# Tracker Grizzly 1648 Build



## schinkr1 (Aug 28, 2016)

I picked this boat up to fish horsepower restricted lakes. It came with plastic board decking and wood bracing that weighed a ton, so wanted to lighten it up, add a livewell and level out the floor. I also wanted to clean it up, add some carpeting and set it up as a tournament boat. 




I started my project by gutting the boat.







I had my local PPG auto paint store do a custom match on the Forest Green Tracker paint. Sprayed the interior using a HVLP paint gun and it was a spot on match.




I lost the pics of the bracing, but leveled the floor using 1 1/2" aluminum angle riveted to the floor ribs and covered it with 1/8" thick 5050 aluminum.




The frame was built with 3/4" and 1 1/2" aluminum angle and fastened together with aluminum rivets. I ran two lines from the back of the boat to the livewell under the floor. One for the fill pump and the second for the drain. It wasn't easy drilling the hole for the lines through the rear bench. I ended up putting two drill extension bits together so I could drill the hole.




Since I planned to use the boat for tournaments, I wanted a solid livewell system. I installed the re-circulation pump on the side of the livewell so it was easy to access for cleaning and maintenance. I drilled a 1 1/4" hole right out of the side of the side of the boat for an overflow and added a Flo-Rite recirc/pump out valve, timer and LED lights inside the livewell. Originally mounted the batteries up front, but that caused some issues that I'll get into later in the post.




The flotation foam under the rear bench was completely water logged. The holes you see were used to remove the saturated foam, which must have weighed 150 pounds. The foam is suppose to be closed cell and not hold water, but this seems to be a common problem on these Trackers.

Dry fitted the aluminum deck and lids. Since the top of the boat was wider than 4', I turned the sheet so I had a nice tight fit on the sides. 




I used a small piece of the old deck to make a side mount rod holder.




Closed the gap by piecing in some scraps.




I may have gone overboard, but didn't want to feel any seems, so filled them with fiberglass. 




Once the carpet was down, you couldn't find the seems if you tried.




Marine wire was used for all of the electric runs. Main power is controlled by a master cut-off switch that feeds a Blue Sea sub panel for all of the accessories. I added a 24v trolling motor with 82 lbs of thrust. It has it's own breaker switch.




















Mounted an Lowrance HDS7 Touch Screen on the back of the boat and have it networked with my HDS12 on the front that I plan to switch between my other boat. Networking allows me to share waypoints and a single map chip.




Structure Scan transducer and sonar. 




Well that's about where I am at. I still need to build a cover for the rear hatch. If anyone has any good plans for that, I'd love to see them.


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## murphy67 (Aug 29, 2016)

Looks great!! Nice work on that Tracker!


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## ohiobass (Aug 29, 2016)

=D>


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## water bouy (Aug 29, 2016)

Looks good. Hope you don't mind if I lightened one pic so I could see how you did the trolling motor.


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## schinkr1 (Aug 29, 2016)

Is there something particular you wanted to see with the trolling motor? Be glad to take a pic from a different angle. I wanted to put a recessed tray in, but there were two braces that ran up the middle and I didn't want to mess with weakening the front deck.


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## water bouy (Aug 29, 2016)

I bought a trolling motor this weekend and not sure if I can use it on my boat because it's so heavy, a Minn Kota All Terrain tiller. It must weigh 50lbs. It didn't cost much so I won't lose anything if I sell it. Some newer models I've seen have smaller brackets and hopefully they don't weigh as much but I understand they have electronics that can fail.


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## 1099gl (Sep 18, 2016)

Been looking for a live well forever! Who was the seller you bought it from if you remember and do you think I would be able to do a similar build with my 14' Jon? Been wanting to carpet and put a Rod holder in it


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## schinkr1 (Sep 18, 2016)

1099gl said:


> Been looking for a live well forever! Who was the seller you bought it from if you remember and do you think I would be able to do a similar build with my 14' Jon? Been wanting to carpet and put a Rod holder in it
> 
> Bought my livewell from The Great Lakes Skipper. It's somewhere between 24-30 gallons.


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## 1099gl (Sep 18, 2016)

I have a 14' polar Kraft so it's not the same as yours 


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## schinkr1 (Sep 21, 2016)

Installed a set of VT-2 livewell vents tonight. Not sure if these actually work, but guys that have them all say good things about them. Only took about 15 minutes to install.


