# MMF'S-1990 Tracker TX-17 Alum Build (FINAL PIX 10/22/11)



## mmf

Did a little boat trading and got this a couple of weeks ago. I am skipping over the tear-out portion of the mod due to boredom, the boat wood was completely rotten (worm bedding) and pretty easy to get out except for the cheap STEEL screws tracker used to hold the wood down in their construction. Note: NEVER use STEEL anything in an aluminum hull! Don't go the cheap route, bite the bullet and go buy stainless or ALUMINUM on EVERYTHING! Had to drill off to the side of the self drilling hardened screws on many of them and knock them out. Here is a picture of the hull......


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## mmf

Some more: unlike many others that did some mods, I am not blessed with an indoor working arena so mine is outside in the elements, one of the main reasons I am going back with ALL ALUMINUM in this boat, it will be kept outside and I do not want ANY materials to deteriate over the course of several years ( I have been there many times!). I have removed the front storage areas in front of the console in order to gain a little more floor space and still retain a good amount of front deck space. The rear of these boats is a mess in my book, especially the poured in urethane flotation (open cell!) that is good for one thing only, to act as a SPONGE! Tracker made NO effort to keep the poured-in flotation from reaching the hull drainage valleys and thus, most of mine are completely stopped up with this crap and the bottom layer of cut flotation layed in is SOAKING wet, holding water FOREVER! All of this must go! I am slowly taking the rear apart and removing the flotation. On the positive side, the transom was completely encased with aluminum, and upon inspection and a core drill sample, it is still in good shape, at least they did seal it good! I am going to use 3/16" diamond plate aluminum on front deck, floor and the rear deck. I am not a tournament bass fisherman and I do not use a live well. No stressed out, par-boiled fish for me, I eat my fish so I they go straight from the water to the ice chest! I mainly fish for striper, big catfish and crappie and I have a bait tank I use for my bait. The live well will go out and this area will be used for a large storage area when finished.
As a note to others who are doing modifications, a cheap replacement for the open cell flotation in the hull is the el-cheapo swimming noodle used by kids in the pool. You can buy a whole case of them at the dollar store for about $25 and they are CLOSED CELL and will never soak up water. You can cut them as needed and even split them down the middle for floor floatation without stopping up all the drainage valleys in the hull bottom too!. more pics.........


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## mmf

I will also be making a bench seat that flips up on hinges instead of the two seat original version withe the live well banging against your elbows too. I have a scrap metal business not far from here that sells the 3/16" diamond plate for $170 new for a 4 X 8 sheet, a little steep for me since I pinch pennies as much as I can but they have much "scrap" (cut pieces) that they sell for $1.25 a pound. The pieces you see in the picture cost me $109 and I still have the back deck to do but considering the price of marine plywood then sealing it, the trade-off is about equal except that the aluminum will be there long after any kind of wood. Also note, tracker failed to drill holes on the very center section on the hull bottom valleys and you must drill these out to have proper drainage..........................


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## mmf

del


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## mmf

I will be cleaning the hull after the interior mod and this is a picture of the results using the cleaner they sell at NAPA called "Aluminum Brighten". $10 for quart squirt bottle or $30 a gallon. It work great! You MUST follow the instructions though because it has acid in it and you need to really wash it off good when complete. This will save much knuckle work for me!


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## mmf

Can't make up my mind but considering a center console modification, the original side console would be quicker and I would be fishin' faster but I just don't know. I am going to have to buy a new steering cable anyway so I could scratch that off the expense of it. I also have a set of binnacle OMC control box too. Hmmmmmm........................


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## mmf

No working on boats outside today!!!!!!!!


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## RBuffordTJ

Got some sudden snow huh...my dad is in Franklin, NC and they got hit pretty good too.


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## mmf

frosty the snowman got his ass kicked here today and allowed me to do some more tearout at the rear of the boat. I have a MAJOR setback however, I was too quick to judge my core drilling from the top of the transom! I removed a screw during tearout that had a wiring hanger and was screwed into the lower transom inside, when I removed it, half of was rusted out, "Huh-Oh" I thought "water" and I was right. Grabbed a 1/2" drill bit and drilled through the aluminum decorative cover on the inside of the transom and wood rot! Bummer, now I must do the dreaded, cut the weld joints with a cutoff tool so I can get the transom wood out. I will get over the difficulty of this job as I have faced this many times before, just never had to cut aluminum to get the old wood out. I will post some pics of my transom replacement when I get to it. I work crazy 12 hour shifts and have NO time to do anything when I am working (besides being an OLD man!)
I drilled out all the rivets in the battery/fuel compartment floor in order to remove all of the SOAKING wet open cell floatation today that Tracker used, this is BAD stuff!. Do yourself a favor, if you do a boat like this, do NOT shortcut your rebuild by not removing all of the old floatation, it will hold water forever like a sponge and then MILDEW, the main contributor to WOOD ROT! Go back with CLOSED cell floatation! I like to use pool noodles, closed cell, support a ton, and CHEAP. Back to the work place tomorrow then more progress over the weekend (I hope)!


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## mmf

Finally got to do some work out in the rain though, finished tearout of floor at battery/fuel compartment so I could remove the soaking wet floor insulation and cut the bottom 2 inches of the poured insulation out. I have decided to remove all the poured floatation material and refill the area with noodles I spoke of earlier.

Removal of splash well area and top transom cap is complete and it was a pain for me because I did not have a small right angle grinder, I borrowed a cut-off tool from work but it was VERY weak and took practically all day to cut through the welds and top transom cap, I blame alot of my slow progress on my air compressor whick could not keep up with the air demand. I am GLAD I took out the wood, I found that the transom wood was half rotten even though it seemed OK pounding on the transom with my hand before removal. HEADS-UP on all you Tracker modders!
Here is the link to my findings rather than post all of the pictures here................
https://picasaweb.google.com/114764926961602492668/TrackerTX17RottenTransom?feat=directlink
PS......note on some of the pics that I have drilled pilot holes through the center of the bottom floor supports for drainage, I will be enlarging these holes before the area is resealed so the boat will have proper drainage!


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## BYOB Fishing

I made a special trip to harbor freight to get one of those right angle grinders just for cutting off my Tracker's transom cap as well. It wouldn't work for me either, my air compressor was too small. I ended up using the electric 4-1/2" angle grinder, and it took about 5 min to cut it off. I didn't want to use it at first, because it was so fast and I had so little control...I did end up going too deep in a few spots.


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## mmf

BYOB Fishing said:


> I made a special trip to harbor freight to get one of those right angle grinders just for cutting off my Tracker's transom cap as well. It wouldn't work for me either, my air compressor was too small. I ended up using the electric 4-1/2" angle grinder, and it took about 5 min to cut it off. I didn't want to use it at first, because it was so fast and I had so little control...I did end up going too deep in a few spots.



I was very glad you posted your transom replacement, I kinda used it as a guide, THANKS, and it was a pain but necessary. With the small width wheel I had on the cutoff tool I was using it was kinda hard to find where the two pieces of metal met at the weld joint and would have been easier with the wider electric right angle wheel like you used, but like you said, I imagine it was harder to hold and control. I am thinking about maybe putting the top plate back on mechanically (using SS bolts and and nuts) instead of having it welded back. I know I can make some splice plates out of aluminum for the sides but I would have to use some angle aluminum at the rear joint shaped to fit but do-able I think. Thoughts?


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## BYOB Fishing

Do you think just bolting will take some structural support out of the top plate? I thought of bolting it too but was worried about support under load.


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## mmf

BYOB Fishing said:


> Do you think just bolting will take some structural support out of the top plate? I thought of bolting it too but was worried about support under load.



I don't think it will with the proper amount of bolts and size, my gunnel is a little different than yours too, mine is a rectangular piece of aluminum and your was rounded I belive, but mine would make bolting easy. I will give it good thought before I make my decision. I will post pix of progress as it goes although SLOW due to my work schedule and weather permitting in my outdoor arena!
PS...and my small wallet size!


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## jladdsmith

A note about pool noodles: 

They are closed cell, but definitely will soak up water. I have an Aire Lynx II kayak which uses a stiffer version of the pool noodle material as the floor inserts. The kayak is a 'self bailing' model which means the floor is always in the water. 

After a single day of use, and after disassembling the 'yak, the foam floor inserts are twice as heavy as before and must be beaten on the ground, whacked against a tree or...whatever. It takes a couple of days out in the sun to totally dry them out.


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## mmf

I have used the pool noodles on about 10 aluminum boat restorations so far and have yet to find one that soaks up water in my usage. I am not going to say there is an exception to the rule from different manufacturers, or similar types but I have not had your experience yet.

I have seen a couple of guys on the forum use "insulation boards" from a building supplier like Lowe's or Home Depot, but realize these insulation boards, although they will float, are not made for the sole purpose of floatation or exposure to continous water intrusion so they may support the growth of fungus/mildew too, a bad deal for any boat that has any wood in it's construction. Mildew will spread like wildfire in damp places, especially in the bildge area of the boat.


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## BYOB Fishing

mmf said:


> I have a leftover motor from my previous project if any one is needing one, it is a Mercury 40 HP tiller with a SHORT shaft in GREAT shape. Newly rebuilt powerhead, electric start, PM me if you have any interest in this



Too bad that 70hp isn't for sale! hahaha I'd like to have something that big on mine!


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## LonLB

mmf said:


> I have used the pool noodles on about 10 aluminum boat restorations so far and have yet to find one that soaks up water in my usage. I am not going to say there is an exception to the rule from different manufacturers, or similar types but I have not had your experience yet.
> 
> I have seen a couple of guys on the forum use "insulation boards" from a building supplier like Lowe's or Home Depot, but realize these insulation boards, although they will float, are not made for the sole purpose of floatation or exposure to continous water intrusion so they may support the growth of fungus/mildew too, a bad deal for any boat that has any wood in it's construction. Mildew will spread like wildfire in damp places, especially in the bildge area of the boat.




I agree. That Kayak must have had different foam. I've seen pool noodles left in the water for days, and not absorb water.


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## BYOB Fishing

How are the pool noodles going to support the rear deck? In my tracker the foam is also used to support the all-aluminum rear deck. Do you have to build some sort of structure?


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## LonLB

BYOB Fishing said:


> How are the pool noodles going to support the rear deck? In my tracker the foam is also used to support the all-aluminum rear deck. Do you have to build some sort of structure?




That's something that I'd like to see addressed too. I know that some companies advertise that they use the foam for structural support. I even built large fiberglass boats and we claimed the same.
I don't want to give up the structural support it adds, but I REALLY don't want that junk. Absorbs water and blocks drains.


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## mmf

BYOB Fishing said:


> How are the pool noodles going to support the rear deck? In my tracker the foam is also used to support the all-aluminum rear deck. Do you have to build some sort of structure?



I will be covering mine with 3/16" diamond plate aluminum the full width and length and the vertical walls and side angle supports, along with the bent front lip supports should do the job. I, nor the people I fish with weigh over 180 lbs so strain should be minimum. The big deck lid at the fuel tank/battery compartment did not have any re-inforcement on the back of it from the factory, but I will be covering this and any lids I use with the diamond plate as well.


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## stone4140

mmf said:


> I have used the pool noodles on about 10 aluminum boat restorations so far and have yet to find one that soaks up water in my usage. I am not going to say there is an exception to the rule from different manufacturers, or similar types but I have not had your experience yet.
> 
> I have seen a couple of guys on the forum use "insulation boards" from a building supplier like Lowe's or Home Depot, but realize these insulation boards, although they will float, are not made for the sole purpose of floatation or exposure to continous water intrusion so they may support the growth of fungus/mildew too, a bad deal for any boat that has any wood in it's construction. Mildew will spread like wildfire in damp places, especially in the bildge area of the boat.




How many pool noodles does it take on average for a aluminum boat?


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## mmf

on this boat it will probably take 2-3 cases of noodles due to my removal of all of the foam.


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## mmf

upon cleaning the inside of the aluminum transom today I found several deep pits that were the product of electrolosis corrosion. One of the pits barely goes all the way through the aluminum. I will clean again, sand rough and apply marine epoxy to these deep pits then apply good zinc chromate primer. After this I will scab on a large piece of the diamond plate all across the back of the transom for insurance purposes. Thought I also would share the use of a sealer I have been using on transoms for quite awhile, it is PL adhesive's roof and flashing sealer in a cartridge tube, this is great stuff when dried, just like rubber and seals everything 100%, much better than silicone. I also apply this to the side of the transom wood that goes against the inside portion of the aluminum and all through bolts on transom. It is messy but worth it for it's sealing abilities.


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## mmf

Well, not much work has been happening with the boat lately, worked my long week last week and now this Monday we had another 10 inches of snow then sleet on top of it so here it is 2 weeks later and the boat interior and everything encased in a hard crust of thick ice and snow and 13 degree temperature tonight.

I did buy the diamond plate for the back deck, but they did not have a scrap piece wide enough to do it in one piece so I bought 3 seperate pieces and cut them as needed. Must make a new wood transom now and with the cold temps, it will take a LONG time for the marine spar varnish to dry between coats, also good news, a guy is coming to buy my Merc 40 tiller motor tomorrow and that will give me the money I need to complete this project. Sunday is suppose to warm to 50 degrees so maybe we will have some good melting going on. Buying transom plywood and a little more diamond plate aluminum will probably be my "project day" for tomorrow, but allows much time for thought! :wink:


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## mmf

Been working on and off when I can due to work schedule, have the transom cut and sealed with marine spar plus all my aluminum transom additions have been cut and drilled. I will have more pictures soon, working on my vehicles has caused delays too but I expect to be finished by late spring (I hope).


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## reedjj

Hey whats going on with this build????

If your still out there I need a favor? what are the measurements of your boat! Beam width and floor width?

I may be getting a good deal on a tracker tx17.


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## mmf

Sorry for the extremely LATE reply, the beam is approx 72" and the floor bottom is 4 ft. 
I have not worked on the project for a good while due to working on outboards, so now it is the end of June and HOT as BLAZES here! Early in the morning and late in the evening is the ticket now. I have installed the new wood transom, sealed it in and re-installed the top cap. I fabricated a new transom cap from aluminum and have also made 2 corner plates to install over the cut weld joints at the rear sides. I will be SS bolting these in both thru the transom and also bolted thru the gunnel, they are made of 3/16" diamond plate and much thicker than the aluminum on the top cap. I still have one old thru hole fitting to seal with a splice plate near the bottom of the boat.
I installed a diamond plate piece on the front top bow deck for reinforcement and removed the original plywood that was under this area. I riveted this in with some high strength aluminum rivets I purchased from McMaster-Carr online, these are completely aluminum and seem very strong.
Here is a few more pics of my SLOW progress I will post some of the corner splice plates and transom cap in a couple of days................


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## mmf

Thought I would post this again, anyone who is doing a build that has the need to replace a rivet should consider these rivets that you can buy from Florida Auto Fastener.com, they sell on ebay or from their site. I use them all the time on aluminum boats. These are Stainless steel rivets with stainless steel kep nuts, have a 10-32 machine thread and you tighten them with a small wrench. A little sealer under the head and they seal really good. I have not had any problems with them after installing 3-4 hundred of them the past few years. You must however be able to get to both sides of the rivet to install. They are 3/8" long with a .430 head diameter and install in a 3/16" drill hole just like regular rivets. Here's a link to their ebay item: https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Che...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
They are priced at $9.99 for 25 of them and they look GREAT!


