges of the hatches (livewell & bilge) that I used a bead of 5200 on instead of the contact cement. These edges have never come up, so that's probably the best way to go with the vinyl in the future.

My 40 doesn't push it too fast. I've topped out around 21 or so. I actually picked up a Johnson 50 that I'm going to put on it this spring. I'm keeping my eye open for an inexpensive 60 to max it out. I think the TX's are rated for an 80hp or something, right? The Pro 17's are limited to a 60. 

Good luck and be sure to PM me with any ?'s. I've not been as good following Tinboats this winter with all of the snow keeping me occupied.


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## thill (Feb 28, 2015)

21 MPH... That is interesting. I just heard back from two friends with Tracker 17's, one with a Mercury 40 and the other with a Yamaha 40. Both report a 35 MPH top speed, one with 2 dogs, 2 hunters and a duck blind on it.

That is a pretty big difference, 21 versus 35. This has me very curious! Do you have a tach and GPS, or just a speedo? What is your RPM when wide open? Do you think your engine is propped right? 

You are right, this one is rated for 70 HP, and I have a 70 HP hanging in my shed. Once I get the plywood replaced, I think I'm going to test run her with the 50 ASAP to see if it "feels" good.

Thanks again for sharing and helping!

-Tony


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## thill (Feb 28, 2015)

Oh, and I've made my decisions. I'm going back with the original layout, and will use the Ecolife plywood. Later, I will add two waterproof hatches to either side of the bow area, because the center is taken up with the rod tubes:






Keeping it original should enable me to restore it quickly, and I will still benefit from increased storage. Thanks for that suggestion!

Today, I picked up the Ecolife plywood and 20' of gray marine carpet. It begins soon! I hope to complete it within 2 weeks, but we will have to see how it really goes.

Thanks again, KK!

-Tony


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## thill (Feb 28, 2015)

I had a busy day today, but it was good. After everything was done, it was 5:00 PM. I only had about an hour of daylight, and it was cold, but I decided to get started on the Tracker. 

Logically, I wanted to start on the main deck first:





First I took measurements, then cut the plywood. I had to cut the PVC rod tubes to get the floor installed in one piece, but once I did, the plywood dropped right in, nice and snug. Not bad for 15 minutes into the project!





Now I had to figure out the front deck measurements...



I wanted the wood to extend under the rails, but not touch the sides, so I cut them about 1/2" shy, giving me about 1/4" space all around. Two tapered cuts, and I was ready to slide it in from the back so it would fit under the rails. Realized that there were a bunch of broken-off screw stubs, so I had to dig out the angle grinder, and clean up everything. Took a little while, because I kept missing some, but I eventually got them all. Slid the front deck in place, and it fit well.



I was at an hour and a half, and things were looking good. As someone else noted, the front deck is not level with the rails, but it seems to be level when the boat is in the water. I agree with Tracker on this one. I'd much rather walk on a level deck, for comfort and safety.

I cut the tops for the two storage compartments, then set everything back in place. Wow... that made a huge difference! I can walk the decks and get a feel for the boat, already. NICE! 



At that point, it was dark, so I threw the tools into the shed, closed the door, pulled the cover over the boat and called it a night. 7:08 PM Two very satisfying hours!

Sorry, it was dark, so I wasn't able to get any pics of how it ended today.

A couple of comments... 

First, I am surprised how solid the decks feel, even before attaching the plywood. I had been worried about the front deck in particular, and had considered adding extra supports, but I was wrong. It's amazingly solid. Aluminum is tougher than it looks!

Secondly, I am very impressed with the EcoLife plywood. It is still damp (as most treated plywood is when first purchased) but is nice and rigid, not floppy, as most treated plywood feels when new. I also appreciate that both pieces have very nice grain on both sides, with only a few knots. It's officially C/C, but looks more like B/B or A/B, except that its not sanded. Either way, I'm very happy with the quality of this wood, and very happy that it will not rot, and is rated for direct contact with aluminum. No copper anywhere in the treatment! 

On my next free day, I plan to pull the wood, drop in some foam sheeting under the floor, attach the plywood and reconnect the rod tubes. Then I want to rivet and screw the panels down, and prepare for carpet.

