'89 Tracker Pro 17 Investigation (lots of pics to come)

[jigngrub]

I'm here KK.

The 88 adhesive is a little tricky. I wait for it to dry enough so that when I touch it with my finger it is still sticky/tacky but it doesn't stick to my finger (my finger comes away clean and not with a gob of glue on it). The 88 bond isn't immediate, as a matter of fact it takes about 3 or 4 days to cure to a strong bond, longer than that if the temps are cool. I'm thinking your vinyl would've been ok had you let it cure.

Are you using the carpet roller to press the vinyl into the glue? Rolling your pieces once a day until the 88 cures will keep air bubbles from forming as well.

How are you doing your edges and the fold around to the back?

 

[kofkorn]

Thanks for the info JNG. I hadn't peeled up the whole thing, only one corner to see how the adhesion went. I might take the panel out of the garage and put it into our finished basement tomorrow. I'll let it set there over the weekend and see how it reacts. I'm encouraged by the fact that the drying time is that long. It is definitely cool down in the garage, maybe around 50 or so.

I was planning on letting the main surface dry enough to prevent any movement and then use some 3M Super 90 contact adhesive around the edges, along with some Monel or Stainless staples to fix it in place. I figured that this will hold the edges more quickly, and since they will be tucked under the deck and trapped between the wood and aluminum frame, they wouldn't go anywhere.

I'll keep on going with the 88, I'll just have to set out a bunch of drying racks

Thanks!

 

[jigngrub]

The 88 may take a week or 2 to completly cure at 50*.

Your plan for the edges and back sounds good. If you staple, use the stainless because they don't bend as much as the monel... you'll spend more time pulling mangled monel staples back out than stapling.

I bought a box of 1000 stainless 3/8" staples for $10 online at Home Depot with free shipping.

As I mentioned earlier, roll your finished pieces once a day for any air bubble that may form... I had a few. You can spot the bubbles if you'll tilt your piece up and view it at an angle, it's really hard to see them straight on because of the texture of the vinyl.

 

[kofkorn]

So thanks to Jigngrub from walking me back from the edge. It appears that for some reason, the issue is really only with the corners. When I looked a little closer, the edges of the glue around the rest of the sides appeared to be adhering pretty well. So last night I continued on a little more and did a couple of the smaller panels using the scrap material that was left from the first cut.

I am much happier with the results so far.


I made a trip to the local Lowe's this morning looking for the stainless steel staples. I found them in the hardware area, hanging on a peg. I ended up getting some 5/16" staples, as I've had problems with the staples being too long. Anyway when I got home I was disappointed to discover that I had purchased Monel staples instead of Stainless. They were side by side, with only one length of each. I figured I'd at least give them a try instead of making a run back to Lowe's to replace them. To my surprise, they worked perfectly. I haven't had a single one bend over yet. I wonder if the staple length is more of an issue than the material.


So today with the spray adhesive and the staples, I folded the edges of the casting deck over and stapled them in place. I am VERY happy with the results. The staples hold very well, I tried them on a scrap of material, and they are very hard to remove. Plus with the spray adhesive and the fact that the folded edges will be captured when I rivet the boards down, I am quite convinced that this flooring is going nowhere.


When it comes to the edges of the aluminum panels. I may end up using extra rivets a various locations to ensure a mechanical fix as well as the adhesive. The edges do appear to be sticking OK, but I am concerned that they will come up over time. I think this will be especially critical when it comes to the rear casting deck. I am also thinking about using some clear silicone adhesive to seal the edges all around. I really don't want those to start peeling.


I also did a quick dry fit of the livewell cover to see how big of a gap I need to deal with. The gap is enormous, nearly 1". I am sure that will be a little less when the vinyl is in place, but I am thinking of filling in the gaps with some wood shims. That, in combination with the aluminum angle trick that Jigngrub did should cover any gaps that remain.


So more vinyl to come tonight...