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## mmf

4th of July weekend, stuck home but will get alot done, 90 degrees and climbing as I write.
Here are the pix of the splice plates and transom cap I fabbed this week. Finally Installed.




















These are the high strength rivets from McMaster-Carr








below, the very front I covered with the 3/16" diamond plate, this makes this area almost a 1/4" thick with the original aluminum below, it had a piece of 3/4" plywood below this but I removed it, don't need it now, it's very sturdy!








Going to start next on the front deck, then the floor, then rear of the boat. I will then turn the boat over to attack the bottom. Will continue to post my progress..........


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## mmf

Really way too hot to do this aluminum work outside in the full sun, after 1 PM this metal gets so hot it will burn you! Suffered and did it anyway, pouring sweat all day. Finally got the front deck all riveted up and fitted. 45 rivets just in the front deck, so I had to order 2 more boxes from McMaster-Carr in Atlanta today.....................













Next, I am installing the main deck floor after I trim the 2 pieces I have to butt joint over one of the floor ribs............










I have decided to go ahead and put back in the original side console for time sake, I think I have enough DP to cover this too.............






Side panels cleaned and I will have to lengthen them too since I removed some of the storage bins....






More metal to cut!




I will post the floor next............


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## fish2keel

wow I love the diamond plate? Was it a local pick up or did you get it online? 

Keep up the work!


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## mmf

I bought this locally at a scrap metal business, he has brand new sheets or when I bought it, he had some cut (sheared) pieces that they sell for $1.25/lb.. The price of aluminum has probably gone up since then because it was February when I last purchased any. Thanks for the reply, I trimmed the main floor pieces yesterday and will probably rivet them in this afternoon after work, weather co-operating, many strong storms lately plus the intense heat, but I see you're in Florida and I know it's cooking there too!


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## mmf

Well, I got the floor cut and riveted in, 50 rivets on this! Today I got up early and started the dreaded job of cleaning off the carpet glue on alot of pieces, next, I started on on one of the side pieces. I started on the most difficult one first that has the recessed controls mounted to it along with the wiring harness. I had to lengthen this piece as well so I cut it out of the new sheet aluminum I have then also used the original panel behind the new one to add a little more stiffness. Finally got everything hooked up and then riveted the panel in place after I made 2 additional anchor plates close to the front deck. I might end up putting one of the storage areas back in that goes in front of the console, can't make up my mind for now, but I am thinking. After I get the other side piece cut and installed I will start working on the bench seat I am making from 1" X 6" composite boards, then start on the rear floor installation. I will post the updated pix in a couple of days. It sure is HOT out there working on this too!


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## Jonboat Jerry

That front deck looks great, what are you cutting the DP with?
Thanks for the tip on the rivets BTW.


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## mmf

I have been cutting it with a fine tooth plywood blade oiled every cut, it cloggs the teeth and you have to pick it out after a cut, but it works. Thanks for the reply!


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## hueydr

Whats your plan foe the DP? As you said it gets real hot real fast! Are you painting?


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## mmf

OK, here's the pix from yesterday's progress, this morning I temp. set the console on so I could get a fix on the alignment of the support aluminum. Looks like I will be buying more rivets AGAIN! Never thought I would use that many................. I still need a 11 ft. steering cable, not the rack style but the coil type, the one on the boat was shot, maybe I can find one cheap on EBay if I get lucky............... I have also decided to put the rod tubes back in the boat, I will purchase new 2" PVC for this and some couplings. The floor and other interior aluminum will be etched and primed a light color when finished have not decided about the hull whether to paint or not, I was thinking about camoing the whole boat but it will get pretty hot with all of the darker greens and black colors in the pattern I like but I could do the lighter color camo.......................


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## hueydr

Thant's gonna be a fine looking machine when it's finished. I'm with you, i'd paint that DP a lighter color as well.


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## mmf

Thank you, hueydr, I'll be glad to finish but I never get in a giant hurry, that's when I goof up.
I am going to make an aluminum switch plate too that will cover over the existing one and the crappy, cheap switches that tracker used


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## reedjj

Really cool.


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## mmf

Thanks reedjj, still alot of work ahead!


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## mmf

Well, nothing done the past 2 days, it has been almost 100 degrees when I get off work and in the full sun where it is. I think I'm gonna move it under a shade tree so I can get something done in the afternoons after work. I was going to do just that awhile back but I started thinking "tree sap and bird crap", don't want either getting in the boat but maybe I can suffer a little... #-o


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## mmf

Got the other side panel cut out fitted and riveted in this evening thanks to a break in the heat, terrible storm yesterday with intense lightning, fried my DSL router and a networking card, just now back on the net. I will post pix tomorrow....


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## mmf

After 100 degree temps, it turns cool a 64 degrees but raining so no work this evening but I managed to take a few shots of the side panel......

this is the original panel now underneath the new one and now longer too






new side skinned over with another panel


























Tomorrow I am going to cut the bottom bench seat composite boards and attach them with stainless screws and nuts from McMaster-Carr. The area underneath the bench seat will be filled with pool noodles to add a bit of floatation. I did not put ANY floatation in the floor area, I want to keep that area completely clear for drainage and I don't want any water soaked mess later down the line. Still have to attach the console after I cut out another piece of DP for the area right in front of it, it will be for storage and have one of the original aluminum hatches mounted on it except it will have a DP cover riveted over the top of the hatch, after that on to putting in the rear floor.


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## fish2keel

What a slick rig! I would love to own this boat! Keep up the good work


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## mmf

THANK YOU fish2keel! been alot of work and more to go..........got some more work done today, finished the bench seat made of composite "wood" imitation. This stuff is $25 a board but has a 50 year warranty and is made of recycled plastic bottles. I like it but it is expensive, I wish my porch deck was made of it but I would hate to see the price! Any way here's the bench seat I made, fastened with 1/4" stainless hardware.......


























Had to drill a couple of access holes thru lower seat back so I could get to the nuts and I also bolted the middle filler panel where the old livewell used to go, I wanted this removable just in case I ever need to get to the underseat area, there will be a larger size hatch door right over top of this area when I am finished so I will be able to get to the bolts and nuts.










temporarily set the rear deck covering over top of the rear deck to get a view of what it might look like overall, although, it will have the large fuel tank battery hatch and the other storage hatch cut out when it is finished along with a seat base........





















Got to back-up next and make the DP for the forward console and attach the console as well, will post as I go!...............


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## fish2keel

That board is nice! I have it on a pier. The stuff is amazing but the price is hard to swallow. 

Whats the info on that seaark in the back ground?


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## mmf

fish2keel said:


> That board is nice! I have it on a pier. The stuff is amazing but the price is hard to swallow.
> 
> Whats the info on that seaark in the back ground?



That is my big fishing boat. I use it mainly for striper and big catfishing. It is 24 ft. long and has a 8 ft. beam. It is powered by a 150 HP Mercury Black Max and has a 9.9 Yamaha kicker motor. I have not modified as of yet but I will put in a floor sometime but it will cost me on that one. I also have thought many times of putting in a pilothouse cabin in it too and increasing the length of the front deck. One of these days in the future I will get to it, but I must sell a thing or two to fund that one, like the 1959 Lone Star I have for sale (beside the Tracker) pix of it here: https://picasaweb.google.com/111968...&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ7Frea--7maBw&feat=directlink


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## mmf

This morning I got my front console storage area cover all cut out and installed except the lid is not finished yet, also had to make and install 2 braces for the decking to attach to on the fron and side. Tracker had their hatch frames mounted over top of the flooring and they would look like crap if I did them that way so I attached the hatch frame from beneath the deck. I am covering the original hatch door with DP but the hinge does not work out correctly so I am going to mount some surface mount stainless hinges on the lid, they will look nice and work much better that the el-cheapo aluminum piano hinge tracker used, now I need to buy some on Ebay, I found them for around $8 a pair. Here is some pics of today's progress..........





















hatch area showing the crappy tracker hinge


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## mmf

Well I have been re-thinking the existing hinge on that lid...I might just try trimming the DP cover to right past the hinge line (I'm being a tight wad now). It might not be too bad after I drill the rivets out to remove that old piece of carpet behind it and re-rivet it back, it will leave a gap at the hinge area but once it is painted it won't be so noticable, besides, it's just a fishing boat anyway, huh? 

thinking also about drilling 3 holes (see arrow on pic) to add three more rod tubes here in an effort to eliminate the extra hole still here too.............


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## mmf

A good friend of mine at work came over this evening and helped hold some screws for me while I crawled in the inside of the boat and installed the nuts on a plate to seal off the lower unused thru-hull fitting hole that was left on the boat. Both of us were pouring sweat as it was 98 degrees and heat index of 105. I'm glad it did not take long to get this done, but I'm glad he helped me because I could not reach around to get it myself like the other one I did before. Now I can start putting the fuel/battery compartment floor back in etc. Bottom left hole on picture is what I covered today, looks just like the other plate on the right you can see.......


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## Jonboat Jerry

Beautiful metal work! Nice tight seams everywhere. I was org looking for a Sea Ark 24
when I stumbled on this 20. It sounds like your plans for it, is where I'm going. Nice work! =D>


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## Derek

looks good. Wish I could have done all aluminum.


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## mmf

Jonboat Jerry said:


> Beautiful metal work! Nice tight seams everywhere. I was org looking for a Sea Ark 24
> when I stumbled on this 20. It sounds like your plans for it, is where I'm going. Nice work! =D>


that is a nice boat you have too! yea, it will cost a pretty penny to do my sea ark when I am able too. I need to get in some much needed fishing time when the weather cools in autumn/fall, I'm not much of a hot weather fisherman inshore but I will hang with the best of them in salt water (my favorite) I always wanted to live at the coast........thanks for the good words and I'm watchin your project!


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## mmf

Derek said:


> looks good. Wish I could have done all aluminum.


thank you Darek. I had to sell a couple of my outboards to finance the aluminum project, otherwise I would still be on the sidelines watching everyone else do theirs. I'm just tired of having to replace wood etc on my regular fishing boats and I'm 60 now and I don't have the energy I did when I was younger but I try. Wood is fine if you have a dry place to keep your boat but I do not at the moment although I would like to buy me a couple of those metal carports to keep my fishing boats under, but just don't have the funds for this now!
Thank you for the reply! 
PS..I think your boat came out great anyway, you did a good job of it!


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## Derek

Thanks, I do have another question, and I might have already missed the answer. Are you putting carpet in this boat? That diamond plate is going to give horrible reflections in the sun, unless toy are trying to tan "where the sun don't shine" up your shorts. In my boat the rear, all aluminum, deck is much hotter under my feet then the wood front deck.


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## mmf

Derek said:


> Thanks, I do have another question, and I might have already missed the answer. Are you putting carpet in this boat? That diamond plate is going to give horrible reflections in the sun, unless toy are trying to tan "where the sun don't shine" up your shorts. In my boat the rear, all aluminum, deck is much hotter under my feet then the wood front deck.


I have not quite decided as of yet, I have been thinking of just painting. Actually, it does not get any hotter than my big Sea Ark, though both of them get so hot right now in the full sun all day that either one will burn you. I do not fish in the hottest part of the year anyway unless I am at the coast. I mainly fish the fall, winter and spring.


----------



## mmf

OK, the weekend and we have had 115 degree heat index with 100 degree temps, miserable from noon on so I got up and went to the boat. 

First I backed up to the console and went to work on mounting it. The original boat had 3/4" plywood on the top and the front edge of the console sat down on the floor at the front of it but since that top thickness has now changed to 3/16" so I found it necessary to remove the plywood mounting brace underneath the console that was glassed in to the console.






Then I installed a piece of aluminum angle underneath the console at the right height for the 3/16" DP, then riveted the angle to the console and installed 10-24 stainless hardware to the bracket and the console support. Next, I riveted the opposite side bracket (aluminum) of the console to the side plate of the boat.






After console was mounted, I needed to seal 5 screw holes where the speedometer and the flasher transducer was mounted since I will not be using these devices, for this I used my stainless steel rivets that are threaded with nuts that I get from Florida Auto Fasteners on Ebay. I seal them with the black PL Adhesive flashing sealer from Lowe's. Messy but this stuff turns into a hard rubber compound that seals excellent. I wait till it has cured then I clean off the excess with a wire brush on a drill.






Next I started re-installing the rear lower floor for the tank and battery compartment, had to do alot of manipulating of the aluminum here to get it to go back in, the upright panel will attach to the seat bracket support when I get it in.











I am going to make me another transducer bracket like this one that is on my Sea Ark boat. It is made from a piece of 3/4" thick aluminum 2 inches wide. I do not want to drill any further holes thru the lower transom.











12 noon now and the metal is hot and I am covered in sweat already so I am getting out until late this evening. This is my sweetheart retriever, Guinaviere. She is my baby and we have had her since she was a puppy. The heat is rough on them too!


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## mmf

This weekend I installed the rear pedastal seat support and fitted it underneath with some of the composite board and bolted it back in with SS bolts and nuts. It originally had plywood on the bottom of that part, also installed the large rear fuel compartment hatch lid and rivited it all back up. Now I must carefully cut out 2 hatch openings out of the rear piece of diamond plate and make 2 lid covers out of the cut out pieces. Pictures will follow but it is raining outside now.


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## Sharpix

Nice job so far! Its a lot of work you have done there!

My history went like this, crossing with a Tx17 like yours:

I have a 12ft topper, great years, but i wanted to upgrade to a serious rig this time. Made an appointment to see a similar tracker, carpeted, 75hp 2 stroke old motor, re-sealed keel, some compartments with mildew, etc.... well, everything was old, as as 1985 boat has.

My father and I ended up putting the cash down for a Lowe Roughneck Side console w/ 60hp 4stroke. The boat its being built, one more month to get it. Im in Mexico. Not many parts available easily to make a rebuild like yours.

Im really glad I had the funds this moment. *Your thread has been so far a great lesson! I might have the knowledge and tools to make a rebuild like this, but not the guts yet to accomplish this like you!  !*


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## mmf

Thanks Sharpix, that Lowe Roughneck is a very nice rugged boat! I am cutting the rear decking now.


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## mmf

OK, been waiting till the sun gets behind the trees in the afternoons after work to do a little, measuring and re-measuring again to make sure I position my cutouts on the rear deck correctly. It is hard to plunge cut too correctly with a powersaw, must go slowly with plenty of oil, stop occasionally and wipe the metal so you can see the scribed line. Got the big hatch cut out and test fitted so I pondered for about an hour making my mind up on which hatche(s) I was going to use and finally decided to use 2 smaller ones instead of the one larger one I had left. These two hatches are in their original location when removed at tearout, minus the shallow bucket they had attached to them, now the storage area will extend to the top of the bottom floor rib and I will be covering the floor with DP too.

