1984 Tracker 14' mod

After having this boat for a couple of weeks now and getting a game plan together I have decided to post the rebuild in an effort of obtaining much needed adivce from those who know a hell of alot more than I do. Let me say all of my thank yous in advance for any help or advice y'all may offer me. I have ordered steelflex and now have begun the process of getting the boat completely cleaned out, also the rotted transom has been removed. I'm not sure how to tackle this dent either, and may end up not fooling with it.

The jerry rigged trolling motor set up has also been removed

That's a nice looking boat. Good to see that the ribs on the older trackers went up the sides. Are you leaving the aluminum unfinished?

No, I ordered the grey steelflex for the bottom and I am thinking about red for the sides. For the inside I am also planning on a darker flat grey. That unfinished aluminum is to bright for me on sunny day.

cactusjack said:

No, I ordered the grey steelflex for the bottom and I am thinking about red for the sides. For the inside I am also planning on a darker flat grey. That unfinished aluminum is to bright for me on sunny day.

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I hear that. You mentioned steelflex, is the boat currently leaking?

It has two really small leaks, probably doesnt need the steelflex but were gonna use it anyhow, got a majority of the bottom ready for its application.

I need some help with paint questions. Got the steelflex today and plan on applying it this weekend. I have got some color choices figured out as well. my question is what kind of paint to use. Can I use a exterior grade oil based paint from lowes or home depot or do I have to use some special marine type paint? Also where is the best place to find this self etching primer and can any color be painted over it or does it come in different colors for different top coats.

So far it seams that most owners have had the best luck with Walmart having the self etching primer in an aerosol form ($5 rustoleum) in the auto sections of the store. I called a paint supply company today and they quoted me $20 for an aerosol or $50 for a quart (DuPont). So after going to three different walmarts this afternoon on my drive home from work I was able to come up with with what I needed.

I am planning on using an oil based paint I picked that up today as well from Walmart $8 a quart of gloss sail blue, this is going to be my first project with a spray unit so don't go to the bank with what I am doing.

summers said:

So far it seams that most owners have had the best luck with Walmart having the self etching primer in an aerosol form ($5 rustoleum) in the auto sections of the store. I called a paint supply company today and they quoted me $20 for an aerosol or $50 for a quart (DuPont). So after going to three different walmarts this afternoon on my drive home from work I was able to come up with with what I needed.

I am planning on using an oil based paint I picked that up today as well from Walmart $8 a quart of gloss sail blue, this is going to be my first project with a spray unit so don't go to the bank with what I am doing.

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This will be my forst time using a spray unit as well, hopefully it turns out well. Good luck with yours 8)

Got the steelflex applied on the bottom today, and it wasnt as bad as I had anticipated. Just that first coat is a real pain but the second goes on alot easier.

Well the weather here has been uncooperative to say the least, bright and sunny days im working and then it rains and the temp drops on days I'm off. Frustrating to say the least. Today I was able to get some work accomplished. FINALLY got the sides of the boat completely sanded down and taped off ready to be primed,,,,,,now I just need the weather to cooperate a little bit. I'll post some pics when I finally get her primed.

I feel your pain. I'm ready to paint my trailer, but if it isn't raining the pollen is getting too thick. Might paint early Saturday then quick pull it into the garage.

well folks I have not had any progress in over 2 weeks, but I have been out of town and finally have a few days off this coming weekend si I will get some pics up the the progress later this weekend.

I have a simialar project going right now on a 14' aluminum Ryan-Craft jon boat. I have wire brushed the paint of the sides & part of the bottom. However it's been taking me about an hour for every square foot. What are you using to strip the paint and how did it work for you?

rpena said:

I have a simialar project going right now on a 14' aluminum Ryan-Craft jon boat. I have wire brushed the paint of the sides & part of the bottom. However it's been taking me about an hour for every square foot. What are you using to strip the paint and how did it work for you?

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I use a wire brush as well, but for the parts of the boat such as the bottom and sides I used a grinder with a scouring pad medium coarse wire wheel. Seemed to work well for me, just make sure and wear safety glasses if you plan on using the wire wheel attachemt, those little wires frequently fly off and I had more than a few stuck in my jeans. Good luck

Finally,, the weather and my days off decided to work with me. I was finally able to primer the outside of the boat. Tomorrow I plan on fininshing up the interior prep so that may be primered as well. I hope when I actually paint the boat it does not leave those shadow looking spots as the primer did. Im not the best painter in the world as you can tell by the primer job.

After beeing stalled a few weeks this was the most productive couple of days I have had on the boat. Was able to get the inside completely prepped for priming and then actually got to prime her.

Nice work cj. First time seeing your build. I look forward to watching your progress.

As an option, you could probably mock up your trolling motor mount on the dent side and it would cover it mostly up. Seeing how I always see them mount on the port, I'm not sure what problems may exist by putting it on the starboard.

We have a resident tinbender on Tinboats who lives in Cartersville if you need any welding done. (Not sure where in North Ga you are) He did my trolling motor mount and it's working great.

Brine said:

Nice work cj. First time seeing your build. I look forward to watching your progress.

As an option, you could probably mock up your trolling motor mount on the dent side and it would cover it mostly up. Seeing how I always see them mount on the port, I'm not sure what problems may exist by putting it on the starboard.

We have a resident tinbender on Tinboats who lives in Cartersville if you need any welding done. (Not sure where in North Ga you are) He did my trolling motor mount and it's working great.

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Thank you I appreciate that. I have never even thought about mounting the trolling motor on the dented side. Depending on whether a deck gets put on the front end or not may be the deciding factor. Does anybody have any experience ( good or bad) using the duplicolor paint products sold at autozone and advanced auto?? When I was purchasing the self etching primer I saw they had automotive paint in about a quart size container. The colors were limited but they had a nice red that caught me eye. I think it was $26 or so and that would be plenty to paint this boat. Any info would be appreciated.

I have been checking on several types of paints and there are so many out there that it's been hard to decide which type. I called this placed that sells the interlux paint, but it was about $64.00 a quart and the primer for this paint was $38.00 and they recommended to two coats of two diffrent primers also about $38.00. They also had just the basic colors I was looking for Charcoal gray they suggested mixing white & Black paint, mixture ratio of 3 white to 1 black. Then they have the Ablative & hard paint. But I have heard of many using the Self etching primer and the rustoleom pants. What ever you decide woulds like to know how it turns out for you. I'll post some pics later.