She’s Done Finally 👍

[gatorglenn]

Two years of on and off, then on again.
What started out as a simple recarpet job. Well that lead to so much more. But finally my boat is back on the water. To be honest I came close to giving up on her, and buying a new boat. But that's really not me. And she still has plenty of life left. So I'll post pics. As many as the tread will let me anyway. From start to finish.
This is how she looked at the start.


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[gatorglenn]

Then I found the wet foam☹️
Now this last pic here is where I was off again. House projects and winter. Really took some time to get back started again.
This one is kind of funny. Remove everything all intact so yes I could hook the muffs up and turn the key and she would run.


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[gatorglenn]

So at this point it's pretty much a full rebuild. Starting at the back and moving forward. With one thing I really wanted to change, the fuel tank. To get more room in the bilge for batteries and planned power poles.



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[gatorglenn]

So installing a new tank to my specs. It came out to 11gal.



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[gatorglenn]

Now it's on to the foam. Stay tuned


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[Capt. BassinLou]

GatorGlenn, thank you for sharing this thread with us. Since I have seen the end result already, let me just say, that boat came out AWESOME!! WTG!! 

[Bud Kennedy]

Magnificent effort and result.  You are to be congratulated for your time, energy and investment to make this happen.  This boat will be a part of you for ever and ever.  Believe me when I say that redoing a boat really brings you closer to that particular boat and the pride of knowing that because of your efforts will be admired by all who see it.  As you can tell I am ver impressed.  Thanks for sharing it with us.  In a soon to be published Fish On Blog post I too have document a segment towards bringing a boat back to life.

[gatorglenn]

That's guys, there is more to come. Any hopefully there will be some questions on certain reasons why I did or not done things. I see boards like this all the time and guys that are battling with issues that they need help with so if I can clear something up for them that is what I am posting this for.


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[Lipripper]

Nice looking boat and you did a great job redoing it.  What year is it? My Crappie fishing brother friend John has a 2014 one that looks almost the same color as yours.

[gatorglenn]

Nice looking boat and you did a great job redoing it.  What year is it? My Crappie fishing brother friend John has a 2014 one that looks almost the same color as yours.

Mine is an 06. Thanks


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[gatorglenn]

Ok now on to the foam.
What I discovered is that rain , water from skiing, swimming , wash off the back, pressure washing carpet. How ever it gets in the boat. IT must go pass, though, and definitely on the foam before making its way to the bilge and out. so in these pic. The transom has 3"x1-1/2" aluminum tubes it's made of. At the rear most corners of "every" Tracker. There are holes on the back deck underneath the corner bracing. So water would go through these drain holes and get trapped on top of the foam. So I blocked off the transom from the foam. So now the water has a channel straight to the bilge.
So in these pics I chose to over fill the foam compartments. Then I could cut it down flush.
Ok, I should mention that I use two different weights of foam. 2lb and 4lb. The 4lb was used in all the outside areas  for more rigidity.
Once everything was cut down, I then sprayed it all with a truck bed liner. So that when water came in contact. It would have a better chance of running right off. Or at least drying off before it could soak in.
Remember one thing. ALL foam used in today's manufacturing of boats. Are anywhere between 90-98% closure. Close cell foam is not 100% closed. And over time it does degrade and shrink. Opening more areas where water can get trapped, then get in.



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[gatorglenn]

This is a pic of the end . But there was a long way to go. Until it gotten to this point.

Stay tuned more to come


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[gatorglenn]

Ok let's back up a bit. Before foam she got paint. And y'all can tell Iam no painter. But she turned out good enough for me.
First I needed to remove the stickers. And the 3M eraser wheel worked the best. Great in fact. Do not use a heat gun, or any heat for that matter. All that does is turn the glue to a soft sticky state. The colder the better. It doesn't mare the paint at all. So you guys that likes a clean look. Have at it. You'll like the out come.Getting the boat off the trailer wasn't to hard. But on was a cookout with plenty of hands to help.used 3 of those 4 wheel carpeted furniture movers to set it on.Spray on paint remover is your friend.I thought hard on painting the whole boat. But in the end I went with a below water line approach. In the water she looks fully painted. But I can beach her with out worrying of  Scratching the bottom up. And with the full sides painted I think it makes the boat look even larger than it did before. Yes the transom is black. Just for something different. The gunnels and splashwell are a light bronze color in a hammer finish. The sides are hunters green. New wheels added a sharp look. And the radio tires ride Awsome. And this is how she set all last winter.