*cutout for big hatch*











*Laying out and scribing cut marks for the 2 small hatches*





*smoking it over*















*Test fitting hatch frames, still have to clean up too*










*Measuring cutout positions in relation to the centerline. The boat is not perfectly square so all measurements must be referenced from center, example, at the very rear, the measurements from the gunnel edge to the edge of the big hatch is 1/4" difference in left and right sides, comes from hurried Tracker construction at the factory I suppose.*







Still have a little more measuring to do and hopefully I will get the 2 small hatches cut out tomorrow. [-o<


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## Derek

Looking good. Are you planning to keep that whole area open under the deck, between the small hatches, where the livewell used to be?


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## mmf

Derek said:


> Looking good. Are you planning to keep that whole area open under the deck, between the small hatches, where the livewell used to be?


YES, it will be one large storage area, thanks for the reply. :wink:


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## mmf

Got the hatch openings final laid out and plunge cut this evening, came out much straighter than I thought I would. the DP lids will have to be cut again on one side only to allow for the width of the hinge. Slid on rear for a test fit and it looks good. I will post pics tomorrow when I get more time. Next I need to cut some DP for the storage floor and the major covering of the vessel will be complete.  

:arrow: I still need a 12 ft. Morse or Teleflex steering cable, the rotary style helm box not the rack style so I thought I might ask if anyone has a good used one from a junk boat you want to sell CHEAP, please PM me, or maybe we might horse trade a Mercury outboard part or two, let me know, ( I have the helm ). 

I will probably run out of rivets again,  it will be very close if I don't, so, dig in my shallow wallet again for fasteners! So far I have used about 300 rivets on this build but all will be worth it in the end, I will just be glad to get to fishin' again and even more glad when the weather cools!!!


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## mmf

07/29/2011.. today after work I waited late to get started because it was 100 degrees outside, I started on the task of filing all the edges of the cut pieces, top and bottom and the big hatch lid, still have to file the two small hatch lids, then I measured up and layed out the storage area floor and cut this out and filed the edges, fitted it in and riveted to the floor, it was starting to get dark so I laid the large rear decking piece in place and aligned it with two 3/16" holes I drilled yesterday for positioning. I installed a few rivets on the front edge closest to the bench seat to get it started, by then it was pretty dark and I put everything up until tomorrow. The hatch frames have still not ben fastened to the decking yet nor have the hatch coverings been fitted in. Here are a few pictures made at dusk dark of what it is going to look like, will post more tomorrow or Sunday.



















































   :wink:


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## Jonboat Jerry

Very nice work! It looks really straight. Can't wait to see what you do for the hatches.
The high temperatures are a killer. Even though I have a full size garage under the house
with garage doors on both ends for ventilation, at 9 am the sweat is running off my elbows.
Plenty of beer helps  
Keep the pics coming.


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## mmf

Jonboat Jerry said:


> Very nice work! It looks really straight. Can't wait to see what you do for the hatches.
> The high temperatures are a killer. Even though I have a full size garage under the house
> with garage doors on both ends for ventilation, at 9 am the sweat is running off my elbows.
> Plenty of beer helps
> Keep the pics coming.


Thank you Jonboat Jerry, I know what you mean by the beer helps but if I start that, the the work stops, at least that seems to be MY result. I had to go to my Moms and install a kitchen faucet for her today and it was 105 degrees in Gaffney, SC with a 115 degree heat index, it was only 2 degrees "cooler" at my house right across the state line in NC.

I got a little done on the boat this morning and a little this evening before the skies looked threatning and I picked up and scooted to the house, but it still has not stormed yet as I write. I mainly got some riveting done but still more to do and I need to clean up the two small hatch lids. I got the hole drilled out for the rear pedastal seat bracket and drilled bolt holes to size and installed, then came some rivets. Much too hot outside for this kind of work but I must suffer if I'm gonna be ready when cooler weather gets here.........





















Running out of stainless screws so I had to use a couple of "left overs" that don't quite match the others, oh well! The runny stuff you see on the aluminum hatch is actually sweat. I bet I lost 2 gallons of water outside today, whew!


----------



## mmf

Ran out of rivets today so no more work except trimming hatch covers. Thought I would clear this up on how I am doing the hatches since Johnboat Jerry said that in a reply. I am using the original hatch, re-riveted in its original rivet holes. I intentionally cut the DP so the frame is partially exposed on three sides, this gives a surface area for the DP covering to sit on when I rivet it to the existing hatch. Tracker had the carpet wrapped around the hatch door edge that rests on the hatch frame and raised the door up about 1/4" more than just the metal itself but they still did not do a good job of leveling it. I will correct this later.











Since the hinge takes up approx. 1/4" I will have to trim my cutout pieces by 1/4" plus a small gap to allow it to close and open, the original hinge did not run the full length of the opening and leaves a small gap at each end but I can live with it and the fish won't care, I think!











I am also going to put some kind of rubber or thick cushioning material around the hatch frame where the edge of the original cover comes against it.


----------



## mmf

I got the hatch covers trimmed this evening, still have to file the edges too and once installed I will mark the center of the hole I need to drill for the original Perco hatch handle and re-rivet it in when my rivets arrive. My hatches will not be watertight as you can see but I don't care, I am only using them for storage of tackle boxes and the like, the only thing that might get wet is a life preserver and I take them out when not in use anyway, speaking of which I need to look into the condition of the bilge pump I removed at tearout too. I installed a new nylon thru hull fitting for the bilge hose that's going to be hard to get to now but I will manage. If anyone else ever does a build like this one or similar, I will have bought 400 rivets for this project when the 100 I just ordered arrive. They dissapear fast! Still looking for that steering cable I need badly, maybe I need to visit a boat junkyard but not many around in my area.


----------



## mmf

finally got my rivets in and trying to do a little in the rain, I missed a good cooler day today to work on it but had to go to the main workplace and put my hours in. I am filing and riveting in the 2 small rear hatch lids, also cutting the holes for the Perco latch handles. Rain picked up so I'm on pause till tomorrow with more pictures.


----------



## mmf

*Been busy today doing a variety of things to the boat and the never ending grass cutting!
got the hatch covers riveted to the original hatch and installed all of the handles. *





















I had to raise the angle aluminum stop brackets about a half inch so the edge would bottom out properly and raise the original hatch level.






the 2 small hatches do not open any further than this because the covering hits against itself, the problem is the "diamonds" hit each other at the hinge line at maximum lift, I could correct this if my right angle grinder had not burned up, but I will borrow one later and angle grind the edges good to get the diamonds down where they will not bind so badly, this is OK with me but maybe not for others, I put the hinges back inline with the original rivet holes when I installed them, I did not want the hinge swivel sticking up past the surface to trip on.






Forgot I had these stainless steel vent louvers, they are Hoffman Engineering electrical cabinet louvers. I like them because they are low profile and small in size, alot better than the el-cheapo chrome plated plastic ones Tracker used.






I punched out 2" holes underneath the louvers for the ventilation hose with my hydraulic knock-out punch. These louvers are required in my state if you have a fuel compartment on the vessel. One louver provides positive pressure while underway while the other one provides a vacuum.
















Good news today, I won a teleflex steering system on Ebay tonight, the cable is a little long but I will take up some of the slack underneath the console and underneath the splash well.
Bought some 2" electrical PVC today at Lowes so I can put in my rod tubes in the holes, also bought paint, primer and thinner. I am going with a light gray color Rustoleum which I have had good results with in the past. I etch my aluminum with a mild dilution of phosphoric acid. Paint really sticks good when you use this stuff and my etching is deeper than "self etching" type primer. Zinc chromate must be applied after etching bare aluminum to keep the aluminum from oxidizing (paint will not stick to aluminum oxide but adheres very good to the chromate coating). All aluminum begins to oxidize immediately after cleaning, sanding or etching, and it took me awhile to learn about painting aluminum properly. I am finally getting down towards the *END* of the labor intense portion of the build!


----------



## Anonymous

... I must first stay i'm guilty of not reading the whole thread.

But with that said, are you going to leave the diamond plate exposed? 
Any thoughts on a kiwigrip, safefloor, bedliner type coating? 

I only ask as i'm wondering how it's going to be midday.


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## mmf

That Robbie Guy said:


> ... I must first stay i'm guilty of not reading the whole thread.
> 
> But with that said, are you going to leave the diamond plate exposed?
> Any thoughts on a kiwigrip, safefloor, bedliner type coating?
> 
> I only ask as i'm wondering how it's going to be midday.



I am only looking to paint it, light gray color, easy maintenance and low cost is my aim at the moment as my wallet is empty too with maintaining 3 aluminum boats as well. The heat the metal develops is the same as I said previously, that is, it does not get any hotter than my Sea Ark which is painted flat base green. Yes, they are all hot in the temperatures and intense sun we are having now, but I do not fish this time of year unless in the night. Even when I fish otherwise I am usually on the lake before daybreak and gone by noon....Thanks for the reply Robbie


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## Jonboat Jerry

Outstanding work! I especially liked the louvers and their placement, great idea.
I'll be using an internal tank and was disappointed with the vents that are available, 
so thanks for the idea.


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## mmf

Thanks Johnboat Jerry, your's is a killer build as well and good to hear about the primer. I painted this Monark 1448J jon boat 2 years ago with Rustoleum clean metal primer that I had tinted at Lowe's, no other coating was applied except the primer and my friend that bought it says the paint still looks good...........

_*check out the 1959 model stern light with the Pete plastic spice bottle globe!*_


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## mmf

I'm slow on progress due to storms and intense rain we have been having, also VERY hot and humid when skies are fair. Bought some safety red rustoleum since I have decided to paint the sides of the boat down to the chine line, below that it will be natural aluminum. Punched out 2 holes, bow and stern, for the sockets for the lights and also foamed in some cracks and crevices with canned foam. I took some time trying to decide exactly where I wanted to mount the trolling motor so the hand control would not hit on bow light and also so the prop or the handle does not protrude from the boat.

I am currently working on my front switch panel (modified) and the console switch panel insert I am making. Both will be aluminum. I gotta get the decals off so I can be ready for paint next, then installing steering when it supposedly arrives on Monday. Motor painting will be next after that then extreme checkout of the Evinrude 70 HP. Sometime I've got to get the boat off the trailer so I can paint it too and get it ready, also need 2 fenders......PS....I'm glad _*ranchero50*_ posted his 55 gallon barrel fenders, I think I will make me some from a black 55 gallon barrel and use some unistrut to attach them onto the trailer since I am a tightwad!.........


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## mmf

My paint scheme will be close to this without the decals..........


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## mmf

I have been fitting in the teleflex helm and steering cable in the boat and doing some modification to make it work too. The first negative I found was I stuck the motor end of the cable thru the 3" PVC pipe that has all the wires and shift cables and found that I could not turn the end of the cable to come out the oval shaped opening at the back transom area, turns out the new teleflex cable tip end is longer than the original morse cable and the hard end was still up in the pipe when I needed to turn it soooo....I cut a piece of 1 1/2" pvc pipe about 3 ft. and punched a hole in the back of the fuel compartment wall and strapped it to the side of the compartment wall, then I punched a new hole on the high side of the splash well and attached some grommeting around the hole. This actually worked out good for taking up the extra length slack I had in the too long cable I won on Ebay.

The other negative I found was at the helm, that is, the hole for the morse helm is larger in diameter than the teleflex requires so I will have to make an aluminum plate to cover over the area and redrill it to the proper size. I will post the pictures maybe tomorrow as I did not have the time to get any today!
Now my wife has blown the motor in her car   and I may have to look in to putting in another one which will definately take me away from my project.


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## mmf

OK, getting some of the smaller things done but necessary. We had a big storm roll in last night and everything is wet this morning. First off, got the Teleflex steering all installed and the helm adapter fabricated, drilled and installed. This helm does not have offset bracket that the original had so the steering wheel is more horizontal than the other one.........







The rack protruding below, will be hidden when I get the console switch plate made






Close up of the adapter plate........






This is where the steering cable originally went in except it went in the tube with the wiring...






This is the 2" PVC pipe I added for steering cable to go thru as it goes thru storage compartment.....






The fuel compartment where the steering cable tube terminates supported by the pipe clamp.........






This is where the cable protrudes thru the splash well. Hole edge is covered with stainless/rubber edging.................






Addition of stern/bow light socket...........






Troll motor mount where it will be located, I chose this location so neither the head or the prop will be in harms way................










Removed one side decals and numbers, still have to get of the glue.............










Laying out position of front switch panel I am making...........










Assembly of front switch panel














Adding support/water deflector to underside, this will strengthen the panel in case it gets stepped on and deflect any water away from the switches when it is mounted...........






All riveted up ready to install, will drill switches, light, troll motor receptacle later..........






This is the installed position, I drilled the metal and tapped for 10-32 stainless button head screws......














Next to last is the console switch plate then installing of rod tubes. Getting to the end is in sight!!!


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## mmf

Sent off boat registration about 2 weeks ago and started worrying whether the NC Wildlife had received it or not, so I called. They lost a bunch of info on a bad hard drive their on the system and the supervisor there told me something had been sent to me but could not tell me WHAT it was. The registration and year sticker came in the mail yesterday but I did not receive the title yet. I am glad to get it so not to hold up my fall fishing (I think), if I can just get finished. Looking for a used vehicle for my wife is taking up my time at the moment so I hope to get back soon on it!


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## Zum

Nice work for sure.
It's going to look great when your finished.


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## cooter brown

That switch panel up front looks great! Will you make me one? :lol:


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## mmf

cooter brown said:


> That switch panel up front looks great! Will you make me one? :lol:


thank you cooter brown, I wish I could but I used the last piece of it for a console dash/switchplate. I was even a little shy to make it go where I wanted it to go but used it anyway, the fish won't care. I cut the angle on the switchplate with a hacksaw then filed it, I don't have a shopfull of good metal working equipment and have to improvise sometimes. The original bow switchplate was a little too flimsy for me. 

Today, I have been installing my fuseblock and console wiring, then I cleaned and painted the 70 HP Evinrude motor except for the powerhead cover, it is fiberglass and has alot of decals I must remove and then sand. The hurricane wind blew all day today making working in the sun more tolerable but not good spray-painting conditions outside but I did it anyway. Glad Irene did'nt come any further inland than it did!


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## Brine

Looking good MMF =D>


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## mmf

Thanks Brine, I really like the way your Brine Craft turned out too! I especially like your paint scheme and the white interior!


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## mmf

Here's the console switch panel I made. I don't particularly like it but it was the only piece of the 1/8" plain aluminum I had left, but it's mainly for rigidity to strengthen the thin fiberglass in this area.






I mounted 3 switches and ordered silicone boots for them from Allied Electronics to keep the water out and prevent rusting and corrosion. One switch will be for the lights, one for the bilge pump, one for the horn. May put more in later if the need arises.






Here is the original fuse block reinstalled in it's final position, I would have upgraded this but I'm being a tightwad now. I can upgrade later if I need to.






DO NOT buy the NEW Rustoleum paint with the "new improved" high output tip. I have used the regular cans of this with GREAT results, but this is the first time I had bought the new style cans. The problem I found is TOO MUCH PAINT is expelled at a time and it's very hard to control and you will get runs easily! I will NOT buy any more of the new style cans!