I think this is going to be a boring rebuild, sorry! I'm not making any major changes, just putting it back together similar to original. If I can get it carpet-ready in 6 hours or so, I'll be happy. I just have to focus, and make the time count.

-TH


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## thill (Mar 1, 2015)

One other thing...

I have some aluminum panels that I have no idea where they go. Does anyone recognize them and where they go? 

The big one to the left looks similar to the left leg of the console, and seems to be angled to go against the side of the hull somewhere. Is the console free-standing?



The middle one seems to be a chase for wires, perhaps. Just not sure where, since this boat has a flush-mounted control.

The right one is an angled cover. Again, not idea where it goes. 



Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

-TH


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## trackerpuzzle (Mar 1, 2015)

the one on the right looks like the one my controls were mounted on

edit-- never mind it's a lot smaller and has no taper.


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## kofkorn (Mar 2, 2015)

thill said:


> One other thing...
> 
> I have some aluminum panels that I have no idea where they go. Does anyone recognize them and where they go?
> 
> ...



If that big panel isn't the left leg of the console, then I don't know what it is. It looks very similar to the left panel under the console on my boat. Biggest difference is that the Pro-17 lower console is one piece, so the left and front lower panels are made together. Is it possibly a support for the extended deck?

Middle one is definitely a wire chase cover. This would allow you to route the wires from the back of the boat to the console. Separate harness than the motor/control harness. This one is most likely for your aftermarket electronics and wiring, fishfinder, extra lights, etc. It's probably mounted below the side controls somewhere.

Right cover is probably the cover for the steering cable. Again the one on the Pro-17 is different, longer and no taper, but it looks similar. Take a look here for wiring before I mounted seats and console. Big red cable is the steering cable.

Good luck!


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## DarynCashmark (Mar 2, 2015)

Thill:

I am not as familiar with the TX-17 as I am with the Pro 17, but I would bet the long one is a chaseway for your steering, and throttle cables etc. In the Pro 17 that is what it is for. In my Pro 17, the rest of the wiring (Except for the motor wire harness) is routed behind the side wall.

Maybe the smaller one is for throttle control, and the bigger one looks like something to do with console? (Although it looks awfully short in height.) Did your boat have the original console when you got it? Maybe your original console was taller and did not need as tall of a base? Sorry, I am not much help, but I am posting a couple of (bad, sorry!) photos of that area on my boat. The panel right below my throttle control looks a bit like the longer piece that you have?

Hopefully might help in some small way. Keep up the great work. It is going to be done before you know it!


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## thill (Mar 2, 2015)

Daryn,
Thanks for the help. I discovered that the skinny one was for the steering cable, but still trying to figure out the other two. The big one is VERY similar to the left support of the console, but it has a HINGE on one side, and a hasp latch on the opposite side. It's almost like it's made to fold down somehow, but I can't figure out where it goes... yet.

OKAY... Today it wasn't snowing or raining, so after getting on the roof to clean the chimney, (it really needed it) I decided to work on the boat a little.

I started today by working on the Evinrude 50 HP outboard. The compression was excellent, 135 PSI on both cylinders. =D> I got the boat on trade from someone I knew, so I took his word for it, but good to know for sure.

I cleaned everything up, wiped her down, and then pumped some mixed fuel with a generous amount of SeaFoam into the motor. I let it soak in the bowls for awhile, and then pumped the bulb again, and turned the key. Nothing. I realized that I had not heard the primer solenoid click, so I turned the knob manually. Turned the key again, still nothing. 

I disconnected the control cable and grabbed my remote starter. Hit the button and got her to fire. Yes! I plugged the control cable back in and went back up front. This time, when I pushed the key, the solenoid clicked. Turned the key, and she started! Sweet! I let her run for maybe 30 seconds, and squeezed the bulp and let her soak. I repeated a few of times while doing other stuff, and by the end, she was idling smooth. I'll probably pull the carbs and clean them before putting her in service, but it's sounding pretty good already!

