Tracker Grizzly 1754 Center Console Conversion

[Ebug]

Hi fellow TinBoaters.

I have a 2012 Tracker 1754 SC (side console) boat that I absolutely love. I bought the boat rather quickly without putting much thought into whether I really prefer a center console or a side console. After fishing out of this boat for the last 3 years I can say that I am not too happy with the side console. Primarily since I cannot see much of what is in front of me at speed and I never liked losing the gunnel real estate on that side of the boat. Makes it a bit cumbersome to fight a fish on that side of the boat and I have not been able to put rod holders there.

I finally made the decision to convert the boat over to a center console. I searched the net for as many photos of boats similar to this size to see what others had done. One of my main concerns was not having a console too wide so as to make it dangerous to walk around it without falling in.

I also started looking for ready to install consoles in both fiberglass and sheet metal. I found a few but most of them were either too short for me or were totally out of my budget. The budget being zero dollars out of my pocket once I sell the existing side console with built in live well. Fairly aggressive budget...but hey...you have to set boundaries somewhere.

Well after much budget squeezing and such I decided to make my own.

One thing I did not think was going to be a problem was deciding what height and width I was going to make this thing. I drew several versions and played around with a tape measure at different heights to find a steering wheel height I was comfortable with. I found that 43” seemed to work for me even though I felt it might be a little tall. I called my friend who has a center console flats boat and asked him what his wheel height is which turned out to be 38”. With me being a few inches taller than him I settled on 41”. I can still trim the bottom as required once I fit it in the boat. For the width I settled on 20" and added 7 degrees if tilt towards the driver for added toe clearance when driving.

I picked up a 4 x10 sheet of .08” aluminum and proceeded to bend, cut, and trim until I have what you see in the pictures. I made the top out of .125" thick aluminum to give more support for the steering box and throttle control. I will not be able to weld it up for a couple of more weeks due to other obligations.

I will post more when I get to the next phase.

Rob

 

[JL8Jeff]

Looks good. I have a Lowe 1652 and the center console is 19" wide which leaves enough room for me to get around so you should be ok. I would suggest putting the side angle pieces on the inside if you are barefoot in the boat a lot. I could see catching a foot on those as you walk around the console. I moved my console up so it's almost against the front deck but left the space for the angle piece so it would be going into a crossmember. I could barely get the rivet gun in to put in the rivets so depending on where you plan to mount the console, you might want to consider putting the front angle inside as well. What size wheel were planning to use? That might determine if your console is too high to be comfortable.

 

[riverrat717]

Looking good so far! =D> You planning on a hinged door on this? Good place for batteries, lifejackets, ect.

 

[Ebug]

Good suggestion on the angle on the inside. I'm not a barefoot walker though. Certainly not on my boat....hooks seem to find their way onto the floor.

Plus my future plans are to install a 19 gallon fuel tank under there so it will be easier to remove the mounting fasteners from the outside and lift the console up off the tank if needed.

I haven't really decided exactly where I will mount it. I am leaning towards just aft of center. This will allow me to mount a cooler in front for passenger seating and still have leg room in front of that. This boat has a long front deck and the current seating is moved forward on a sheet metal box. I might remove that box and move the seating up to the rear deck or not have seating at all. So many choices.

You can see here in the top view of the boat that much of the floor space is eaten up by that seat mount.

 

[Jim]

Wow, awesome!

 

[JL8Jeff]

Mine has the seat mount in almost the same spot, just a little further back. But I've never used it and I'm sure it's too close to the console now. With the jet, I wanted the weight moved forward so my console is about an inch back from the front deck. I throw a beach chair on the front deck when I'm kicking back and not fishing. I've still caught some nice bass while reclining in the beach chair! :lol: I wanted to put a gas tank under the console but it's really narrow and not easy to find a tank to fit so I moved the battery under the console which helps with the weight getting up front. I'm surprised that moving the console forward about 28" gave me such a better view into the water for seeing rocks.