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## schinkr1 (Feb 5, 2017)

With the batteries mounted up front, my boat sat in the water slightly nose heavy. Didn't think it was a big deal, but ended up creating an issue with air lock when trying to fill my livewell, so I moved the batteries to the back. The boat ran much better with the weight of the batteries in the back.


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## schinkr1 (Feb 5, 2017)

Delete...


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## schinkr1 (Mar 13, 2017)

Used transparent tape with white print to label my rocker switches and toggles.




For the rear hatch, I'm thinking of making the access area 13 1/2 x 31 1/2. That might even be tight to get the batteries in and out. Open to input.


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## Skunked again (Mar 13, 2017)

Make the new access hatch as big as possible, you'll be happier later. Will also make it easier to put water in the batteries.
By the way, I'm liking your build! 
How did the 10 HP do with the batteries up front? Planing out?


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## schinkr1 (Mar 13, 2017)

Having the batteries up front didn't work out. First of all, it made the boat just heavy enough that it caused my livewell fill hose to run slightly down hill, creating an air lock. I had to put the boat in reverse to clear it. It was also plowing water. I moved them to the back and the livewell pumps perfectly and the 9.9 pushed it just fine. I just have a passenger sit on the front deck when running. It's a heavy all weld hull, so even by myself the nose doesn't come up. Really needs a stronger motor to get up on pad.


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## fool4fish1226 (Mar 14, 2017)

Very nice work =D>


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## schinkr1 (Apr 6, 2017)

Made a couple of minor changes while I was at it. I had an extra ruler holder from my other boat, so built that in next to the livewell. I also removed the charging port. I'm going to remove the on-board charger from the boat to save a few pounds and hook up some quick connect clips to charge it.





Here's how I plumbed the livewell drain and bilge pump. Cut the subfloor out to make room. It's tight, but it all fits and there is still room to service the pumps.




Ran the hose for the bilge up the back and out the side. With the carpet in place, you can't see the hose and it's protected from getting stepped on.




Last major piece I had to finish was the rear deck. I reached out to Prowelder (Matt Downs) after seeing his build on here and had him make a rear deck lid for me. He did a fantastic job and had it done in a couple of days. I highly recommend him if you need some custom work! He even put the proper 85 degree bend on the back of the lid so it would fit perfectly with the angle on the transom.







I don't plan on using the rear seat, so patched the hole and leveled out the panels.




Finished it off with some carpet. I planned to hinge the rear lid, but I kind of like the idea of being able to just pull it of to access the rear hatch area.


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## Darryle (Apr 6, 2017)

What holds the hatch in place? might want to use a bungee on the inside to keep it from flying out of the boat


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## schinkr1 (Apr 6, 2017)

I have a hinge for it, just need to install it. It's snug enough that it's not going anywhere, but I don't want to take any chances.


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## Catch Release Repeat (Apr 7, 2017)

schinkr1 said:


> I have a hinge for it, just need to install it. It's snug enough that it's not going anywhere, but I don't want to take any chances.



I have a similar cover over my aft storage. No hinge. When I need to get in there I want to have full access. My cover is 3/16 aluminum plate, so it's not going anywhere, but I put a Bungy cord over while trailering. Paranoia I guess. Looks damn good tho. Money and time well spent. 



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## CedarRiverScooter (Apr 7, 2017)

I have similar hatch, I just made a hook for the leading edge that goes under the adjacent deck. No moving parts. You lift rear & pull back to remove. It is pretty secure.


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## schinkr1 (Apr 8, 2017)

I was trying to figure out a good way to strap the hatch down and decided it was just easier to throw the hinge on it. Still have room to get to the batteries and gas tank, so calling it done.




Since I'm trying to keep the boat light, I decided to pull the charger out of the boat. I found these Noco 10' extension cables with waterproof quick connect clips on clearance at my local Menards for $6. I cut them at 18" and connected them to the batteries with terminals. I hung the charger on my wall so I can just plug in the two clips to charge the batteries.





That's about it for now. Time to go fishing!


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## bassmoore (Apr 19, 2018)

this might be old, but this is such a clean build.. I want to replicate this as much as I can on my new 1648 griz.

Thanks !!


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## schinkr1 (Apr 19, 2018)

Appreciate that. If you run into snags or want to know how I did something just ask. I didn't post a ton of detail, but be glad to help.


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## BunLai (Apr 26, 2018)

Where can I buy the hatch that you are using? I have 1448 and would like to extend my front deck. Thank you 


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## schinkr1 (Apr 26, 2018)

I bought the front hatch from Cabelas. Quality was way better than I expected. I had the rear hatch made by a guy on this forum (Prowelder i.e. Matt Downs).


