My Tracker 1542

Hello All! I would like to say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post here. I am finding out just how time consuming it can be. I have learned a great deal from this site and thought it was time to make a post of my own. So, I just bought a Tracker 1542 and have started the framing for a casting deck. The plan is to use plywood over the aluminum framing. The jury is still out on the type of carpet. Suggestions are appreciated and thanks in advance.

thats a sweet boat. thats the kind of boat i want next. good luck im lookin forward to see the progress.

Nice start. So are you pop riveting that aluminum or welding it? Just trying to learn your techique .

I bought my 1542 2 weeks ago and I can say I love it. 15 horse 2 stroke gets loaded with 2 people gear and all 18.9 mph. I started my carpet today and at first I just pulled it and stapled but learned real fast the carpet needs to be glued than stapled. I just used a indoor outdoor adheisive from Home Depot at it seemed to work great. I went to Lowes and bought the pre sized 6x8 indoor outdoor carpet for 17.00. Much cheaper than buying off the roll the roll would cost me right at 68.00 for the same amount of carpet I got for 34.00. I like it because it is dark grey and looks good. I will post pics soon. Good luck with the build it is aggravating at times but rewarding when it is done. Like my wife said today when it wasn't going right. This is something you should be enjoying so take a break and finish when the time is better. So I did not finish it tonight but it is better that way.

gatorglockman said:

Nice start. So are you pop riveting that aluminum or welding it? Just trying to learn your techique .

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Thanks. I am pop riveting and if it seems to need welding when I am finished, I will have a friend weld it for me.

knox37 said:

I bought my 1542 2 weeks ago and I can say I love it. 15 horse 2 stroke gets loaded with 2 people gear and all 18.9 mph. I started my carpet today and at first I just pulled it and stapled but learned real fast the carpet needs to be glued than stapled. I just used a indoor outdoor adheisive from Home Depot at it seemed to work great. I went to Lowes and bought the pre sized 6x8 indoor outdoor carpet for 17.00. Much cheaper than buying off the roll the roll would cost me right at 68.00 for the same amount of carpet I got for 34.00. I like it because it is dark grey and looks good. I will post pics soon. Good luck with the build it is aggravating at times but rewarding when it is done. Like my wife said today when it wasn't going right. This is something you should be enjoying so take a break and finish when the time is better. So I did not finish it tonight but it is better that way.

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I would really like to see the pics of your boat as I don't have a gas engine....yet. I am just waiting for the right deal. I have seen a couple of 15 hp outboards on CL and wasn't sure if it was enough hp for the mods that I am doing. Tell your wife thank you for me, too...thats very wise advice.

tmoore8 said:

gatorglockman said:

Nice start. So are you pop riveting that aluminum or welding it? Just trying to learn your techique .

Click to expand...

Thanks. I am pop riveting and if it seems to need welding when I am finished, I will have a friend weld it for me.

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Thx bro...figured. I have a welder, but I am not currently set up to run alum. I want to go the alum route vs wood if I can afford/do it....but if the material and sublet weld cost goes over budget...may have to stick to wood.

I'm looking into buying a Tracker 1542 soon so I'll be keeping a close eye on your mod. I will say that the font deck looks like it will be awesome. Can't wait to see how it looks completed.

any updates on this build? I got a tracker 1542 back in may, it's my first boat, planning on building a casting deck out of aluminum sort of the way you're doing it except use aluminum as the flooring instead of wood, would like to see how it turned out for you.

The Tracker 1542 is an excellent boat for the price.

BaitCaster said:

The Tracker 1542 is an excellent boat for the price.

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Unless it is cursed. :LOL2:

gillhunter said:

BaitCaster said:

The Tracker 1542 is an excellent boat for the price.

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Unless it is cursed. :LOL2:

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Ha ha!

I just bought one of these myself, and I will be documenting my build hopefully step by step. As soon as I get some work done on it, I will put up some pics.

Any updates on this? Thinking about buying this boat myself.

Hello Everyone...It's hard to believe that a year has passed since i have worked on the boat. Well, this warmer weather has given me new motivation. Here are some pics of the progress. I still have to fit some of the hatches and put in the carpet. Thanks BaitCaster for the idea on the RAM mount. Those things are great! I'll post more pics when the carpet is in.

Tmoore8, do you have any close up pictures of the framing you used? I've spent the last 4 or 5 weeks with aluminum tubing and L angles trying to figure out the best way to mount everything for a front deck, I'm going to rivet everything together but it looks like you went with some nuts and bolts, and I'm interested in how you braced the the vertical tubing to the floor of the Boat.

this is a great build, glad you got the motivation to finish it, definitely gives me hope for my build.

Leelatt, I used aluminum L angle for nearly everything and pop riveted it together. I attached to the ribs across the bottom with angle as well. Hopefully this pic explains a little better. If you click on the picture you should get a larger view of the framing.

Definitely helps out with my plans thank you, did you choose the L angle on the top of the frame (part that the deck sits on) over box tubing for any reason? I ask because I'm worried that the L angle won't provide as much strength as the box tubing would which is why I've been hesitant to start my decking project.

My plan now after seeing how you did it up close is to use an L angle piece riveted to the wall of the middle bench and also one on the wall of the front bench, then use 1 inch aluminum box tubing to run between those 2 L angle pieces (the box tubing would sit on top of the L angle pieces from mid bench to front bench), then use L angle pieces on top of the ribs like you did, and then use some more 1 inch box tubing as vertical supports. Then just rivet the crap out of all of it haha. I'm still debating on using 1/8 inch plywood or 1/16 aluminum plate to use for the deck, did you decide on what you are using?

lol sorry to ask so many questions, but you're build looks great so far and has given me hope for mine!

I used the L angle simply because I thought it would be easiest to work with. I used 5/8 plywood for the decks and they are solid as a rock under my 227 pounds. Sounds like a sound plan you have for your boat. I will hopefully get the wood coated and carpeted by the end of the weekend. It's time to go fishing!

I didn't get as far as I had planned, but still made progress. Here are some pics