Some wintertime projects

[Mike Harrison]

Well ya'll I was thinking of doing some wintertime projects that I've been putting off since I bought my old '78 Tracker 5+ years ago. One thing I was going to do was sandblast/strip the trailer and repaint it. I was thinking of repainting it that dark charcoal grey or black like trailstar uses now. Then maybe seeing if I can't get me some small white Tracker decals and put on the trailer too. Put new carpet and rollers on the trailer, new lights and wires. Now...first, get a motor hoist and get the motor off and put that to the side, then slide the boat off into the yard. You do you guys think I should put under it? Some 4X4 posts or something similiar??



Now, another bigger project that'll take some engineering will be to replace those POS aluminum boxes that they called livewells back in 1978 and replace the front one with a big, thick plastic tote and then fill in the space all around it with stryofoam for insulation. Thinking of wiring and plumbing up recirc and maybe put a valve in that will allow for a pump out system also. I'm planning of taking pictures during the process to post for you guys. The rear aluminum livewell I'm just going to install a small igloo cooler or something since I'm going to make the front a double size livewell.



One last task and this is where I'm thinking of asking for some opinions on. My outboard is a 1969 55hp Johnson. Hopefully going to see if my local marine shop can't find a new rubber seal for where the cover meets the motor. Then I'm also going to repaint it all. Now, what I was thinking was cleaning it up real good getting all the excess grease, oil, dirt etc off then sanding it down by hand getting off the loose paint and junk then just going at it. Now, I'm not professional, heck, I'm not even a novice so any tips, hints or plain smacks to the head will be appreciated. I figure since I don't post regularly on this board, even though being a member for years and being at the Nitro/Tracker Owners Rally at Truman that one Easter weekend. This long post will hopefully make up for my lack since then.



Thanks for all the help.



Mike Harrison



Oh yeah, if you was to get your skeg fixed, and by that i mean getting a replacement from Bass Pro and having it rewelded, would one have to take out the gears before having a welding shop weld it??? Or just hope that the welder takes it easy and not get it too hot??? For any graphically questions about my boat, there are many pictures posted on my website. There is a link in my member directory page or here is a quick link.
http://members.aol.com/stanaramus/boat.htm

 

[TrepMan]

I just want back an relooked at your before and after pic's Mike - MAN I am still amazed at how great it looks now! Except for those "Stratos" seats!!!



Can't help ya on the projects, you know from my posts i'm an idiot when it comes to electrical, mechanical, and wordworking stuff!!



I love the ideas you've got, let us know how it goes. My only big project i've thought of is similar to your livewell one. If I keep fishing for Stripers and want to keep 1 or 2 for dinner, and cull a decent one out, i'll need a much bigger livewell then the small front one in my Pro Crappie 175!

 

[Greg Meyer]

Mike,



When I added a raised 3' X 12" casting deck to my '93 Tracker Magna, I used the plastic livewell box and lid from Tempress (Cabelas) for a second livewell. Put one drain outlet in the bottom side and two overflow outlets about 2" down from top edge on each side of the back (prevents overfilling no matter which way the boat tilts). Didn't have room for recirculating pumps so I use two of those auxillary aerators for 5 gal buckets cut down to fit inside the livewells when the lids are closed and wires with "plugs" for the power outlets at the dash.



I didn't take pics but if the above is confusing I could send some (crude) drawings. I am very pleased with the setup. The fill tube for the rear livewell is an "adjustable" fitting so I just screw it down tight if I only want to use one livewell (front) or open it and adjust the flow to use both.

 

[James D.]

Mike,

I rebuilt a small 16' glass boat (new floor,steering, transom, paint job, etc..) and it was a major project. you are going to be busy. we stacked some concrete blocks and ran some 2 x 6's and put the boat on top of that to get it off the ground. the trailer had some rust and i used a round wire brush attachment on my drill to knock off the big stuff and then hand sanded with sandpaper (automotive type). Get it real clean, sand or sandblast it down, shoot a good coat of quality primer and then shoot a couple coats of enamel paint. the trailer should come out real good. this time of year, i hope you have someplace warm to work on it. good luck to ya.

jd