Then I started working on the tilt/trim pump, but it's got serious problems. Fluid shoots out from around the rod, and I'm getting no lift pressure. I was about to pull the whole pump, and then I realized that daylight was fading. Enough engine work. Good enough for today. Here is what she looks like under the hood:





Time to make some progress on the boat. I pulled out the plywood and took my time and drilled out loose rivets and replaced them with new ones. I added a little spray foam to a couple of spots in the bow area around the rod tubes. Then starting from the back, I reinstalled and screwed down the plywood. I decided to use flat head, self-tapping ceramic coated screws. I've used these in the past, and they are very strong and really grab, and have a lifetime corrosion guarantee.

I decided to just screw the whole front deck down, and not do anything fancy with fabricating hatches or anything. I think I'm going to follow advice and just buy some waterproof deck hatches. 

I put about 3 hours into it, about half of that was working on the engine. The sun was gone, so I pulled the cover and called it a night. Not much to show, but I'm closer than the day before: 





I am very happy and a little surprised at how solid these decks are. And again, I am very pleased with this EcoLife plywood. It's nice stuff to work with.

I'm almost ready to start prepping for carpet. Unfortunately, the temperatures are going back down tomorrow, and it's supposed to rain for the next few days, so it might have to wait a while. I guess we will see...


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## JMill (Mar 2, 2015)

I believe that larger panel may be the where the left side of the console mounts. I have the exact boat and have everything out of it at the moment, I'd have to go mock everything up to be certain. There's a lot of frigging panels and whatnot in these boats!


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## thill (Mar 2, 2015)

Jmill,
Yes, that is very close to what it looks like, except that the one on left side of the console is already there, attached to the console. Look:



In fact, you can see both pieces in the above photo. The second piece is similar, but is a little different, and has the hinge and the hasp latch.

HEY.... looking at that picture just made me think of of something.... 

Could the second panel mount on the OUTSIDE of the left side of the console on that hinge? Could it be made to fold up and lock the rods in the tubes??? 

That would explain the similar shape, and the hinge. I need to go outside and check it out before it starts raining. Will post back later.

-TH


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## thill (Mar 3, 2015)

Mystery SOLVED.

Yes, it turns out, it fit the spot exactly. Flush with the front of the console, and flush with the top of the platform next to it. If I didn't know the rod tubes were there, I would never have guessed, as it just looks like part of the console. GREAT IDEA!

I'll have to take pictures tomorrow, if it's not raining too hard.

-Tony


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## JMill (Mar 3, 2015)

You may be on to something there. Mine doesn't have that particular panel, but I remember it having a hinge and a lock clasp in that area and wondering wth they were for. I guess that's it


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## thill (Mar 3, 2015)

OK, I stuck it in place temporarily. Close enough to see the intended purpose.

Here is the pic:



But now I can see why people might remove it. You have to open it to use the rod tubes. Then you have to close it, so it's not underfoot. If you move a lot during the day, that could get a bit annoying.

Even so, it's a cool little feature.

-TH


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## evidrine (Mar 3, 2015)

Great job so far! My brother has a 17 ft bass tracker that needs some work also. I'm not sure which model he has but it seems to be similar to this one. Maybe a couple differences. I have promised to help him restore it so I am really enjoying watching your progress. Please don't stop posting. 
Also, you had questiones concerning the speed of this boat. I know that he has a 2-stroke 50 hp mercury and gets somewhere around 30 in his loaded down with ice chest and two people. I have a pro16 with a 4-stroke 40hp mercury and was getting almost 35mph loaded down. I added a stabilizer fin for better handling and lost about 5mph. I hope gives you an idea of what you should expect.


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## DarynCashmark (Mar 3, 2015)

Thill:

You are a genius for figuring that console part out! Looks pretty cool. Have you decided to put that part back on under the console?


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## thill (Mar 4, 2015)

Daryn,
Yes, I'm going to keep the rod locker door. I like to fly fish, and the fly rods would fit in there perfectly. 


Evidrine,
You may want to buy the EcoLife plywood from Lowes sooner, rather than later. They are going to discontinue it in favor of something else. I'm seriously considering buying a number of sheets just to have it, just in case I do another one in the future.

Also, thank you for the speed information. It sounds like 30-35 is the general consensus with a 2-stroke Evinrude 50 HP, depending on how heavily I'm loaded.

Do you know what pitch prop your brother is running?