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## schinkr1 (Sep 7, 2018)

I haven't done anything to the boat in a while and the one thing I regret not adding was a recessed trolling motor. Standing on 1 leg all day really takes it's toll on your knee and back. I didn't add during the original build because there were support braces running right up the middle of the boat, but I'm over it and will brace it up as needed. I ordered the R&R Design recessed trolling motor tray from Hodges Marine this week. Total cost was $63 shipped and it arrived in 4 days. You can easily pay twice that much, but not sure why you would. It's aluminum and very well made.




This picture is standing at the front of the boat looking toward the back. If you cut too far back, you will end up cutting the divider for you storage compartment out of the boat. I made a cardboard template for the tray and made a few cuts within the template as I went to make sure I could still adjust toward the front or back if needed. In my head I kept thinking I had to maintain 4" of depth for the pan to clear the floor and was worried about the front of the boat where the bow tapers. In hindsight, I could have moved the tray forward another 3" since the pan is also tapered, so you don't really need to maintain that depth. May seem obvious, but I over looked it.







" 

I made most of my cuts an angle grinder. The support braces for the deck are 1 1/2" thick, so I had to finish the cuts with a sawzall. The grinder cuts through like a breeze, but it makes a big mess. 

I had to remove a couple inches of foam to get the tray to sit flush. Best way to cut that is a little drywall saw if you have one. I was planning on running a drain hose into the bilge, but clearing a path for the water to drop straight into the bilge will work just as well. There is a small drain hole at the base of the storage divider, so drainage won't be a problem.





The deck feels like it will be solid enough once the recessed tray is in, but I'm going to work on bracing it up so I have some peace of mind that it won't have any flex.


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## thedude (Sep 8, 2018)

Would a high pedestal butt seat work better or as good? Maybe a slightly better angle. Just thinking of an alternative for others in your situation


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## schinkr1 (Sep 8, 2018)

The only gripe about the R&R tray are the four holes they pre-drill in the floor of the pan. Found these 1/4" plugs at Lowes. Perfect fit.




I plan on using a stand up pedestal seat. The distance from the seat to the pedal is actually right on. It's the same distance as my Ranger, so should work out well. Only other item I might add is a small cover to the front so I can mount my electronics up.


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## Jim (Sep 9, 2018)

Hi,
You want those 4 holes open. Water pools up in there from rain, splash, and what-not and will fry the electric components under your foot pedal. I was shown what happens when water does not flow out of the tray. 

Jim


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## schinkr1 (Sep 9, 2018)

Jim said:


> Hi,
> You want those 4 holes open. Water pools up in there from rain, splash, and what-not and will fry the electric components under your foot pedal. I was shown what happens when water does not flow out of the tray.
> 
> Jim


There is a 1" drain hole in the pan to drain any water that accumulates. The other 4 holes are only 1/4", so can't imagine they are for drainage. Is your comment specific to the R&R pan or just in general?


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## 1648grizz (Jul 7, 2019)

schinkr1 said:


> Is there something particular you wanted to see with the trolling motor? Be glad to take a pic from a different angle. I wanted to put a recessed tray in, but there were two braces that ran up the middle and I didn't want to mess with weakening the front deck.



I have a 2005 1648 Grizzly. I believe the foam is waterlogged also, you actually got 150lbs of it out of your boat?


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## schinkr1 (Jul 13, 2019)

I don't recall if I actually put it on a scale, think I did, but water is very heavy. I was putting the water logged foam into those heavy duty green plastic trash bags and had to keep grabbing new bags so they wouldn't break from the weight. If the foam is water logged, it's adding a lot of unnecessary weight and not providing any safety value.


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## 1648grizz (Jul 15, 2019)

schinkr1 said:


> I don't recall if I actually put it on a scale, think I did, but water is very heavy. I was putting the water logged foam into those heavy duty green plastic trash bags and had to keep grabbing new bags so they wouldn't break from the weight. If the foam is water logged, it's adding a lot of unnecessary weight and not providing any safety value.



What was your trick to get the foam out of them little holes you put in your bench? I cut a 6.5" hole and what a pain getting the foam out. 
I got about 30lbs out of left front and not done yet.


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## schinkr1 (Jul 15, 2019)

Man, you are bringing back some bad memories...lol. I ended up using a drywall type hand saw and it wasn't too bad. I just cut small squares maybe 4x4 or so and pulled them out, ripping the back of the square free. It made the least amount of mess and wasn't too bad.


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