 

[shmelty]

Looking great!!

 

[kofkorn]

Hi Shmelty, thanks for the compliment! I was down in Bridgewater last weekend visiting a friend. Nice area.

I enlisted the help of my wife tonight on the vertical panel between the casting deck and the main deck. I figured it would be challenging, as it's difficult enough to manage the flat horizontal panels by myself.

I was at Lowes this weekend and walked through the flooring dept to look at the tools. I noticed a spreader for sheet adhesive that seemed to be perfect for what I am doing. So I picked one up. What a difference!! This spreads the adhesive MUCH faster and far more evenly than I could do with a brush. I highly recommend one if someone else is planning on doing this in the future.


In this case, I pre-cut the panel to fit, using clamps to temporarily hold it in place. We then spread the adhesive along the back of the vinyl and the front of the vertical panel. With help, we positioned it and used a strip of plywood along the top of the panel to hold the top flap in place.


Then we used one of the scrap pieces of styrofoam to put some pressure on the vertical portion of the panel. I had noticed when removing the carpet previously installed that the adhesion on the vertical panels was pretty poor. I am hoping that this will promote better adhesion in these areas.


I also laid out and adhered the vinyl for the main deck. This went much smoother with the use of the spreader and the extra experience I've already gotten.


Tomorrow night I'll cut out and fit the rear deck. I'll probably also be fixing the edges of the main deck too.

 

[kofkorn]

Progress has been stead and busy, with Christmas shopping and family activities tossed in.

The vinyl on the vertical panel under the front casting deck went quite well. The styrofoam pressure that I put onto it seemed to do a good job of adhering the vinyl to the aluminum. The only thing I would do differently would be to back it up with a piece of plywood to spread out the force a little more evenly. I still need to cut out the access panel and fold the edges back.


I also folded and stapled the edges on the main deck. I must say, I am surprised by the Monel staples. I've probably shot about 300 of them, and I haven't had a single one bend over or fold up. I'm using 5/16" long. I wonder if the length is more of an issue than the material.


I cut out the rear casting deck and positioned it in place. I am concerned with the ability to keep the edges from peeling up once it's glued down. I am planning on using rivets at various locations, particularly in the corners to mechanically fasten the vinyl down to the deck. I may use some silicone sealant around the edges as well to keep them from peeling.


As I was positioning the vinyl, I started looking at the gaps for the livewell and bilge covers. I did consider doing the same thing that Jigngrub did with the aluminum angle, but I think I'm going to reduce the gaps using thin shims and covering them with the vinyl. I did all of the cutting last night to minimize the gaps.


I kept the shims for the hinges just a bit lower so that the top of the cover matches the top of the rest of the deck.


I found a 1/8" aluminum plate that I took a strip off of to use at the back of the bilge cover, where I won't be using vinyl to cover it.


And tonight, I took all of the pieces and coated them with the last of the epoxy I had from the decking. Since these are under the vinyl, the epoxy is probably unnecessary, but at least this way, there will be no question.


Tomorrow, I'll use the 5200 adhesive to secure the shims in place and then I'll get to adhering the vinyl in place. I see a lot of little details in my future. I'm thinking that my hope of finishing this before Christmas may not happen...

 

[Brine]

Your build is looking great man. Congrats. Not sure if you mentioned it earlier, but where did you buy the vinyl, and what was the cost?

 

[kofkorn]

Hi Brine,

Thanks for the compliment! I'm really pleased with the progress, but I'm wanting it to be done. I need my car back in the garage.

I ended up ordering the vinyl from Defender.com. They easily had the best price for the Nautolex. I think I paid about 18.99 / yd for the 72" wide material. I ordered the Storm Grey. They are close to me, so it arrived overnight with just ground shipping. I've seen other renovations online that used Defender as well. They seem to consistently have the best price on the Nautolex.