-TH


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## evidrine (Mar 4, 2015)

I have no idea what pitch his prop is. He may still be running an aluminum prop. I will look into it.


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## thill (Mar 12, 2015)

Due to three snow storms in a row, and lots of rain since then, progress on the Tracker had ceased. 

But today, we had a one-day break between rain storms, so when I got home this afternoon, I went out and pulled the cover off the boat. Everything looked clean and dry, despite the patched-up cover.

I decided that I was going to carpet the new plywood, since it was warm and dry enough for carpet glue to work properly. Cut out the carpet and got it laid in place on the front deck. Pulled back one side, got it stuck, then did the other side and smoothed it out. Then I did the main floor the same way. Nice!!!

After that, I spend a couple of hours, scraping glue, drilling and replacing old rivets, and installing a stereo to the console before it got put back down. Then, I set the console back in place, and fixed a couple of bad connections in the wiring. That piddly stuff took time, but it has to be done.

The next thing I knew, the sun was down, and it was time to wrap up. Today, I spent about 4 hours on the boat, more than I meant to, but I enjoyed listening to the radio and relaxing while I worked.

Because the sun went down, I only have a picture of the front deck carpet:



Hopefully, the rain won't last too long, and I can get back out there soon.

-TH


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## thill (Apr 6, 2015)

Sorry for the delay, but Mom was not doing well, and she needed constant assistance. Unfortunately, she didn't make it. The funeral was yesterday.

Today, I decided to work on the boat to help clear my mind. I marked all the hatches with arrows to make sure the carpet would all be aligned, and with contact adhesive and a razor knife, I got them all wrapped. Then I moved on to the deck. It was pretty complicated with all of the cutouts, but I got it done. I dropped the hatches into the holes, and they fit perfectly! I'm very happy with results.

Here is a picture:



This took me about 8 hours total, which is more than I thought, but it went really fast.

Now I have to carpet the sides, the front of the forward deck, and a few other spots, and then screw everything back together. Then, finally, I can run this boat! Can't wait to see how it does!

-TH


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## trackerpuzzle (Apr 7, 2015)

Sorry for your loss .


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## thill (Apr 9, 2015)

Thanks for that. We are so busy dealing with Dad's Parkinson's disease and nerve-damaged hand, that we hardly have time to think too much or feel too sad yet. Mostly numb. But I'm sure it will hit sooner or later.

For now, I'm going to distract myself with this boat, and hopefully a bunch of slab crappie and other fish. :? 

-TH


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## DarynCashmark (Apr 9, 2015)

Thill: 
I am just now checking back on your thread. I am really sorry life has put a lot of curves in your road lately. Losing a parent is never easy to deal with.

Your build is looking really great! The carpet is turning out very nicely! You have me wishing mine was the Tournament 17 instead of the Pro 17. I am jealous of your extra storage! Keep up the great work on the boat. If you are anything like me, working on the boat is good therapy too.

Just curious, was 20' of carpet enough? I ordered 25' for mine and got pretty freaked out as got Cloe to the end. I thought I would have a fair amount left over, but it took every last inch.


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## thill (Apr 11, 2015)

Yes, good therapy indeed!

I think the 20' is going to do it, but I'm not 100% sure because the carpet inside the hatches is fine, so no need to replace. I think I still have about a 6x6 piece left on the roll at this point. I'll tally it up once it's done.

Having done this before, I was careful to layout all the pieces carefully, starting with the largest pieces, and then using the leftovers for progressively smaller sections. I'm happy to say that I have had very little waste this time around. =D> 

We got "off duty" this afternoon, and I got in another 90 mins of work on the boat. I had some good progress today! I was able to:
1. Install the final major piece of carpet. (behind the console)
2. Install the stereo speakers and fish the wires to them
3. Re-install the console
4. Re-connect the steering (nice and smooth!)
5. Replace the tachometer with a new Teleflex unit
6. Wire up the new stereo
7. Install the front pedestal seat base
8. Mount a foot controlled trolling motor in the bow of the boat

Then I noticed it was 9:53, so I turned the stereo off and called it a night. to get it together enough for a test run tomorrow. 