Painted 1990 Evinrude 70 HP motor yesterday, got a couple of runs with the "improved" tip on the can, but I will get over it, they are not that noticable. Also, the paint dried too quickly which reduces the glossiness of the paint, thanks to Irene hurricane winds.....


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## Jonboat Jerry

Thanks for the heads up on the HO spray tip! I won't use that! 
On the console switch panel, If you have a small cup type wire brush, you could put a
Spun Polished swirl pattern on it with a hand drill to spiff it up.


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## mmf

Thanks for the idea Jerry!


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## hsiftac

mmf, what did you do to prep your motor for paint?


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## mmf

hsiftac said:


> mmf, what did you do to prep your motor for paint?



Hello, hsiftsc! I usually begin by throughly degreasing the engine and letting it dry for a day in the sun. Next I rough all surfaces up with some medium grade paper then, fine. Chipped areas get feather sanded and if I go thru primer then I touch it up with more. I try NOT to sand thru any primer unless I have to. Once the surface is satisfactory, I blow it off good with my air compressor then wipe it down with paint thinner and tape next. On this motor, it has a fiberglass hood and the top of is chipped pretty good from tennis ball size hail we had in the spring, I did sand this down to the glass and I will shoot it with several coats of HIGH BUILD primer before I paint it. I ran out of paint so the hood is not painted yet. After the motor is painted, I let the sun bake the paint for a couple of days before I touch it. I have been buying some NICE stickers from a guy on EBay username "garzonstudio" if want to look at them, he will make about anything you want him to if you email him thru EBay. :wink:


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## mmf

Won this nice set of Evinrude decals today on EBay from "garzonstudio" for $16.17!
I think they look nice.


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## Jonboat Jerry

mmf said:


> Won this nice set of Evinrude decals today on EBay from "garzonstudio" for $16.17!
> I think they look nice.



NICE SCORE!!!!!!


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## mmf

Decided to go ahead and mount the motor and might run it a little before I paint it. Only 2 bolts holding it on for the moment until I get some more sealer at Lowe's.......






before






after







My buddy that had this tracker said the motor ran well except for a little glitch, he said after running a couple of hours the motor would quit on you, then when it cooled down a little it would start right back up again, so I suspect a bad coil, sure enough, I did a resistance check on the three coils and one coil has a high resistance and is probably the one quitting. I will check the motor over good later.







I thought I would 2-tone the motor with a dark blue cowling so I bought what I thought was going to be dark blue Duplicolor engine paint at Advance Auto. The can top was really dark but when the paint came out, it was'nt, I DO NOT like the color or the look of it but I can always go back and do it again later. The fiberglass was pretty beat up too by the hail with chips all over. I am not an OMC man anyway, I do Mercury's, this one just came with the boat.......


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## mmf

Most of you don't know but I am a marine mechanic. As a younger man in the late 60's, I was an Electrical engineering student in college by day and a marine mechanic in the afternoon. The marine dealer I worked for was a Mercury dealer (although we had to work on all brands) and I learned much from the other mechanics there while I was working. Later in the 70's, I started working on Mercurys at my home and have continued through the years. I have not been doing much service work lately due to working on many projects but I will pick this back up after I retire from my current work place. I served as an electrical engineer for a company for many years until economic times forced them to close, now I have had to return to my tool belt as an older man and be an electrical technician at my current workplace.

I mainly now restore the '70's model Mercurys and buy, swap, sell and trade alot of outboard motors.


----------



## mmf

Well, I got my Evinrude decals in the mail today and put them on the top cowling and they look pretty good to me. As I said before I did not like the color of the top cowling so I went to wally world and found some Krylon with a DARK blue cap and a satin finish, took it home a sprayed a little and behold, the same color as the the "Dark Blue Ford" duplicolor paint! Maybe I need to buy black and it will be DARK blue.....oh well, spayed it anyway to get the satin finish instead of the gloss finish. I will post pictures tomorrow because my camera batteries need charging.

Got the motor mounting bolts all put in and sealed, also removed the port side "Tracker" vinyl stickers about a 2 1/2 hour job. Next I jacked up the whole rear of the boat with my 2 engine lifts and pulled the trailer out from under the boat to start working on it. I bought a cheap seat for the helm and a new trailer jack from wally world and forgot to get a new winch. Disassembled trailer and scraped old paint and steel brushed the rest of the day. Got to get some 2 X 4 X 10's, bunk carpet and new trailer wheel bearings and seals. I am glad I saved the two new 13" tires and galvanized rims I have from last year too!
More later..................


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## mmf

OK, got some more pix as promised, here is the boat jacked up and the trailer removed......






Final removal of the Tracker decals, they were not too hard to get off until I reached the stern portion of the boat where the picture of the bass was, in this area the decal was very stubborn to remove and thinner than the other portion, I had to take a heat gun and scrape with a razor a little at a time but finally got it. I gonna try paint remover to get the glue off as it is dried on pretty hard!






Here are the decals I won on an auction from ebay, thank you garzon studio! The hood now has a satin finish instead of the gloss, I like it better though I wanted dark blue, what do you think?











Below, the trailer stripped except for temporary wheels, getting ready for the Jasco .......






I use Jasco regularly on any steel repair and for etching aluminum. It is GREAT stuff in my book and always gives me good results on any rusty surfaces..........






Scored a good deal for a replacement vehicle for my wife so that saved me delaying my boat progress!






Weather man says we are suppose to get 5-10 inches of rain tomorrow and rain all day Tuesday as well so looks like more weather delays, you guys that have an indoor workplace are lucky!!!
More later!


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## mmf

Forgot, I went by Lowes today and bought wood for the trailer bunks, new carpet to cover them with, new galvanized lag bolts and washers for attachment some rustoleum aluminum paint for misc. painting, a pack of 4 inch professional foam paint rollers, a new heavy duty staple gun, staples and a new Reece winch w/strap and hook.

Trailer bearings feel good but I will have to put in 2 new grease seals and repack the bearings. Once I get the trailer painted etc. I will reload the boat and then begin the motor checkout. I know water pump impeller will be the first task since the motor sat for 10 years without running, then carb kits.


----------



## jasper60103

mmf, great job on the motor. Not factory of course, but it still looks sweet! 
Actually, better than factory! =D>


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## Jonboat Jerry

jasper60103 said:


> mmf, great job on the motor. Not factory of course, but it still looks sweet!
> Actually, better than factory! =D>


X2 Motor looks great! Where did you get the Jasco, I've got to do something with all this D.P. It's blinding.


----------



## mmf

Jonboat Jerry said:


> jasper60103 said:
> 
> 
> 
> mmf, great job on the motor. Not factory of course, but it still looks sweet!
> Actually, better than factory! =D>
> 
> 
> 
> X2 Motor looks great! Where did you get the Jasco, I've got to do something with all this D.P. It's blinding.
Click to expand...


Hey Jerry, I usually buy mine at Lowes, I think it is about $7.XX for a 20 oz bottle, I think. Can't wait to see you flooring either!


----------



## mmf

jasper60103 said:


> mmf, great job on the motor. Not factory of course, but it still looks sweet!
> Actually, better than factory! =D>



Thanks Jasper, Like I said, I am not an OMC person, I like old Mercury's, I just happened to get this motor with the boat and it has tilt and trim which is a big asset to me. I like experimenting sometimes with different looks etc, some to my liking and some not. The main objective I had on this motor was to just get some paint on it, yeah the look is so-so but I won't care because I will be watchin' my line!
Thank you for the reply!


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## mmf

Well it's raining outside and now the forcast has changed our expected rainfall to 2-4" so that is a relief even though flash flood warnings are still issued for the area. I think I am going to go to the parts house and see if I can find some suitable wiring loom to replace some of the dried up and stiff wire loom on the motor at the moment. 8)


----------



## mmf

Monsoons have set in here all day but I have refused to quit. Went to Tractor Supply to buy fenders for the trailer, they only had one in stock of the fender I needed in Shelby, NC so I had to drive to the Gaffney, SC store to get the other one, such as things are on Labor Day since alot of businesses are closed. I usually buy most trailer needs from Redneck Trailer Supply in Lincolnton, NC as they have ANY thing you need. Got some wiring split loom from Advance while I was there too. 

I did manage to get the 2 long trailer bunk bolsters covered and stapled in between the dark clouds dumping on me and I am soaking wet as well. My brother called to warn me of a tornado warning so I came in for a spell to check the forum. I need to start painting the trailer but that will have to wait for drier days............. :roll:


----------



## mmf

Took an extra day off from work on Labor Day, was going to fish but weather turned for the worse so decided to not waste a day of potential progress. The weather man missed the forcast for today, he said bad storms this evening but skies cleared, wind picked up and turned much cooler! Thank you God!







Looks like we are going to have an early fall, the leaves are already coming down out here in the forest...











Working on trailer all day today so I can get it all prepped for painting this week......






Rustoleum rusty metal primer after Jasco dust was brushed off.......


























Bolster bunks all made and covered, still have to do the guide on bunks






Made 4 fender brackets today at the welding shop up the road, the owner, Randy Sheppard is nice enough to let me use his equipment etc. so I am blessed with this scenereo.....
Brackets primed with rusty metal primer then coated with cold galvanizing compound.
















The brackets are made of 1/2" x 1 1/2" steel, I wanted something that would not bend in case someone stepped on my fenders, I do not do this as a habit but I know many that seek a place to put their 12EEE's instead of the trailer frame!






Hoping to get the trailer painted this week in the afternoons when I get off from work........


----------



## Jonboat Jerry

Trailer parts are looking clean and shiney. PM sent


----------



## mmf

Got the trailer painted this evening amidst my better half hollering 'honey-do's" at me with the paint brush and roller in my hand! Don't you just love them? :roll: 

Anyway, was too late for pix so I will start trailer re-assembly next and snap a few then, still got to cut and cover the guide on bunks too......


----------



## Derek

I like the fender brackets. You think its going to be strong enough to stand on with just one bolt to the trailer on each side?


----------



## mmf

Hey Darek and thanks for the reply, yes only one bolt each side of the fender, grade 5, 1/2" bolt, got them mounted today and you are right, you can stand on them, very rigid! The fenders are strong too as they are 14 ga..


----------



## mmf

Started putting trailer back together yesteday evening after work. Installed fenders, coupler, winch stand, winch, trailer jack, will need to touch up paint where axle was sitting on jack stands etc. I got some paint in the hub threads so I will have to borrow a tap from work and chase the threads before I install the rims and tires. Pictures will come this evening.


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## Derek

good to know. I have what look to be the same fenders from tractor supply. Ill probably do something similar for mounting when I go through and rebuild my trailer


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> good to know. I have what look to be the same fenders from tractor supply. Ill probably do something similar for mounting when I go through and rebuild my trailer



Darek, these fenders did come from Tractor Supply and are galvanized.

Been doing a little more work this evening on trailer, I am going to re-galvanize the wheels too. Got the 1/2" fine thread tap from workplace today and chased all the lug bolt holes.........






BEFORE........






AFTER...........











New Bridgestone 13 inch tires..................






I will make the guide on bunks tomorrow........





















still got to get a new bow roller at wally world........


----------



## cooter brown

Wow, nice work. That trailer looks awesome! 

Eric


----------



## mmf

cooter brown said:


> Wow, nice work. That trailer looks awesome!
> 
> Eric



Thanks Erik, I painted the hard to get to places with a brush then I rolled the rest of the trailer, glad to finish this part. Thanks for the reply!


----------



## Jonboat Jerry

cooter brown said:


> Wow, nice work. That trailer looks awesome!
> 
> Eric


X2 Mike! As always, looks brand new! =D> 
Jerry


----------



## mmf

Thanks Jerry, I finished the trailer yesterday except for the wiring and tag holder, I might make 2 PVC pipes to raise the lights higher, still figuring on this. I got my son Matthew to crawl under the boat yesterday and scrub it down with a scotchbrite pad though there is minimal build-up of any deposits on the hull I wanted to get it done. 

I am going to acid wash (phosporous acid) the sides of the boat hopefully today and try to get the remnants of the sticker glue off today as well. Painting will wait as I want to get the motor up and running and do a little fishing, I can paint anytime.


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## mmf

I am on pause because my mother who is 90 years old is in the hopital.


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## thatkidhugo

Nice boat man


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## mmf

thatkidhugo said:


> Nice boat man



Thanks, Hugo

I did manage to finish acid washing the boat, so I need to get the glue off from the stickers so I can move on. After I get the glue off, the boat will go back on the trailer and motor checkout will begin.


----------



## Derek

Your trailer looks great. Have you checked to make sure the jack and winch handles don't hit? Mine barely clears and it looks farther away then yours.


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## mmf

Derek said:


> Your trailer looks great. Have you checked to make sure the jack and winch handles don't hit? Mine barely clears and it looks farther away then yours.



Thanks Darek, no the winch and jack handles are OK, at only one point are they close, but think about it, you really won't jack up the trailer until boat is loaded and back in it's parking place at home (at least in my case) so the jack will be folded out of the way of the winch when loading the boat, even if it did hit, it would be easy to move the winch handle where you needed it on land. Thanks for the reply!


----------



## spotco2

Everything is looking great so far! 

That trailer turned out nice. What kind of paint did you use with a roller that came out that nice? I thought it was sprayed.




mmf said:


> I am on pause because my mother who is 90 years old is in the hopital.



Prayers that everything is ok with your mom. 

Mine is also in the hospital and just had triple bypass a couple of days ago. They wanted to do more bypasses but couldn't.


----------



## mmf

Thanks for the reply spotco, I hope your mom gets well soon, they found a bleeding ulcer in my mom's stomach and it will be treated and hopefully she will be back home tomorrow.

About the trailer paint, I used rustoleum out of the can mixed with a little mineral spirits and applied the paint with a "professional" 4 inch foam roller from Lowe's. I have painted a car with the foam rollers before and it looked like it was sprayed. On a car, you thin the paint to the thickness of milk and paint then sand then paint then sand etc., usually putting on about 7 coats of paint. There are alot of videos on doing this on youtube if you search for it.
Thanks for the compliments!


----------



## Derek

mmf said:


> Thanks Darek, no the winch and jack handles are OK, at only one point are they close, but think about it, you really won't jack up the trailer until boat is loaded and back in it's parking place at home (at least in my case) so the jack will be folded out of the way of the winch when loading the boat, even if it did hit, it would be easy to move the winch handle where you needed it on land. Thanks for the reply!



Mine would hit when folding the jack up or down, not in cranking it. I have since moved it far enough away to just barely clear.
Good luck to your mother


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## mmf

Well Mom is back home now and doing better! Thank God for that!
Today I have been removing Tracker decal glue on both side of the boat. This is the most stubborn stuff I have ever seen! I had to use paint remover to loosen it and still had to take the razor to it, I suppose being on the boat from the factory plus 21 years old has a lot todo with it. After the paint remover I have been scotch-brightening and the brillo pad scrubbing on the sides. I will post pix soon..............


----------



## Derek

what paint remover are you using? I plan to repaint mine at some point so it would be good to know. Did you use a heat gun to peal the stickers off? I was thinking the heat would help loosen the glue.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> what paint remover are you using? I plan to repaint mine at some point so it would be good to know. Did you use a heat gun to peal the stickers off? I was thinking the heat would help loosen the glue.



