'83 Bass Tracker Revival

[lpotter]

Have you noticed the black paint getting unbearably hot to touch while fishing....It looks amazing!!!!!

 

[BYOB Fishing]

Yes it does get a little warm. The grey carpet doesn't help much either, as the ice in the cooler is usually melted after about 4hrs. But I'm not one of those guys that fish barefoot so I don't notice it too much.


Btw, the boat is now FOR SALE. PM for details

 

[JMill]

BYOB, do you remember whether there was a thickness difference between your old transom board and the new one? And were you able to reuse the top cap? I recently got an 89' Tracker very similar to yours. It needs a full overhaul, transom included, and I'm trying to get all of my ducks in a row before starting. I'll probably fish it this summer then tear it down during the winter. Thanks

 

[BYOB Fishing]

The wood I used was a little thicker. I didn't have any problems with the transom cap, but the cast brackets wouldn't fit and I actually broke one using the hammer to try and make it fit. I had to fabricate new ones from sheet. The biggest problem I had was actually fastening the support brackets on the inside. I cover that in one of the pages of this build. Basically I tried to match up the holes in the bracket with the holes in the hull, drilling at an angle through the new wood. I couldn't make a bolt sit flush with the hull and water tight by drilling at an angle. So I fit a new piece of wood and used lag screws instead.

 

[derekdiruz1]

I've read through this probably 10x. I seriously love it. Sorry to revive an old thread, but this is awesome!

 

[Alphahawk]

I'm late to this party also. Great job!


Regards

 

[floridabrahmer]

I have the same boat just starting to rebuild it, but i gutted mine out completely. The foam in these boats gets very heavy when it starts soaking up the water so I did away with all of it.

 

[srreynolds2003]

I have the same boat just starting to rebuild it, but i gutted mine out completely. The foam in these boats gets very heavy when it starts soaking up the water so I did away with all of it.

Do you need foam in these boats?
I'm getting ready to start a rebuild on my dads old bass tracker and was thinking I could use that space as storage.

 

[floridabrahmer]

I have the same boat just starting to rebuild it, but i gutted mine out completely. The foam in these boats gets very heavy when it starts soaking up the water so I did away with all of it.

Do you need foam in these boats?
I'm getting ready to start a rebuild on my dads old bass tracker and was thinking I could use that space as storage.

im not going to use any in mine, but it is basically up to you. its just in case you sink to keep you afloat. so if you dont use any you just have to make sure you have life jackets etc.

i think the best flotation to use is some type of sealed containers. the foam is so heavy when waterlogged i dont see how it could even float.

 

[BYOB Fishing]

Thanks for commenting, and yes, the others are correct, the foam is very heavy when wet. I took out quite a bit of sopping foam when doing the conversion. The foam I left came in handy though, as I nearly swamped her on Carlye Lake in Southern IL a couple years ago. I really shouldn't have been out, but it was a tournament and I decided to chance it. We barely made it back. My recommendation is, to remove the old foam, but replace it with something. Pool noodles, sealed 5 gallon buckets, etc. You may have life jackets, but you'd hate to see all your work sink to the bottom of the lake if you're stuck out in the wind.

Matt

 

[rusty503]

Actually i would recommend using urethane expanding closed cell pourable foam. Being closed cell, it will not absorb water. It is available in different weights. The lightest is 2 lb. That means a cubic foot weighs 2 pounds. It is also the most buoyant.

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[BYOB Fishing]

Actually i would recommend using urethane expanding closed cell pourable foam. Being closed cell, it will not absorb water. It is available in different weights. The lightest is 2 lb. That means a cubic foot weighs 2 pounds. It is also the most buoyant.

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Yep, anything would be better than nothing. And that stuff sounds pretty easy to install, too.

 

[bonz_d]

Actually i would recommend using urethane expanding closed cell pourable foam. Being closed cell, it will not absorb water. It is available in different weights. The lightest is 2 lb. That means a cubic foot weighs 2 pounds. It is also the most buoyant.

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Not to burst your bubble but even the closed cell pourable foam absorbs water over time. If you like I'll send you pictures.

 

[BYOB Fishing]

Maybe if a guy'd make it easier to get to, that way it can be removed and replaced over time, that would be the best? Like rivet on a couple of sheets, that could be drilled out and re-poured over the winter or something, after a few years of water absorption.

 

[bonz_d]

Unfortunately nobody has come up with a better alternative to foam.

I have one with the inherent problem that no matter how high I raise the bow all the water will still not drain out. But on the same note I've had a 25 year old Lund and a 25 year old Alumacraft that when I pulled up the decking as the foam was still as dry as could be.

 

[BYOB Fishing]

I wonder what the buoyancy factor of a sealed up bucket vs a block of foam the same size would be?? Or maybe just pour in a bunch of ping pong balls...hahahaha

 

[gatorglenn]

I've got it 06 Tracker then I'm going to re-carpet sometime when it warms up a little bit LOL. I plan on taking the foam out of those back to big sponson fenders on each side of the bilge hatch. I'm going to cut pool noodles, to go in there wired together in a bundle so that they're sitting up off the floor and have airspace between the walls. This will let all the water drained out of the boat and still have flotation if it's swamps. The problem with the closed cell foam. Is that manufactures shoot it in with pressure to an area that is sealed off therefore water that gets in around it cannot get out that's why over time it will degrade and hold water. Foam that has ventilation around it Will not degrade overtime because it's not saturated constantly. There isn't anything better than a pool noodle they sit outside for many years in the sun in the weather and they still float and I never Degrade and hold water. if you push one under how hard is it pushing back to come back up.


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[BYOB Fishing]

Yep as I probably said before the biggest thing about these old boats is to get the nasty soaked foam out. Especially if the boat sat outside uncovered for a long period. Sounds like there are several easy options to replace.

 

[LDUBS]

I wonder what the buoyancy factor of a sealed up bucket vs a block of foam the same size would be?? Or maybe just pour in a bunch of ping pong balls...hahahaha

Heard of guys saving money by pouring expanding foam around empty water bottles or liter soda bottles. Might be hard to accomplish that with ping pong balls, but the concept is not all that bad.