 

[kofkorn]

Quick work tonight. I just used the 3M 5200 to adhere the shims to the openings for the livewell and the bilge cover. It went smoothly. I'm glad I've been saving all of those bar clamps over the years...


Other than that, I worked a little on the console, filling the hole left when I removed the radio by putting in the new trim/tilt gauge, a 12V socket and a DPDT switch to flip the bilge between constant on - Auto on (float).

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to glue the vinyl over the rear casting deck.

 

[kofkorn]

I got the rear deck vinyl on tonight. I only glued the top portion tonight, allowing it to dry before gluing the front of the deck tomorrow.

I did a final check of the gaps for the bilge cover and livewell covers before laying out the vinyl.


I used a few rivets to hold the position and stretch the vinyl out, and then put a few bags of wood pellets on top to add pressure to improve the adhesion.


And a couple of images of the extra panel I added to the console for the trim gauge:

 

[kofkorn]

Well it's been a very slow week, with Christmas shopping and wrapping and all of the holiday stuff, I've had a very limited amount of time to work on the project. The rear deck vinyl came out well. Due to all of the panels, rivets and seams in the deck, it doesn't lay very flat, but the texture on the Nautolex hides a lot.

I did try to use a piece of plywood to support the foam insulation that was pressed up against the vertical panel. However when I would start adding some pressure to the board using the angled 2x4's, the whole foam sheet and vinyl panel would ride upward, leaving a large bubble at the top corner. So I scrapped the sheet of plywood and went back to using the 2x4's directly on the foam:


With all of the panels so far, the vinyl has been oversized and then cut to fit after gluing. However, the rear deck design doesn't really allow you to do it this way easily. So instead, during the installation of the vinyl on the rear deck, I used a few rivets through the vinyl to hold it in position and to keep it stretched out. You can see one in this image in the top left corner. I had one rivet in each corner of the deck to hold it tight and in position while gluing. I had my wife stretch and hold the material while I drilled and popped the rivets.


Now, I'm down to the last piece of vinyl off of the roll. It ends up being A LOT closer to the exact amount of vinyl I need than I expected. I took all of the remaining pieces and laid them out on the sheet to get an idea of the fit.


Last night, I glued the two livewell covers. The edge of the vinyl directly against the hinges does not get wrapped. I was concerned about this peeling up using just the vinyl adhesive. So I used some of the remaining 3M 5200 adhesive along this one edge. You can see a little bit of the white 3M on the edge of the vinyl against the hinge.


One suggestion on the 3M is to wrap the tip of the tube with some electrical tape or similar tape and squeeze a bit of the adhesive out when it's wrapped. This allows the extra material that is squeezed out to form a new "Cap" that prevents the adhesive inside the tip from curing. I've used this same tube for over 3 weeks now without any issues at all, even though the tube says to use all of it within 48 hrs.

I also started wrapping the edges of the bilge cover yesterday. I am not planning on wrapping the vinyl under the cover edge, so I'm using some rivets to prevent the material from completely peeling up. I don't trust the contact adhesive over the long term without some mechanical backup method.


After cutting up the last piece of vinyl, I had JUST enough. I would suggest that anyone copying this order an extra yard of material (9 yds instead of 8), as I don't have a single piece of material larger than 10" x 12" left over, and I had to reduce the size of a couple of edge wrappings to make it all fit.


I have a vacation week next week, so I'm hoping to be able to squeeze in a little work among the holiday festivities Happy Holidays to all!

 

[spotco2]

It's looking better and better with every post!

I bet you can't wait to get it finished and out on the water.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

 

[whistler]

Been stopping by and taking a peak at your progress. Sorry I haven't jumped in and gave some positive feedback. Really is an outstanding job and not a half Ace fix. A fellow needs an attaboy every now and then. =D>

 

[kofkorn]

Thanks to both of you guys. I'm definitely very happy with the progress. I'm sure when I'm done that I'll have a brand new boat for less than 1/4 of the price. That's always been one of my joys in life, rehabbing older items. I've owned several 80's era motorcycles and I rebuilt one of those too.