-TH


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## thill (Apr 11, 2015)

Oh, and here is a pic. Will take more tomorrow


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## thill (Apr 17, 2015)

OK...I got most everything done to a point where I could take the boat out for a test run, but I only had about an hour. I turned the key and she started right up, just as before. I hooked up the trailer and raced to the ramp. Dropped her in, turned the key, and nothing... BUMMER!!! I hit the choke and it started, for a second, but would not run.

Opened the cowl and flipped the lever. Now it was flooding. Opened the throttle up, and got her to start, but she ran terribly, obviously on only the primer fuel. 

Pretty sure the carbs were clogged up. That's it, out of time. I was done.

-TH


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## thill (Apr 17, 2015)

Yesterday, I had a customer come with a badly leaking carb on his 70 Evinrude. It just needed a gasket.

I got it together, and told him that if he wanted to wait a few minutes, I would accompany him to the lake for a test run. If he was interested, he could see how to clean carbs. He agreed,so I pulled the carbs on the Johnson 50. As soon as I turned them over to drain them into my gas bottle, I saw the problem...

The carbs were completely full of oil. Pure oil. The VRO pump was bad.

They were out, so I cleaned the carbs, but found nothing, as expected. Then I disabled the VRO system. Hooked up the hose, turned the key, and VROOM... Off to the lake.

We dropped in, and both motors started instantly and idled smoothly. A good start! We parked and jumped in the boats and decided to make a big circuit of Jett island. I was very impressed with the thrust of this little 50! This little motor gets it done! I kept up with him without a problem. Surprise, since these boats are almost identical! I took a single picture, while flying across the lake:




That's when I noticed that he had fallen behind. I docked my boat, and for the rest of the trip, I was working on his boat. So my boat just sat. TORTURE!




It turned out, his rev limiter was getting stuck, since he was running too low a prop. Below 5200, he ran fine, but when he touched 5500, it would go crazy. Those engines have a 5700 WOT, so that wasn't right. We let it cool, and I ran back home and grabbed a steeper prop. Swapped them out, but it was not steep enough. Now the rev limiter was cutting in at 5000 RPM. Bad power pack.

Called it a day, and took his boat for a power pack. I had one around. Now, his boat ran great! He was very happy, but I was a little bummed, that I didn't get a real test run.

Yesterday, it rained in the morning. In the afternoon, I was working on an engine swap, and I realized that a part hadn't come in, and it was 6:45 PM. I had some daylight left.... YES!!!! Time to test a boat!

Right then, a friend pulled up with his boat. NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Are you kidding me?!?

He said he was having a hard time restarting, unless he went back and primed again. Sounds like air leaking in or a bad fuel pump. 

I pulled his cowl, and he had a bowl-type fuel filter UPSIDE DOWN, mostly empty. Air was collecting in the inverted bowl. Could it be that simple?!? I had him loosen the hoses and flip it over. 

Let's go test boats!

Now it was almost 7:30. Raced to the lake, dropped in both boats started and idled well. We pulled out and ran around the island once- no issues, yes! 

I wanted to see what this little 50 HP would do, and he had GPS, so I challenged him to race to the bridge. I let him hit his gas first, and then I gunned it. My boat, being lighter, shot forward fast. I trimmed up, and got about a 5-boat lead. We ran even for a mile or so...





As we approached the bridge, I figured he would try to gun it and beat me out, so I trimmed up a little more to get every bit out of her, and sure enough he tried to catch me, but could not. I won by about 5 boat lengths! YAAAAYYY!!!!! (The crowd went wild!)

That was a blast! And my little 50 now had bragging rights! The most fun I've had in a long time

Now for the GPS data...

He said we were running 35.6 MPH for most of the run. But toward the end, when we both trimmed up, he was doing 38.4 MPH the last time he looked down, but maybe more, as he was watching me and not the GPS. Later, he said that he was running 40.1, so my little boat was doing somewhere between 38 and 40 MPH. Very respectable for a little 2-cylinder!

Now it was dark, and we called it a night. I turned on my new LED running lights and we ran back in...



I came home with a grin on my face, feeling more relaxed than I have for a long time. And this morning, I'm still smiling.

Life is good.

-TH


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## thill (May 10, 2015)




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