PawleysDude
Member
Hi - I'm slowly refurbing a 2003 Bass Tracker Pro Team 165, and I would appreciate a little advice. I need to get to the wiring below the bow, and I assume I can do that by removing the slanted board connecting the front casting deck to the bow, correct? (see pic)
There's a set of horizontal screws going into the bow and a set of vertical screws going into the casting deck. None of them are frozen. I can remove all of them except three of vertical screws which are just spinning freely, I assume from rotten wood. The vertical screws are a combination of phillips-head and square-head decking screws, so I figure somebody has been in there before me. They are all badly rusted. I'm struggling to get those 3 screws out. They are deeply recessed in the carpet and cannot get a good grip with pliers. I thought about trying to drill them out but they are in bad shape, and I expect the screw head would just snap off. Any suggestions for removing those screws?
After I get those 3 out, it looks like I should be able to remove that board, correct? Any cautions or suggestions at that point?
Finally, there's a small switch beside the trolling motor plug that looks and acts like a tilt switch, but I'm surprised a boat with a motor this small would have had a bow tilt switch. The boat is strictly trolling motor powered now, so nothing happens when I move the switch. Assuming I have power to that switch, any reason that would not be good wiring to use when I rewire the depth finder? The boat's fuse box is a disaster so at least for the present time I'll continue to use an inline fuse at the bow.
Anything else that's good to know ahead of time? Thanks very much for any help and suggestions!
There's a set of horizontal screws going into the bow and a set of vertical screws going into the casting deck. None of them are frozen. I can remove all of them except three of vertical screws which are just spinning freely, I assume from rotten wood. The vertical screws are a combination of phillips-head and square-head decking screws, so I figure somebody has been in there before me. They are all badly rusted. I'm struggling to get those 3 screws out. They are deeply recessed in the carpet and cannot get a good grip with pliers. I thought about trying to drill them out but they are in bad shape, and I expect the screw head would just snap off. Any suggestions for removing those screws?
After I get those 3 out, it looks like I should be able to remove that board, correct? Any cautions or suggestions at that point?
Finally, there's a small switch beside the trolling motor plug that looks and acts like a tilt switch, but I'm surprised a boat with a motor this small would have had a bow tilt switch. The boat is strictly trolling motor powered now, so nothing happens when I move the switch. Assuming I have power to that switch, any reason that would not be good wiring to use when I rewire the depth finder? The boat's fuse box is a disaster so at least for the present time I'll continue to use an inline fuse at the bow.
Anything else that's good to know ahead of time? Thanks very much for any help and suggestions!
I hope to get back on it this weekend, so I feel sure I’ll have a few more questions. In the meantime, thanks again and good luck with your rewiring.