You always get more satisfaction out of something that you've put your own effort into. I can't wait to get it all finished up.

Thanks again!

 

[fool4fish1226]

Thanks to both of you guys. I'm definitely very happy with the progress. I'm sure when I'm done that I'll have a brand new boat for less than 1/4 of the price. That's always been one of my joys in life, rehabbing older items. I've owned several 80's era motorcycles and I rebuilt one of those too.

You always get more satisfaction out of something that you've put your own effort into. I can't wait to get it all finished up.

Thanks again!

I agree there nothing like seeing a project from start to finish and then getting to enjoy it. You are doing a really great job with the boat I can not wait to see your future progress

 

[whistler]

I've owned several 80's era motorcycles and I rebuilt one of those too. Thanks again!

and what might those be while I'll try not to derail this nice build you have going here.

 

[kofkorn]

I started out on a 1980 Yam XS400, moved up to an 81 Honda CB900F which I rebuilt and repainted, then finally an '85 Honda VF750 Magna. The Magna was my dream bike for a VERY long time. Unfortunately after owning it for about a year, I realized that it was a little too small of a frame for me and I wished I'd kept the CB900 instead. I never paid more than $2000 for any of the bikes I bought. Each of them needed a little elbow grease and a carb cleaning and were operating like tops when I got rid of them.

That was all until my daughter was born. Then out went the bikes and in came my little 14' Meyer boat. Much less risk on the fishing boat than on the bikes, much easier to get approved through the boss And honestly, I had more fun working on them than I did riding them.

Hence, the new project :mrgreen:

 

[Bricball]

I have 2 buddies that have this same boat....and bOTH of them had the same problem with pressure sending lines. I don't know if Tracker just put in shoddy lines or that this is just the first thing that fails? I don't know if Evinrude manufacture's the line or if its a 3rd party? but needless to say...it can cause MAJOR headaches like what you are going thru on this rebuild/refresh. After you are done...this boat will last 10 lifetimes. Keep up the good work. =D>

 

[kofkorn]

I don't know that the new line that I put in was of significantly better quality than what I took out. In my case, I think the line was fine right up until the mice got to it. I'm going to make sure that I do everything that I can to keep any future critters out. Mothballs and D-Con seem to be the most widely used.

Progress is moving along. I finished up the openings for the livewell and the bilge. I used the 3M Super 90 spray adhesive with rivets to provide a mechanical backup. I'm not terribly concerned with the gaps in the vinyl in the corners. I may clean those up later. The spray adhesive provides a very good bond, but I riveted the flaps because I wasn't sure how the adhesive would hold up over time.


I also finished the livewell covers and assembled them in place. The gaps worked out very well, with only the slightest bind when I open them. I forgot to account for an extra thickness of vinyl when I wrapped the corners to cover the corner gaps. If not for that, the gaps would have been perfect. However, I am not disappointed with the results.


I also placed the port side panel back on. It's really starting to show what it is going to look like all together. I'm getting excited to see it finished.


I also worked on the triangular panel that covers the steering cable and the front panel for the bow casting deck. These two provided a new challenge because of the inside corners. I ended up using some longer wood scraps and my clamps to hold the vinyl in the correct position while drying. Next I need to wrap the edges.


I started wrapping the seat boxes, I'll wrap three sides before making the final length cut and then adhering the last side.


One quick tip on putting rivets through the vinyl: If you simply pick a spot and start drilling, the wood/aluminum chips build up under the vinyl and are difficult to get out. Instead, I used a scrap piece of wood on top first. Then drill through it all, with the vinyl sandwiched between. This prevents the chips from getting under the vinyl and gives a clean hole. You can re-use the same hole in the scrap wood many times without issue.

I made a trip to Bass Pro Shops yesterday, to use couple of the gift cards that I got. It's nice having one about 20 min away. Anyway, I came away with some nice goodies