Darek, I have a digital controlled heat gun that will get 1800 degrees. I set it for 1100 degrees when I was trying to remove the Tracker decals and I still had a VERY hard time removing them but they had been on the hull for 21 years! I would have thought that they would have just shriveled up when exposed to heat that intense but that was not the case, they just stretched when pulling them and then break, I had to scrape most of it off with a razor blade and it was a SLOW go too. It took me several hours for each side!

I used "Stripeeze" brand paint remover on the remaining glue and in some places the glue still adhered stubbornly and I had to scrub hard with a scotchbrite pad filled with cutting compound. I finally got it all off and scrubbed it with "brillo pads" as a final finish. I will post some pix's tomorrow.


----------



## mmf

Been up all night at the emergency room, my son rolled his truck avoiding a deer. Many stitches and staples later we have him back at home, he is lucky he was not killed.












Well, I managed to get the sides all cleaned up this week and I am getting ready to work on the motor. Still have to put on the great registration numbers I won on Tinboats from the "ugliest boat numbers" contest. Here's some pic's of the cleaned up boat.......


----------



## Jonboat Jerry

Wow Mike, he is sooooo lucky. This could have easily been much worse and I know he is
very sore. Sometimes our children innocently put us through absolute hell, know you are relieved.
Jerry


----------



## fish2keel

mmf,

Wow best wishes to your son! I saw the pictures and just was in shock! He's so lucky to be alive and it not have been worse! Hope he gets better soon! 

Btw beautiful boat! One of my favorite boats on the site in my opinion! I love how clean your boat is! Ill keep watching closely! 

f2k


----------



## albright1695

MMF,glad your son is ok,that was a bad rollover. The boat is looking sweet! =D> =D> Top notch work! Looks great! I will continue to follow your build.


----------



## mmf

My thanks to everyone for the kind words about my son Matthew, he will get better. He is sad because now he has no vehicle to drive plus lost his job but at least he still lives at home and has my wife and myself to take care of him. I know God was watching over him Friday night when this happened so thank you Lord!

Made 2 tail light/license plate brackets today and attached them to trailer, I will make some flat plates for the lights and license plate to attach to. The brackets are made from 12 ga. hot dipped galvanized unistrut as well as the fittings. The fittings and rubber end caps came from McMaster-Carr in Atlanta, Ga. but the unistrut I have had left over for years from an electrical installation, I knew I would find a use for them someday!  Pics will follow shortly...........


----------



## mmf

Pictures of trailer light bracket and license mount, I forgot to say that I also sprayed them with rustoleum cold galvanizing compound as well..........


----------



## albright1695

Light brackets look great. As usual ,very professional looking. Nice!


----------



## jonmac3569

Boat looks great! nice work


----------



## mmf

Thanks jonmac, you did a good job on your boat too! I don't know about you but I'm ready to quit working and start fishin'!


----------



## mmf

albright1695 said:


> Light brackets look great. As usual ,very professional looking. Nice!



Thanks albrite, I will make some flat plates this week for the lights and tag, then I need to get the trailer wired. Moving on to the motor next, then finish wiring the boat. I need to get another RPM guage and mount depthfinder/bracket too.


----------



## knotslippin

Looking good. I think I found my boats half brother. Now get done so you can fish already.


----------



## mmf

I believe you did, knotslippin, thanks for the reply! I liked you build too and you are in a great place to fish!

I started working on the motor today, got the wiring hooked back in to the motor and the cables then I moved to checking the (3) ignition coils. #3, tower to ground=256 ohms, #2, tower to ground=254 ohms and #1, tower to ground=5 megohms. The coil should read approx. 250-270 ohms on a good coil on this OMC engine so I ordered a new coil for #1 cylinder and an impeller why I was at it.

Think I will make my tag and light plates for the trailer why I wait for parts to come.


----------



## mmf

This video makes me want to NOT paint the diamondplate aluminum. This guy fishes year round for big cats and has a NICE aluminum boat, all natural aluminum. Watch him catch this monster 88 lb. blue cat in this boat........ :wink: 

https://video.fishingclub.com/video...67K1K77HN8PJC&t=88 LB MONSTER CATFISH ON FILM


----------



## mmf

Got my tailight plates and tag plate cut out this evening, almost drilled all of the holes but my battery on the drill needed charging. I will post some pix tomorrow. I received my coil and impeller today as well.


----------



## mmf

Got the trailer light plates and tag plate finished and mounted, I have got to pull in the new wiring harness for the lights. Started working on the motor after this, got all the coils back on and then I needed to put on new spark plug wire. Put my battery in the boat and hooked up cables and checked for fire but none, checked harness coming from controls and found lanyard switch was bad so I have ordered another one from ebay. Hooked up gas and primed and one carb was flooding (stuck float). Cleaned out the main jets and then fired off the motor. Ran the motor on and off most of the evening and it ran pretty good, I know I will have to do some finess tuning a little later. Ordered carb to air baffle gasket and a air baffle cover gasket from boats.net, also a strainer for the water intake.
Below are the pictures of my fabbed up plates.........


----------



## mmf

Here is a short video of the Evinrude running yesterday...........

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fCJegoz6mC9PQ6jAJKu6bNf3DlpaLnCYBlsjLwWfHQ0?feat=directlink


----------



## jasper60103

Sounds good and pumping water.


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## mmf

jasper60103 said:


> Sounds good and pumping water.



Thank you jasper, like I said before I am NOT a fan of OMC motors since I am an "old" Mercury mechanic, but when I worked at the marine dealership I worked for we had to work on all of them if the owner knew the guys that needed service which were, Mercury, OMC's and Chryslers as well. I am very fond of the early 70's models of Mercury's since those years were the ones I learned my part time (now) trade on. I have not owned a Johnson or Evinrude for many years and I have not kept up with their technical updates so I am behind on them too.

Today I ran the motor rich in oil and added a large dose of Sea-foam to the tank to clear the fuel passages good and get rid of the old built up carbon deposits in the exaust areas and under the piston rings. Sea-foam is good stuff and great additive for any marine application.

The old VRO pump which was disconnected on the oiling side also incorporated the fuel pump on my engine and it needs a diaphram in it badly. It will not keep up with the fuel demand at higher RPM's and it is flooding the crankcase with raw fuel. I can tell this by the amount of smoke from the exaust. It probably has a few pinholes or a crack in the rubber but this can be expected from a motor that stood for nearly 10 years! I have ordered a regular fuel pump for an older model motor that I will put on this engine and remove the VRO pump entirely as soon as it gets here. I NEVER trust an oil injection system from ANY manufacturer, I disconnect or remove them all on my motors. Outboard engines cost entirely too much to depend on electronic alarms etc. to let you know you have a problem and alot of the problems that could exist you will not get any indications of before it's too late and the damage done.

Well I suppose I said my big mouth full for the moment, so I am awaiting a few more parts to come!


----------



## Brine

Had to go back a few pages to get caught up. Great work =D> 

I hope Mathew is healing up good too. That is a scary pic of the truck for sure. 

I didn't get to watch the vid, but what was your concern with painting the diamond plate?


----------



## mmf

Brine said:


> Had to go back a few pages to get caught up. Great work =D>
> 
> I hope Mathew is healing up good too. That is a scary pic of the truck for sure.
> 
> I didn't get to watch the vid, but what was your concern with painting the diamond plate?



Thanks for the reply Brine, Matt is healing good, I take him today to get his stitches and staples out, stitches won't be bad but he will not like it removing staples.

I had a lot of replies wanting to know if I was going to rhino line the DP or coat it with something, yes it gets very hot in July, but I don't fish then unless at night. The guy in the video has a NICE deep-vee aluminum boat with a natural finish aluminum DP floor, no coating or paint. PS....that is a nice cat that guy catches in the video!


----------



## Popper

MMF,

I purchased an '88 tracker tx-17 last wednesday, and had NO IDEA what I was getting into, and now, thanks to your thread here, I have her gutted, and I'm about to go ahead and tackle my "DUST" transom. Could you possibly throw up some pictures of the locations you cut? Also, what did you use to replace the transom? I'm working in a storage lots parking stall, and have VERY limited access to tools, and the motor is on the boat, and I have no motor stand or hoist. I know you know a thing or two about motors, would it hurt my '88 merc 70 2 stroke if I layed it down inside the boat while I tackled the transom?


Your boat looks stellar. Have you noticed any weakness or give in the transom without the welded caps? or are the riveted angle brackets you made up solid enough?


thanks a bunch, great bunch of guys on this forum.


Jon


----------



## mmf

Popper said:


> MMF,
> 
> I purchased an '88 tracker tx-17 last wednesday, and had NO IDEA what I was getting into, and now, thanks to your thread here, I have her gutted, and I'm about to go ahead and tackle my "DUST" transom. Could you possibly throw up some pictures of the locations you cut? Also, what did you use to replace the transom? I'm working in a storage lots parking stall, and have VERY limited access to tools, and the motor is on the boat, and I have no motor stand or hoist. I know you know a thing or two about motors, would it hurt my '88 merc 70 2 stroke if I layed it down inside the boat while I tackled the transom?
> 
> 
> Your boat looks stellar. Have you noticed any weakness or give in the transom without the welded caps? or are the riveted angle brackets you made up solid enough?
> 
> 
> thanks a bunch, great bunch of guys on this forum.
> 
> 
> Jon



Thanks for the reply popper! You will need a right angle grinder with an aluminum oxide cutting wheel and cut the rear side right in the middle of the weld joints. On the very rear of the transom, cut the aluminum just to the inside of the aluminum, mark off a straight line so you can keep it straight as possible. 
About the strength of the right angle brackets, they are very stong and my whole transom area is solid as a rock! I used HIGH STRENGTH rivets on the flooring and transom area, they are available from McMaster-Carr in Atlanta, Ga., I showed the box in an earlier post.
I made my transom from 2-5/8" pieces of A/B exterior grade plywood coated with about 10 coats of marine spar varnish. The original inside transom aluminum on my tracker was pitted where the wood was against it so I etched it and coated the pits with marine epoxy, after it dried, I coated the area with the PL Adhesive (shown earlier) and added a piece of 1/16" aluminum to cover the rear (original) aluminum when I was putting in the wood. I also threw away the "decorative" 1/32" piece of aluminum on the inside portion of the transom and replaced it with a piece of 1/8" aluminum, this made up the difference from the original wood thickness, since tracker used 1 piece of 3/4" and 1 piece of 5/8" ply for the wood portion. My actual thickness ended up being 1/16" thicker than the original construction but much, much stronger.





















I ALSO ADDED A PIECE OF 1/4" DIAMOND PLATE TO THE OUTSIDE OF THE TRANSOM AS WELL


----------



## Jonboat Jerry

Great work on the transom Mike, everything nice and straight.
It looks like you will be in the water very soon.


----------



## Popper

Wow Great reply. Thanks again. I'm thinking I can get the grinder from work, and get this atleast disassembled this weekend.


Thanks again,

Very informative.

Jon


----------



## mmf

Popper said:


> Wow Great reply. Thanks again. I'm thinking I can get the grinder from work, and get this atleast disassembled this weekend.
> 
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Very informative.
> 
> Jon



Thanks Popper, I forgot to address your motor situation. You did not say whether the boat will be exposed to the elements but your motor will do fine laid on it's side. If water from mother nature can get to the boat, I would MAKE sure that the prop is pointing "downhill" so water will not work it's way into the cylinders which would be BAD news! I have had it happen before on motors sitting outside. 
I would not lay the motor inside the boat mainly because you will have to get to the area where it is laying, to repair the floor. You can make a simple motor stand easy from 2 X 4 lumber to holdyour motor until the transom is fixed. You have alot of timeconsuming work ahead, but do not get overwhelmed, it just takes time!

It's a good thing that you decided to take the plunge and repair your transom, I have seen many tinboaters go all out on their rebuilds and completely ignore the transom, the MOST important part of the boat! All motor torque is transferred to the hull with the transom, weakness here, can spell disaster for the operator and the vessel when taking on big wakes on the river or lake, myself, I will NOT take that risk! #-o 
GoodLuck! :!:


----------



## BearwoodBoats

Hey there Nice Boat, Sweet lookin craft, Big differance from the old one... 
Sorry about your son ( Those Damn Deers )....
How did you oxidize your Alum???


----------



## mmf

Jonboat Jerry said:


> Great work on the transom Mike, everything nice and straight.
> It looks like you will be in the water very soon.



Thanks Jerry, I'm glad that part is behind me now!

Today I completely removed the VRO2 pump from the motor. I saved the bracket that held it to the intake portion of the motor and bent a 45 degree angle on it right past where it bolts up.Next, I cut a small flat plate from 1/8" aluminum to shape and using the original screws, bolted it to the bracket. I mounted a "NOS" older OMC fuel pump with the external pulse fitting (does not bolt to block pulse port) and connected new fuel lines, pulse line to the motor. I also installed new carb to air baffle gasket and new baffle cover gasket so I will be ready to try it tomorrow. I will post my results tomorrow. 
PS........good luck to ANYONE tackling these Tracker type boats!


----------



## mmf

Fuel pump conversion worked good and no leaks! Ran motor a few hours Friday and Sat. morning and satified for the moment with the way it is running. As you may recall, I replaced one of the ignition coils but since I won a lot of 11 ignition coils on ebay, I will be replacing the other original coils too. Pulled trailer light wires in the trailer tubing/frame and I will be wiring up the lights. I've got to get back on the boat wiring and I will be ready to hit the water. Weather has turned very cool here since yesterday, tonight will be in the 40's here so the weatherman says and frost in the mountains 1 hour away. More soon........


----------



## mmf

Amidst alot of other things going on at the moment, I am working on front switch panel switches, wiring and troll motor receptacle. I found a Hubbell HD receptacle, plug and waterproof aluminum cover to use for my troll motor out in my building stash I had squirrelled away. I got my boat registration numbers put on too and the trailer lights all wired. Will post updated pix soon........


----------



## Derek

What are you putting up there for switches. My boat didn't have the plate, there was just a hole. I just covered over the hole for now.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> What are you putting up there for switches. My boat didn't have the plate, there was just a hole. I just covered over the hole for now.



Hey Darek, thanks for the reply. I am putting for the moment only, a "up" switch and a "down" switch for the tilt. I did add a spare switch if I want to later put in a light like the original panel had in it. I used McGill heavy duty 20 ampere switches and put silicon weather proof boot covers on the bat handles that I ordered from Allied Electronics, they will keep the water from creeping inside the switches via the bat (toggle) handle ball joints.
Been wiring them up today and forgot I had the battery still connected and blew the fuse on the wiring harness at the outboard when I touched the (+) 12 VDC terminal to the diamond plate....whoops! #-o


----------



## Derek

Good place for a trim switch. I don't have trim on my motor so I don't have that need. I tucked the switches on my dash up under the windshield, but I like the idea of those rubber boots. I'll have to look for some.