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[gatorglenn]

So the foam was next. Then it was the framing.

From the start, I knew I was going to put a metal floor in the cockpit. But still was going to keep the wood floor on the upper front deck. Sound dampening is one good reason. But I still wanted access below for future wiring projects and the need to fix anything else. Ran conduit for TM wires and some auxiliary wires. All new pumps. Here I wanted the new lockers in the middle. But my wife pointed out that she would prefer to stand on carpet instead of the hatch lids. So they went back up behind the seats. Added more c-channel in the floor. But the 1/4" 5052 really didn't need it. She is solid. Carpet came in so the fun started. I quickly learned that 3M Super 77 Spray adhesive is the best way to carpet a boat. Spray the floor or panels your working on. Wait 15-30 seconds and spray the back of the carpet. Once you put it down, in 10 seconds it's there for good. I will never use the old trial on stuff again. For larger sections you spray the carpet and panel at the same time. Lay it, then you'll have about 20 seconds to move and situate the carpet and Sakely how it needs to be. Then its stuck.
I ordered 20oz 8'x30' and I wound up with a 6' x 5' piece left. It's important to remember that you have to run the grain in the carpet the same way throughout the whole boat. And some of the picture you'll see it looks like one panel are hatch the grain doesn't look right. As for as the color goes. But in the next pic it does. Can not explain it, camera funny stuff I guess. But in person it all looks color one way. Color is Midnight Star Charcoal.


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[gatorglenn]

so this is how the back deck turned out. And you can see I put in a solid seat pan. Reposition the seats a little. I made a panel for the information plates. And put it in view from the helm. But behind me in the seat. Gear box panel looks much cleaner while in the seat. Was going to put it under the console. But found out it has to be seen while standing or seated at the helm. As you may notice I built up the front deck a 1-1/4". In the winter I will be building a step from floor to deck. With storage inside. The 3 rod tubes at the top of the opening are gone. Cut them out and love the room a ease it is to put rods in the locker now.


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[gatorglenn]

I was going to leave this open all the way. Until it came clear that 3700's would be sliding around on my rods. So I did put in dividers between the lockers. This is the layout for the front deck. Sorry guys no pics of the treatment of the plywood. But it got epoxy on it. With a battleship gray oil base enamel paint. Old layout to new one. Love the small day boxes up front. know she is starting to look like a boat again. Definitely going to need that step lol. Got my numbers in. After three different combination of style and color this is what I settled on I think it looks pretty good with the green. Still can't believe these seats are 12 years old. Day boxes There are I think 14 rods in the locker. But I know I can get 10 more with ease. I put the dividers in on the backside of the c-channel giving 6" more room. But it took out 3" from each locker on each side.


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[gatorglenn]

From here on out it's pretty much Beauty shots lol.
You would think after all this blood sweat and tears. That the first fish in the boat will be a little more exciting. LOL But Happy Times Again.


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[gatorglenn]

So open to any questions, to help anyone who is now or will be doing the same type project in the future.

Had the boat out 5 times since completion. I have had three offers to buy on the spot. Two at Boat Ramp's and one at a gas station. I've also had two people offering to pay me cost plus to build their boat identical to mine LOL. This one will be staying with me for quite a long time to come as Bud said in a early post. This boat means a lot to me. Trust me when I say it's a long way from
To This



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[Princeton_Man]

Magnificent job!     

You and that boat are now one. 

[Lipripper]

Thanks for the blow by blow account and you did a great job. You sure put a lot of blood sweat and tears into her. 

[Capt. BassinLou]

 

[the_huber_show]

WOW!!!!!  That's impressive

[WTodd]

Damn fine work!! So what did you do with the rest of your weekend?


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[gatorglenn]

Damn fine work!! So what did you do with the rest of your weekend?


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Sleep lol


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[LgMouthGambler]

UN  BELIEVABLE!!!