----------



## mmf

Got a good bit done to the boat today, got a little fustrated at one point on the wiring. I reused the original fuse block assembly which "looked" good, wired up my console switches and sorted out unused wiring then went to the battery compartment and cut off the fuse block to battery terminals and fuse. I replaced the main fuse with an automatic circuit breaker and crimped on new terminals to positive and negative, then I went to fuse block with my meter and found zero volts on the buss. I traced it back to the original tracker multiwire connector and found the pin for the 12 volt main line was broke off in the female connector so I butt spliced the wire to the buss. Tried the running light switch and NO lights, so I went to the fuse for this circuit and found highly oxydized fuse clips. I sanded them with no good results so I finally made the decision to rip out the old fuse block. I had some DIN rail and some Siemens circuit breakers of the proper amperage in my building so I installed all of this and re-terminated all of the wires. Finally I have voltage where it is supposed to be! Oh well, so much for trying to re-use old crap. Forgot to say I installed an under console horn as well.

Got my drivers seat base drilled and installed too, then riveted the BIA plate on the inside wall of the boat and installed the HIN plate on the rear of the transom.

I still need to make a new bilge pump MTG bracket and wire it up and I will add interior lights, fuel compartment lights and switches. Daylight is getting shorter and soon they will change the time and make the daylight even shorter! Still alot of little ends to tie-up before I can say "let's go fishing".......


----------



## mmf

Got my bildge pump bracket made and the pump wired in, so now I am making a transducer mounting bracket like the one on my Sea Ark. I have a little Hummingbird 586C color depthfinder I got in a trade for some outboard parts I will be installing. Getting ready to rain here for a couple of days so I will wait on clear skies.


----------



## Derek

Wiring is fun, especially when someone else hacked it apart first. I ripped all of mine out and started over. I'm curious to see how yours came out.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> Wiring is fun, especially when someone else hacked it apart first. I ripped all of mine out and started over. I'm curious to see how yours came out.


Hey Darek, the original wires were still in good shape, though I re-terminated all of them, did do a couple of butt splices on low current draws. I will still probably pull in 2 extra #10 MTW wires when I pull my transducer wire thru the 3" PVC pipe to the battery for spares. The biggest draw I have is the troll motor and it is on separate (+) (-) #10 ga. original wires. The smaller troll motor I am going to use does not draw boo-koo current so I will probably be alright. On most troll motor applications I usually pull a #6 or a #8 ga. wire when I am wiring from scratch. I am just being lazy using the old wire, usually I rip it all out too and re-do everything. I do wiring for a living at my work place and I am tired of it when I get home! Thanks for the reply!

PS....went to my shop and finished my transducer bracket and will mount it soon as I see sunshine again instead of rain.


----------



## mmf

Got my transducer bracket mounted to the transom and bolted with 2-3/8" bolts, like my Sea Ark. Will pull in the wiring maybe tomorrow as it is still raining. Mount the depthfinder next and wire, then mount my rod holder bases and then time to fish!!!!!!


----------



## Derek

nice dude. Good luck on your first trip. We are getting pouring rain now as well.


----------



## mmf

sorry for no pictures lately, I am out of re-chargable batteries so maybe I can get some more today.

I have the tranducer bracket made and installed, pulled in transducer cable thru PVC pipe and mounted the depthfinder head and wired up. Today I will drill and tap transducer bracket for some nylon cable clips to hold the transducer cable as it goes up the bracket into the top of the transom. #10/32 SS screws will be used for this.

Cleaning off some paint on aluminum rod holder bases and getting ready to mount 6 of them. I must go to hardware and get a few SS bolts for the ones up front, 4 of them will be fastened with #12 SS sheet metal screws because you cannot get to the underside of the gunnel in these places.

Pics coming soon...........


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> nice dude. Good luck on your first trip. We are getting pouring rain now as well.



Thanks Darek, we now have a nice break in the weather!


----------



## mmf

Well, I finally have "everything" finished on the boat except for the rod tubes which I can do anytime! I suppose it's time to put it in the water and see if it floats or sinks! I have been hearing some good fishing reports on crappie, perch, and catfish lately so I am licking my chops thinking about eatin' some good ole fried fish and hushpuppies or grits! Can I possibly get a volunteer to take it out for a quick spin from the dock?.... #-o probably not since most are too far away, so I suppose I will take the risk and see what happens before the water gets too cold!


----------



## albright1695

Take some on-water pics!  Of the boat .....and the fish.


----------



## mmf

Got my rod tubes finished yesterday evening, made two brackets out of aluminum angle and riveted to the boat to serve as "strap supports" for the tubes. I used large size (1/4") T&B black wire ties to attach the tubes to the brackets. The Thomas & Betts wire ties I used are sunlight resistant and will not rot when exposed to the elements. They also have a SS locking tab on them which lets you really torque down on the strap and hold tightly.

I was really wanting to take the boat out for a spin today but I've got to do a little work on my towing vehicle because it's spark knocking, I think I have a knock sensor not working or a defective distributor module, we'll see.


----------



## mmf

HERE ARE SOME FINAL PICTURES OF MY FINISHED PROJECT AT THE MOMENT......

TRANSDUCER BRACKET FINISHED AND MOUNTED







ROD TUBES INSTALLED






ROD TUBE BRACKET DETAILS











HELM SEAT






BOAT NUMBERS WON ON TINBOATS FOR UGLIEST BOAT NUMBER CONTEST, THANK YOU!











FINISHED PROJECT






MINIATURE CIRCUIT BREAKERS INSTEAD OF FUSES






FRONT ELECTRICAL PANEL WITH SILICON BOOTED SWITCHES AND HUBBELL TROLL MOTOR WEATHERPROOF RECEPTACLE











Even though it has been a major task, I enjoyed working on this project and I wish any other tinboaters the best of luck with their similar builds you do. If I can be of any help to anyone, please post a reply and I will do my best to help if I can. Good luck to all and thank you Tinboats for allowing us to post here!!


----------



## Jonboat Jerry

Very very nice Mike! I really like the natural aluminum finish. Circuit breakers are a nice touch too, I went that route on my boat as well.  Now we want to see some fish pics! =D>


----------



## mmf

Jonboat Jerry said:


> Very very nice Mike! I really like the natural aluminum finish. Circuit breakers are a nice touch too, I went that route on my boat as well.  Now we want to see some fish pics! =D>



Thanks Jerry, I will go out to fish buts it's going to be a few more weekends as my wife has plans for next weekend. I might carry it by my local water resivoir and do a "trial" run 1st to check for leaks and running condition of the motor as well, then I will be a little more secure about an all or partial day fishing trip, non-the less, I will post some water pix soon.

Can't wait to see your project finished too! It's looking very nice!


----------



## Derek

Looks great dude. Congrats =D>


----------



## mmf

well,I carried the boat to Moss Lake in Kings Mountain, NC to do a test run. Motor ran beautiful at home after I cleared out (externally) some crud that was in the carbs but when I got to the lake and cranked the motor it was skipping on a cylinder so I said to myself, "a little more trash, maybe it will clear", but NOT, at a low speed, I had to "shove it" in reverse and give a little gas to get away from the dock, then to forward, attempted to steer and turned to the "left" and the boat went to the right, "what else" I thought, it was really kind of funny to realize the sector shaft was on the wrong side of the rack. I had been turning it many times at home and never noticed it! STUPID! :LOL2: , but easily corrected. Boat ran well for about 5 laps across the lake then I slowed it down to check the idle and it quit, would not start back so I trolled with the trolling motor back to the dock. Took the three carbs off yesterday and looked in the fuel bowls and crud in the fuel tube wells. The last time I ran the motor I "ran out" the gas then tilted the motor up, when I did some crud in the bowls went into a pocket where the "pick-up" well is on the inside of the fuel bowls. The main fuel tube and the idle tube go inside this "well" and any pieces of crud will stop up the tubes easily if any trash is floating around. 
I cleaned the carbs good today, low speed and high speed side and will bolt them back up tomorrow.

PS......FYI.....the OMC manual says to NOT soak these carbs in carburetor cleaner because the aluminum carb bodys have a sealant sprayed on them at the factory to keep porosity leaks to a minimum and the carb cleaner will attack it and remove the coating so it is recommended only to "spot clean" the carbs and blow out the orifices with compressed air @ no more than 25 PSI.

OMC has some real sh**** carbs and I remembered how much crap I had experienced with them from the past, but alas, I cannot do anything about it so I will just cry! :x .....anyway I will install them back tomorrow and maybe run the motor if I have the time after work.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> Looks great dude. Congrats =D>



Thanks Derek!  

The good thing about my boat trial is the boat did not leak :shock: , but I had it out only about 1 1/2 hrs.
I forgot too, that I discovered I have the tranducer is located down too far in the water and it was shooting a rooster tail from it. I will have to raise it an inch or so. I was trying to make sure I had depth-finder operation while going high speed, I must "fine tune" the correct position so it will work at both high and low speeds.

More later.......


----------



## Derek

Kinda sounds like my first trial run. Motor ran great on a stand at home, I think we dislodged crud when mounting it to the boat. Although mine wouldn't even start the first time at the lake. #-o 
I can only imagine what you were thinking when the boat turned the wrong way. :LOL2:


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> Kinda sounds like my first trial run. Motor ran great on a stand at home, I think we dislodged crud when mounting it to the boat. Although mine wouldn't even start the first time at the lake. #-o
> I can only imagine what you were thinking when the boat turned the wrong way. :LOL2:



It was funny Derek, makes me wonder why I do some things without looking good (the obvious!).
Re-mounted carbs today and hooked everything back up, cranked motor and still skipping on a cylinder. Hooked the timing light up to all three cylinders and good fire to all, will do an actual spark test tomorrow. Could be a plug not firing (fouled) but it did not "read" fouled on my meter. I have bought brand new plugs before that had an internal malfunction in the plug itself, straight out of the box!

Motor had excessive smoke like there was unburned fuel going on, I hope the NOS fuel pump I bought does not have a hole in the diaphram though it was "new" it sat on the shelf a number of years, that could be the case. Worst case scenereo is bad piston rings on a cylinder but I would not think so since it ran so fast on my test run.

I will post my findings later..........


----------



## Derek

I don't know how much smoke you are getting but mine smokes a lot more on start-up but usually cleans up within a minute. Wouldn't the bad piston rings shown up on the compression check, if that was the problem?


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> I don't know how much smoke you are getting but mine smokes a lot more on start-up but usually cleans up within a minute. Wouldn't the bad piston rings shown up on the compression check, if that was the problem?



Yep, piston rings would show up, that's why I said "motor ran good" at high speed, it would not have otherwise, just talking to myself in reasoning out the problem, thanks Derek.

I found the problem today after checking trigger resistances, trigger output, stator resistances, and stator output. Then I checked running (firing) voltage to the coils and all was in check, cranked skipping motor back up and started pulling plug wires while it was running and #3 (bottom) cylinder made NO difference in idle speed. This coil checked "good"on resistances, primary and secondary so, it must must have been firing across the winding inside the coil but NOT firing across the gap on the plug. It would even fire my inductive timing light, but it failed the spark test (very weak), good, I was really hoping it was not the power-pack not switching properly and it turned out to be the coil. I replaced it and #3 started firing good.

Even though the spark plugs were new when I started troubleshooting the motor, I ran a bunch of Sea Foam thru the fuel system and block which loosened alot of carbon etc. and stuck to the plug insulators while doing so, so I will buy new ones to replace them.

FYI....OMC calls for L78V plugs (surface gap) for continued HIGH SPEED operation on this motor, which will be the case on this motor. Troll motor will come into play after getting to an area to fish after the"run". This motor had the slow speed plugs (QL77JC4) installed which foul a whole lot easier in my book, at least that's been my experience.
I also noted that the QL77JC4 plugs have an internal resistance of 125 ohms which can reduce the fire to the tip, but reduce the noise and (RFI) generated to radios, depthfinders etc., while the L78V plugs have NO resistance, myself, I would rather have a hotter fire. I can put a filter on my electronics if there is a problem.

Got to move the tranducer up on the bracket, and reverse the sector shaft bolting on the steering helm and I will be ready to try again, wish me luck!


----------



## Derek

I was surprised to see your motor took the QL77JC4 plugs. I thought it was the same part number as my motor. However I looked it up and mine calls for L77JC4. Do you know the difference? I also run my motor at WOT the majority of the time. Is it possible for me to upgrade to those plugs and/or where did you find that info? I have only found the condensed version of the service manual for my motor.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> I was surprised to see your motor took the QL77JC4 plugs. I thought it was the same part number as my motor. However I looked it up and mine calls for L77JC4. Do you know the difference? I also run my motor at WOT the majority of the time. Is it possible for me to upgrade to those plugs and/or where did you find that info? I have only found the condensed version of the service manual for my motor.



Derek, that info is in my OMC manual, the "Q" is the designated prefix for the "RFI suppressor" plug a little different than a resistor plug. It reduces radio frequency interference. Like I said previously, those plugs have an internal resistance of around 125 ohms which will reduce the fire at the plug a little, I want as MUCH FIRE as I can get at the plug.

I went to the auto-parts store to buy plugs yesterday and asked specifically for L78V champion surface gap plugs (which my manual calls for when continous high speed usage) and he brought out QL77JC4 plugs to the counter saying champion had replaced the L78V plug with them. I told him I did NOT want a "resistor" type plug, so I asked him to cross over an NGK plug with the L78V and he did, can't remember the number but they do NOT have any resistance in the center electrode. 

I installed them and fired the motor up and ran it for awhile, we'll see how they hold up. The guy at the counter also said he sells alot of the NGK plugs to the guys that fish bass tournaments and according to them the NGK's last longer than the other plugs. Most new model Mercury motors come equipped with NGK's I have noticed too.


----------



## Derek

Good to know, thank you. If you find one of the plug boxes kicking around could you post up the part number.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> Good to know, thank you. If you find one of the plug boxes kicking around could you post up the part number.



Darek, I don't know what you mean by "plug boxes"?? :?: 

I found an updated plug chart, 2009, here is the link:
https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/BRP/SparkPlugChart2008.pdf


----------



## Derek

the little cardboard box the plug came in, it would have the part number
Thanks for the chart


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> the little cardboard box the plug came in, it would have the part number
> Thanks for the chart



GOT YOU, Just came in but going backout and I will give it to you shortly. This keyboard sticks badly on the space key.

It is "cold" here today about 40, with the wind blowing hard, not used to the cold yet since it was 80 degrees yesterday! Ran the motor and started from dead COLD and no problems! Idles beautifully too!


----------



## mmf

The NGK cross reference plug for the Champion L78V plug is model # NGK BUHW-2, stock number 5626 

Here is a link to the plug on NGK's site: https://www.ngk.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=&pid=2985

Raining and cold here today in NC!


----------



## mmf

Finished my friend's Johnson 150 Fasttrac motor on friday, he had starter problems and I had to chage some gears, bushings, bendix and shaft on it for him. Boy what JUNK those motors are made of, plastic flywheel covers, plastic linkages, plastic everywhere! Can't believe the manufacturers have done this to outboard motors!

Got my steering shaft reversed and also raised the tranducer. Maybe I will take it out the weekend and have good results.


----------



## MTord03

Boat looks awesome! I like the tin look! Also nice job using unistrut for the trailer light brackets! Looks real good


----------



## JBooth

That boat looks amazing! I would have never thought it was the same boat you started with. I really like decks. Outstanding job! =D>


----------



## mmf

Thanks guys for the nice comments! It's alot of time consuming work to do it all aluminum but glad I did.


----------



## Derek

mmf said:


> The NGK cross reference plug for the Champion L78V plug is model # NGK BUHW-2, stock number 5626
> 
> Here is a link to the plug on NGK's site: https://www.ngk.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=&pid=2985
> 
> Raining and cold here today in NC!




Thanks alot.
I wouldn't complain about the rain to much we got a foot of snow on Saturday night. Very heavy wet snow, broke trees/branches all over the place. People everywhere lost power. I just don't have cable so I can live.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> mmf said:
> 
> 
> 
> The NGK cross reference plug for the Champion L78V plug is model # NGK BUHW-2, stock number 5626
> 
> Here is a link to the plug on NGK's site: https://www.ngk.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=&pid=2985
> 
> Raining and cold here today in NC!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks alot.
> I wouldn't complain about the rain to much we got a foot of snow on Saturday night. Very heavy wet snow, broke trees/branches all over the place. People everywhere lost power. I just don't have cable so I can live.
Click to expand...


I hear you Derek, it's good you did not lose power  , that is a bummer, especially when it is cold outside!
You live in beautiful state! The woods in Maine (countryside) are so thick with trees it makes for a beautiful surrounding! Don't know whether you deer hunt or not but your state also has MONSTER bucks in your woods too!
If I recall from years ago, Maine held the largest deer ever killed in the USA for a long period of time, but I have not kept up with the records for a number of years.

I used to have a whitetail deer hunting book that was written by an author from Maine and I loved to read that book when I was a younger man and "dream" of getting some of the bucks he described in his book. My personal largest deer I have ever taken was a 10 point buck that weighed 230 lbs. He came up to the small field I had baited with corn behind my house one evening and I decided to take him after watching him for about 2 years.


----------



## Derek

I actually live in Massachusetts #-o. I'm not one of the "normal" idiots from here tho. 
Last year I decided I wanted to start hunting, with no prior knowledge. To make it even harder I decided I would bow hunt only. Sat on stand ALOT last year with nothing to show for it. Come hell or high snow, this year I will get a deer.


----------



## mmf

Derek said:


> I actually live in Massachusetts #-o. I'm not one of the "normal" idiots from here tho.
> Last year I decided I wanted to start hunting, with no prior knowledge. To make it even harder I decided I would bow hunt only. Sat on stand ALOT last year with nothing to show for it. Come hell or high snow, this year I will get a deer.



I stand corrected brother, I know you WILL get one.....


----------



## mmf

I took boat out to Lake Wylie yesterday and it ran beautifully at idle and high speed. It was very cold all day with a steady wind from 15-25 MPH all day as well. I could have filled the boat with big nice size shad but I ran off and left my cast net.
Still had a little roostertail from the transducer even though I raised it so I must go up some more. Stayed out on the water about 6 hours and no leaks anywhere, I am glad of that. The 70 HP motor will really make the boat scoot on the water! I don't have a speedometer but I guess it was pushing 40-45 with 2 people sitting in the cockpit.


----------



## mmf

This is a good tune to listen too as you are wide open running down the river!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOHo3_MEofU


----------



## JBooth

40-45 mph is pretty quick! I really like the way you set up your boat. Great job! It looks amazing!


----------



## mmf

JBooth said:


> 40-45 mph is pretty quick! I really like the way you set up your boat. Great job! It looks amazing!



Thanks JBooth, yes, the boat moves very good and I was surprized after reading similar reports on speed from other tinboater's trackers.

Thanks for the compliments!


----------



## mmf

Weather has turned cold here, supposed to be down to 28 degrees tomorrow night. Lots of tornado activity yesterday evening with the temperature at 71 degrees. Waiting for a little warmer day to fish if it happens when I'm off. 

Also wanted to wish EVERY TINBOATER and your families, a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING as well!!!


----------



## PSG-1

Wow, amazing work, mmf! Hadn't noticed this thread until just today, as there was a new post to it. I checked it out from page 1, and I have to say, you've got a good bit of time and effort in that boat, but it really looks good! =D> 

BTW, here's a useful bit of info: if you're cutting aluminum with a circular saw, you need a "Diablo" blade. It will make the job much easier. You should be able to find one at a Lowe's or a Home Depot. They are red in color, and they are about half as thick as a regular circular saw blade, which equals a smaller kerf, but more importantly, it also means there is less resistance on the motor of the saw, which equals faster cuts with less effort. If you are cutting 1/8" plate, get the fine tooth type. But on thicker aluminum, like 3/16 or 1/4", get a more coarse tooth, like a framing cut blade. These diablo blades are simply awesome for cutting aluminum. 


Cold night here on the SC coast, too, gonna be 34 degrees tonight. Still a little too warm to fire up the snow guns, but cold enough I have the wood stove going. Well, considering turkey day is next week, it's about time for some cool weather here. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, too!


----------



## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> Wow, amazing work, mmf! Hadn't noticed this thread until just today, as there was a new post to it. I checked it out from page 1, and I have to say, you've got a good bit of time and effort in that boat, but it really looks good! =D>
> 
> BTW, here's a useful bit of info: if you're cutting aluminum with a circular saw, you need a "Diablo" blade. It will make the job much easier. You should be able to find one at a Lowe's or a Home Depot. They are red in color, and they are about half as thick as a regular circular saw blade, which equals a smaller kerf, but more importantly, it also means there is less resistance on the motor of the saw, which equals faster cuts with less effort. If you are cutting 1/8" plate, get the fine tooth type. But on thicker aluminum, like 3/16 or 1/4", get a more coarse tooth, like a framing cut blade. These diablo blades are simply awesome for cutting aluminum.
> 
> 
> Cold night here on the SC coast, too, gonna be 34 degrees tonight. Still a little too warm to fire up the snow guns, but cold enough I have the wood stove going. Well, considering turkey day is next week, it's about time for some cool weather here. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, too!



Thanks for the compliments  and the info on the "diablo" blade, I will definately check them out at Lowes.
PS.......did you check out my 24ft L X 8ft W Sea ark? I have thought many times about making it into a jet boat someday, just don't have the funds now. I really like your jet boat build videos, very informative too! I like your 4-stroke revision =P~ a lot better than the 2 cycle!


----------



## Loggerhead Mike

Looks good bud, I bet running 45 is a blast in that rig


----------



## PSG-1

mmf said:


> Thanks for the compliments  and the info on the "diablo" blade, I will definately check them out at Lowes.
> PS.......did you check out my 24ft L X 8ft W Sea ark? I have thought many times about making it into a jet boat someday, just don't have the funds now. I really like your jet boat build videos, very informative too! I like your 4-stroke revision =P~ a lot better than the 2 cycle!
Click to expand...



I saw that Sea Ark, that's a HUGE aluminum boat! Actually had a customer a couple of months ago with a boat just like that, he had some issues with his trailer, a leaf spring broke going down the highway. They brought it to me on a roll-back wrecker, the trailer was so wide, it barely fit on the bed of the roll-back...LOL 

Replaced his springs and U-bolts, and fixed a few other things while he had it here. Anyhow, as I was working on the trailer, I couldn't get over how big that boat was! 

I remember thinking "wow, this thing has a wide enough beam, you could just about put triple inboard jets in here!" (Well, it might be a little tight for 3 engines, but it's definitely wide enough to install 2 engines.) 

If you ever decide to modify it as a jet boat, give me a holler if you have any questions or run into any issues.

Thanks for the feedback on my videos, glad you enjoyed them. We had fun putting it all together, and acting silly and dysfunctional like the guys at American Chopper :LOL2: The 4 stroke is a night and day difference from the old 2 stroke, you got that right! 

Wish I had just done that to start with, but then again, when I first built the boat in 2005, it was a gamble and a leap of faith, I wasn't even sure if it was going to work (but I had every suspicion that it would work, despite a few naysayers who doubted it)...so, I kept myself on a minimal budget, in case things didn't work out, I didn't have a ton of money invested. Also, back in 2005, those 4 stroke engines were still relatively new, more expensive, and less available for doing projects like this.

On a final note: when we decide to do "Season 3" of our 'American Jetboat' series, we're going to use a 4 stroke, 215 HP intercooled supercharged Sea Doo engine, maybe even 2 of them, for a total of 430 HP. Since these engines have closed loop cooling systems, you can run across sandbars, and never have to worry about running the engine hot from ingesting sand through the pump.


----------



## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> mmf said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the compliments  and the info on the "diablo" blade, I will definately check them out at Lowes.
> PS.......did you check out my 24ft L X 8ft W Sea ark? I have thought many times about making it into a jet boat someday, just don't have the funds now. I really like your jet boat build videos, very informative too! I like your 4-stroke revision =P~ a lot better than the 2 cycle!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> I saw that Sea Ark, that's a HUGE aluminum boat! Actually had a customer a couple of months ago with a boat just like that, he had some issues with his trailer, a leaf spring broke going down the highway. They brought it to me on a roll-back wrecker, the trailer was so wide, it barely fit on the bed of the roll-back...LOL
> 
> Replaced his springs and U-bolts, and fixed a few other things while he had it here. Anyhow, as I was working on the trailer, I couldn't get over how big that boat was!
> 
> I remember thinking "wow, this thing has a wide enough beam, you could just about put triple inboard jets in here!" (Well, it might be a little tight for 3 engines, but it's definitely wide enough to install 2 engines.)
> 
> If you ever decide to modify it as a jet boat, give me a holler if you have any questions or run into any issues.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback on my videos, glad you enjoyed them. We had fun putting it all together, and acting silly and dysfunctional like the guys at American Chopper :LOL2: The 4 stroke is a night and day difference from the old 2 stroke, you got that right!
> 
> Wish I had just done that to start with, but then again, when I first built the boat in 2005, it was a gamble and a leap of faith, I wasn't even sure if it was going to work (but I had every suspicion that it would work, despite a few naysayers who doubted it)...so, I kept myself on a minimal budget, in case things didn't work out, I didn't have a ton of money invested. Also, back in 2005, those 4 stroke engines were still relatively new, more expensive, and less available for doing projects like this.
> 
> On a final note: when we decide to do "Season 3" of our 'American Jetboat' series, we're going to use a 4 stroke, 215 HP intercooled supercharged Sea Doo engine, maybe even 2 of them, for a total of 430 HP. Since these engines have closed loop cooling systems, you can run across sandbars, and never have to worry about running the engine hot from ingesting sand through the pump.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info PSG-1, I am very interested in the 4 stroke 215HP seadoo engine and drive, do you know what model number Seado's use this engine? Are you referring to the supercharged rotax motor? It would be nice to find one on a damaged hull or someone parting one out! I really like the idea of the closed cooling system.


----------



## PSG-1

MMF, I forget the model number of the Sea Doo that uses that engine, but yes, that's the one I'm referring to, the "4Tec" 215 HP Rotax with the supercharger. I'm thinking it's the "GTX" model, but I might be wrong.

It's like a vehicle, it uses a coolant reservoir, but instead of a radiator, the ride plate at the jet pump is actually a heat exchanger plate....I'm guessing it's a double wall construction, with internal fins or perhaps an internal honeycomb design. So, as long as that ride plate is in the water and the internal coolant pump of the engine is circulating coolant, you can't run it hot. 

Of course, if you sit there and grind across sandbars continuously, it will wear out the prop, or more likely, the wear ring (Sea Doo uses a plastic liner in their wear ring, I'm not so sure I would use a Sea Doo pump, for that reason) As long as the jet unit tunnel is designed so that the factory Sea Doo ride plate can be attached, I would think you could use any jet pump you wanted to use.

I like the idea of the closed loop system, too, as I often leave my boat in the water (I pull it up onto a sport port to flush the engine, and then slide it back off and tie up to the dock) With the closed loops system, I could at least leave it in the water overnight, without worrying about flushing it.


----------



## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> MMF, I forget the model number of the Sea Doo that uses that engine, but yes, that's the one I'm referring to, the "4Tec" 215 HP Rotax with the supercharger. I'm thinking it's the "GTX" model, but I might be wrong.
> 
> It's like a vehicle, it uses a coolant reservoir, but instead of a radiator, the ride plate at the jet pump is actually a heat exchanger plate....I'm guessing it's a double wall construction, with internal fins or perhaps an internal honeycomb design. So, as long as that ride plate is in the water and the internal coolant pump of the engine is circulating coolant, you can't run it hot.
> 
> Of course, if you sit there and grind across sandbars continuously, it will wear out the prop, or more likely, the wear ring (Sea Doo uses a plastic liner in their wear ring, I'm not so sure I would use a Sea Doo pump, for that reason) As long as the jet unit tunnel is designed so that the factory Sea Doo ride plate can be attached, I would think you could use any jet pump you wanted to use.
> 
> I like the idea of the closed loop system, too, as I often leave my boat in the water (I pull it up onto a sport port to flush the engine, and then slide it back off and tie up to the dock) With the closed loops system, I could at least leave it in the water overnight, without worrying about flushing it.



PSG-1,....Hmmm, I wish I was more fimiliar with jet drives than I am. I am wondering if my 24' jon would be more suited to a berkley pump and a standard marine inboard engine, though I know the latter will NOT turn the RPM's the jet ski motors will, maybe a standard motor would last alittle longer, what are your thoughts?
Seems like even the 215HP engine you are talkin about might even push a 24 ft'er fairly well, I don't know. I have not have good luck with superchargers in the past from my car racing days, I had the turbines freeze up etc. on some of my hot rods........just a thought


----------



## PSG-1

It's hard to say which jet pump would be best for pushing that 24' boat. But I'm certain if you went with something like a Berkeley Jet pump, you'd need a bigger engine to turn it, as it would probably over-lug the Sea Doo engine. 

But then again, one single Sea Doo engine also might not be enough to push that boat, either. It might require twin engines. You'll need to know the weight of your hull VS. the weight of the Sea Doo GTX to know if it's comparable. But I'm thinking with that amount of surface area, it's going to be too much load on one engine.

And as far as superchargers, you're right, they can be problematic. Sea Doo engines have had issues with the supercharger units, usually from ingesting water, the vanes of the supercharger pump don't fare too well when they meet water. I need to do a little research and find out the specifics, and see if they have that bug worked out.


----------



## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> It's hard to say which jet pump would be best for pushing that 24' boat. But I'm certain if you went with something like a Berkeley Jet pump, you'd need a bigger engine to turn it, as it would probably over-lug the Sea Doo engine.
> 
> But then again, one single Sea Doo engine also might not be enough to push that boat, either. It might require twin engines. You'll need to know the weight of your hull VS. the weight of the Sea Doo GTX to know if it's comparable. But I'm thinking with that amount of surface area, it's going to be too much load on one engine.
> 
> And as far as superchargers, you're right, they can be problematic. Sea Doo engines have had issues with the supercharger units, usually from ingesting water, the vanes of the supercharger pump don't fare too well when they meet water. I need to do a little research and find out the specifics, and see if they have that bug worked out.



The present 4-stroke engine you have in your jon now seems to run great but I did not catch the model number or "nickname" for the motor in your videos.


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## PSG-1

The engine I'm using is Yamaha's "MR-1" High Output engine. This engine came out of a Yamaha SX230 jetboat. They are also used in the Yamaha FX HO cruiser jet skis. I got a deal on mine, for 2500 dollars, which included the CDI unit, and everything except the fuel pump and waterbox.

It's 1052 cc's, with 4 cylinders. Basically, it's the marine version of Yamaha's R-1 motorcycle engine. It puts out 160 HP (stock) at 10,000 RPM.

However, I have the Riva Racing air filter and the velocity stacks installed, that gains about 5-7 HP. 

Also, I do not have the secondary muffler system that Yamaha uses on their jet skis, I run straight from the waterbox into the jet unit. The secondary muffler creates more back pressure, and also causes engine temps to run higher, as it holds water in the system longer. Riva racing makes a conversion kit that basically does the same thing I did with my boat, bypass the secondary muffler system, and this gains about 5 HP.

So, with the air cleaner and the exhaust bypass mods, I'm actually running somewhere between 170-175 HP.


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## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> The engine I'm using is Yamaha's "MR-1" High Output engine. This engine came out of a Yamaha SX230 jetboat. They are also used in the Yamaha FX HO cruiser jet skis. I got a deal on mine, for 2500 dollars, which included the CDI unit, and everything except the fuel pump and waterbox.
> 
> It's 1052 cc's, with 4 cylinders. Basically, it's the marine version of Yamaha's R-1 motorcycle engine. It puts out 160 HP (stock) at 10,000 RPM.
> 
> However, I have the Riva Racing air filter and the velocity stacks installed, that gains about 5-7 HP.
> 
> Also, I do not have the secondary muffler system that Yamaha uses on their jet skis, I run straight from the waterbox into the jet unit. The secondary muffler creates more back pressure, and also causes engine temps to run higher, as it holds water in the system longer. Riva racing makes a conversion kit that basically does the same thing I did with my boat, bypass the secondary muffler system, and this gains about 5 HP.
> 
> So, with the air cleaner and the exhaust bypass mods, I'm actually running somewhere between 170-175 HP.



Thanks, PSG-1, It would seem that just the setup you installed should push my big jon, since the HP is from 160-175HP. I presently have a 150 HP Black Max outboard on it and it will FLY close to 60MPH on the water. I don't necessarily care so much for "flying" on the water, I am only a fisherman so moderate speeds suit me just fine. I have had my fill of high powered boats over the years (455 and 427 big block jet boats etc) so performance is a thing of the past for me, I basically just like the thought of being able to go in the very shallow water etc. that your boat can. Here in NC, the rivers are well drawn down 4-5 ft of their normal level in winter and alot of my favorite fishing spots are very hard or impossible to get to with a standard O/B setup. I am very interested in the longivity of the motor on your boat, I hope that it holds up for a long time. If you think my boat is too much for a setup like yours, maybe I might try to find me a used 18 ft Sea Ark jon to do the conversion on. I really like Sea Ark's construction compared to alot of others, especially the 1/8" (0.125) hull construction, these boats are VERY solid and seaworthy. Comments?....thanks again for your replies!


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## PSG-1

MMF, as far as longevity of the Yamaha 4 strokes, I've read posts on the PWC forums from owners who have over 3000 hours on their engines with no issues, other than routine maintenance. With 2 stroke PWC engines, you're lucky if you get just 1000 hours on the engine before having to rebuild it. So, triple the life expectancy with the 4 stroke. I'm a long way from that, with just 105 hours on my engine!

Also, remember that a 150 HP jet is NOT the same as a 150 HP outboard with a prop. Jets can lose up to 50% efficiency. So, while the 150 outboard may push that 24 foot boat with no problem, it's hard for me to be able to say what a 160 HP MR-1 engine with a jet drive would do. I do know that there are 2 of those engines in the 23 foot Yamaha Jetboat, and that boat weighs about 3000 pounds dry weight. The boat is rated for 6 passengers (if I remember correctly) So, I'm thinking the max load on each engine is about 2000-2400 lbs. Beyond that load rating, it might be over-lugging the engine, which is definitely not good.

If you don't have a mfg. spec. on the weight of your hull, you might be able to drive the trailer with the boat loaded on it, onto the scales at the metal scrapyard, then weigh it one time without the boat on it, and subtract the difference to get the approximate weight of your boat.

That said, I'm pretty certain that it would be a non-issue with the 18 foot boat. 

Either way, if you decide to do such a build, let me know if you have any questions or issues. Having done this twice, with 2 different engine configurations, I've figured out just about every idiosyncrasy that's involved with such a project.


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## mmf

Well, I have decided I do not personally like the tracker style bass boat so I am going to sell it. I am listing it in the for sale section and also I will list it on craigslist locally (Charlotte, NC) as well. I am more suited with the open style jonboat than I am with decks etc. that your typical bass fisher uses. I will list it tomorrow as I am wore out from fishing today before the cold front comes thru tomorrow. I will post some fish pics too from today's crappie fishing expidition tomorrow, anyone want to help me clean fish tomorrow?


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## PSG-1

Wow, mmf. After all that work you put into that boat, you're actually going to part with it? Well, all I can say is whoever gets that boat is getting one helluva boat, for sure! Definitely can't buy something like that from the factory.


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## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> Wow, mmf. After all that work you put into that boat, you're actually going to part with it? Well, all I can say is whoever gets that boat is getting one helluva boat, for sure! Definitely can't buy something like that from the factory.



Yep, selling it,hard work is part of the trade,it is a good boat, it's just me that does not like the bass boat style, I like wide spacious open boats. I mainly traded with my buddy so he could have a good working boat to fish out of. I am hunting another Sea Ark super jon from 16-20 ft. Thanks for the compliments PSG-1, I know someone will be wanting the boat by spring but for now I will make use of it.

Raining here for the past 2 days and now the COLD front is moving in, suppose to be in the 20's this
weekend with the high of 50. I am planning going back to crappie fish Saturday but I will have to wear some warm stuff then for sure!


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## PSG-1

It cooled off fast here, too. I was out in the boat yesterday, wearing a T-shirt. Although it was nice and warm, the wind was blowing like crazy, I had a helluva time trying to keep the boat straight while I was trolling. There's a lot of small trout out here this fall....I think last winter killed off a lot of the larger ones, hopefully, this winter, the water temp will stay above that critical 45 degree mark, so it won't hurt the trout or shrimp populations.

When the front went through yesterday about sunset, the temp dropped about 15 degrees in about 5 minutes. It's about 40 outside right now.

My 16' triton is on a boat lift right now, getting a new coat of interprotect and anti-fouling paint. I also had some issues with corrosion on the center strake, and had to do some patchwork with ceramic grout to fill in the pitting. I guess that's the consequence of having a boat that sits in the salt water for 300+ days a year. I'm just glad I caught it in time, before it went all the way through the base metal and started leaking. Once it gets to that point, the only way to fix it is by capping it with a piece of aluminum angle.

So, while the triton is out of commission, the jetboat is getting some use.


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## mmf

A couple of BAD videos crappie fishing on Lake Wylie, NC last weekend. My brother Sam does not know how to use his video camera, but here are some links of videos anyway......
My other fishing buddy, Mark is in the boat beside us with his son, JR, we were shooting the docks with crappie jigs........

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x7ggSOzerk6Wloqm_03GHNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=email

https://picasaweb.google.com/104150053062462706092/20111218#5688032050305663330

https://picasaweb.google.com/104150053062462706092/20111218#5688032041317544882


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## mmf

PSG-1 said:


> MMF, as far as longevity of the Yamaha 4 strokes, I've read posts on the PWC forums from owners who have over 3000 hours on their engines with no issues, other than routine maintenance. With 2 stroke PWC engines, you're lucky if you get just 1000 hours on the engine before having to rebuild it. So, triple the life expectancy with the 4 stroke. I'm a long way from that, with just 105 hours on my engine!
> 
> Also, remember that a 150 HP jet is NOT the same as a 150 HP outboard with a prop. Jets can lose up to 50% efficiency. So, while the 150 outboard may push that 24 foot boat with no problem, it's hard for me to be able to say what a 160 HP MR-1 engine with a jet drive would do. I do know that there are 2 of those engines in the 23 foot Yamaha Jetboat, and that boat weighs about 3000 pounds dry weight. The boat is rated for 6 passengers (if I remember correctly) So, I'm thinking the max load on each engine is about 2000-2400 lbs. Beyond that load rating, it might be over-lugging the engine, which is definitely not good.
> 
> If you don't have a mfg. spec. on the weight of your hull, you might be able to drive the trailer with the boat loaded on it, onto the scales at the metal scrapyard, then weigh it one time without the boat on it, and subtract the difference to get the approximate weight of your boat.
> 
> That said, I'm pretty certain that it would be a non-issue with the 18 foot boat.
> 
> Either way, if you decide to do such a build, let me know if you have any questions or issues. Having done this twice, with 2 different engine configurations, I've figured out just about every idiosyncrasy that's involved with such a project.



PSG-1, I did some investigating on my 24' hull and Sea Ark site says the hullweight is 775 lbs.,a lot less than I thought it would weigh.


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## PSG-1

Wow, that's an impressive shot!

As far as power to weight.....

My duracraft 1648SV weighs in at 425 lbs (factory) 

50 pounds for the false bottom.

Figure in another 75 pounds for the 1/4" engine plate, the mount rails, the jet unit, and the jet unit tunnel.

Another 75 for the console, all wiring, and cables.

22 gallons of fuel, roughly 225 lbs (also accounting for the weight of the aluminum tanks)

Marine battery at 50 pounds.

And then the weight of the engine, I'm not sure what the High Output weighs, but I'm going to guess and say at least 300 pounds.


OK, so that comes out to about 900 pounds for the boat and everything in it, then, another 300 for the engine itself, for a total of 1200 pounds. And you see that even with this amount of weight, my boat has some serious throttle response.


Your boat weighs 775.

Add another 300 for the engine for 1075. 



Then whatever you add beyond that. I would say as long as you can keep the total weight under 1400-1500, it should be fine.


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## mmarz4evr

PSG-1 said:


> Wow, amazing work, mmf! Hadn't noticed this thread until just today, as there was a new post to it. I checked it out from page 1, and I have to say, you've got a good bit of time and effort in that boat, but it really looks good! =D>
> 
> BTW, here's a useful bit of info: if you're cutting aluminum with a circular saw, you need a "Diablo" blade. It will make the job much easier. You should be able to find one at a Lowe's or a Home Depot. They are red in color, and they are about half as thick as a regular circular saw blade, which equals a smaller kerf, but more importantly, it also means there is less resistance on the motor of the saw, which equals faster cuts with less effort. If you are cutting 1/8" plate, get the fine tooth type. But on thicker aluminum, like 3/16 or 1/4", get a more coarse tooth, like a framing cut blade. These diablo blades are simply awesome for cutting aluminum.
> 
> 
> Cold night here on the SC coast, too, gonna be 34 degrees tonight. Still a little too warm to fire up the snow guns, but cold enough I have the wood stove going. Well, considering turkey day is next week, it's about time for some cool weather here. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, too!



Can you use these blades with a miter saw?


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## PSG-1

mmarz4evr said:


> PSG-1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wow, amazing work, mmf! Hadn't noticed this thread until just today, as there was a new post to it. I checked it out from page 1, and I have to say, you've got a good bit of time and effort in that boat, but it really looks good! =D>
> 
> BTW, here's a useful bit of info: if you're cutting aluminum with a circular saw, you need a "Diablo" blade. It will make the job much easier. You should be able to find one at a Lowe's or a Home Depot. They are red in color, and they are about half as thick as a regular circular saw blade, which equals a smaller kerf, but more importantly, it also means there is less resistance on the motor of the saw, which equals faster cuts with less effort. If you are cutting 1/8" plate, get the fine tooth type. But on thicker aluminum, like 3/16 or 1/4", get a more coarse tooth, like a framing cut blade. These diablo blades are simply awesome for cutting aluminum.
> 
> 
> Cold night here on the SC coast, too, gonna be 34 degrees tonight. Still a little too warm to fire up the snow guns, but cold enough I have the wood stove going. Well, considering turkey day is next week, it's about time for some cool weather here. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, too!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Can you use these blades with a miter saw?
Click to expand...





Absolutely. They will fit any saw that takes a typical 7 1/2" circular saw blade. And as I said, you will be amazed at how much faster the diablo blade goes through aluminum.


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## wcbond4

I love all your diamond plate! How's the heat/glare from it? I wish I had a scrap yard close by...that stuff is expensive! 

Great idea on the Trex boards! That never even crossed my mind when I was debating wood/aluminum material. That would make great supports for decking! A lot cheaper than aluminum too.


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## mmf

wcbond4 said:


> I love all your diamond plate! How's the heat/glare from it? I wish I had a scrap yard close by...that stuff is expensive!
> 
> Great idea on the Trex boards! That never even crossed my mind when I was debating wood/aluminum material. That would make great supports for decking! A lot cheaper than aluminum too.



sorry for the late response, I have not visited the forum in several months,(busy fishin and workin).
No heat or glare noted, the aluminum has dulled down drastically since walking on it regularly, cutting bait, fish guts, spilled sodas, catfish slime........all is well as far as I am concerned but I don't fish the extremely HOT part of the year here (July-August), unless I go at night, no hotter than my drab green sea-ark........been catchin some nice blue cats in it too..............


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## dyeguy1212

Not sure if this was covered somewhere in the 15 pages, but what did you use to clean up the hull? It looks pretty good.


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## Kochy

is it just me or are most of the pictures gone from this thread? cause they're not showing up for me. The ones on the first page are but none of the others.


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## JMichael

Just skimmed the first 4 pages and all the pics seem to be there on all four pages for me.


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## bailey205nelson

mmf said:


> Finally got to do some work out in the rain though, finished tearout of floor at battery/fuel compartment so I could remove the soaking wet floor insulation and cut the bottom 2 inches of the poured insulation out. I have decided to remove all the poured floatation material and refill the area with noodles I spoke of earlier.
> 
> Removal of splash well area and top transom cap is complete and it was a pain for me because I did not have a small right angle grinder, I borrowed a cut-off tool from work but it was VERY weak and took practically all day to cut through the welds and top transom cap, I blame alot of my slow progress on my air compressor whick could not keep up with the air demand. I am GLAD I took out the wood, I found that the transom wood was half rotten even though it seemed OK pounding on the transom with my hand before removal. HEADS-UP on all you Tracker modders!
> Here is the link to my findings rather than post all of the pictures here................
> https://picasaweb.google.com/114764926961602492668/TrackerTX17RottenTransom?feat=directlink
> PS......note on some of the pics that I have drilled pilot holes through the center of the bottom floor supports for drainage, I will be enlarging these holes before the area is resealed so the boat will have proper drainage!



I love this build, great work! I am starting my restoration of my 1983 Basstracker III which is VERY similar to your boat. Don’t know if you’re still active here or not but I was needing the pics from this post. The pictures that were on the external link you shared on either page 1 or 2 of the transom removal process are the ones I need. The link is no longer working for some reason and I can’t find anything. I am about to begin tackling the transom and your pics along with tips & experience will help. Thank you for the forum!


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