 

[Catch Release Repeat]

Anyone ever instead of putting the console right behind the front deck actually putting a shorter one ON the front deck? Seems like it would clear up even more room.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OutrageGIS]

If visibility is your main concern I would put the console just far enough forward to have a good view of the water in front of you. You need to decide if you will run a seat, no seat or a leaning post. I set mine up so that I have a tall bench seat but still need to stand in order to see right in front of the boat. If you are running a gas tank in the console the farther forward you are the longer run for fuel line and steering cables and more time to get on plane with all that weight to the front.

 

[JL8Jeff]

Anyone ever instead of putting the console right behind the front deck actually putting a shorter one ON the front deck? Seems like it would clear up even more room.

I thought about cutting it down shorter and doing that but you would still want it to overhang a bit so you don't kick the deck with your feet while standing at the console. But I didn't want to lose any of the deck space since that is really where I spend most of my time while floating/fishing. I'm happy with the way my boat is set up now.

If you are running a gas tank in the console the farther forward you are the longer run for fuel line and steering cables and more time to get on plane with all that weight to the front.

Actually, I get on plane much faster and the boat doesn't squat as much on take off with the weight moved forward.

 

[Ebug]

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and ideas. It gives me more to think about and research.

I just drew my boat in my CAD system in the current configuration and a couple of random center console configurations with and without moving the gas tank.
I ran a VERY rough CG calculation for each configuration. It looks like moving the console 5 inches further forward and adding a 19 gallon fuel tank inside will move the CG forward almost 14". With the console in the same location but using the stock fuel tank the CG only moves forward 8-1/2".

I don't know what all this means as far as planing time but I will do more research.

Please keep all the ideas coming.

Rob

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Definitely need a grab rail on that console.

 

[Ebug]

Just a quick update. Sorry no pictures right now.

I welded up the console and mounted the steering box and throttle. I was able to measure both the steering cable and throttle/shift cables and ordered them. They came in yesterday so I should be installing them this weekend. I will post picture after I complete that.

Small rant:
I cannot understand how local boat shops stay in business these days if they haven't embraced the internet sales movement. I was trying to keep my money local and went to one of the Teleflex dealers in San Antonio. Gave them the part number I needed and was promptly told that the steering cable would be $172.00 plus tax. I didn't even ask about the other two cables after hearing that price.
I ordered the steering cable($86.79), throttle cable($25.75), and shift cable($25.75) from a Marina in FL and had it shipped($19.00) to my door for less than the cost of that one steering cable priced locally.
I knew the local price would be more and I had committed to myself to pay more to keep it local but the prices they are charging are just out of line in this market place.

That is my opinion anyhow.
End rant.

Rob

 

[Ebug]

Hello all.

I finally got around to finishing the center console conversion on my Tracker 1754. As you can see by the photos I am not one for polish and paint but everything is very functional, which suits me.

You can see in the photos that I had to add a raised floor section between the seat box and console. I tried to run all the cables and wiring under the floor, but the cross bracing from Tracker only provides a small square opening about 2" x 2". The metal adjacent to these openings did not appear to have been debured during fabrication so I was worried about chaffing.

Another fact that I had not thought through was that the steering cable has a minimum bend radius which did not all me to point it back into the motor well to travel under the floor either. I ended up bringing it through the back deck down through the gas tank well which required raising the tank mounts 2" for clearance. I am already looking for a good deal on a hydraulic steering kit.

Once all the fabrication work was finished I tackled the wiring harness. While the factory harness looked more like a bowl of spaghetti than an actually harness, it was in fact very good quality. I dismantled it and reworked it to travel down the center of the boat and it utilizes all the factory connectors still which I like. I made a small panel to support the original switch panel and the Fuse box from BlueSeas. I also added a tach while I was in there.

I had originally envisioned having the bait tank mounted in front of the console like the previous side console had but ended up moving the original Tempress seats outward toward the gunnels to give me enough room to mount the bait tank seat combo I purchased from G3 between them. The seat is comfortable enough and eliminates the need to fabricate a leaning post and getting it upholstered.

I still need to get a windshield and make some sort of burn bar. I am holding off until I get some updated electronics to make sure it will all fit.

I took the boat out last Saturday by myself with minimal gear aboard. With all the mods and just me in the boat I was able to trim the motor very aggressively, which I was never able to do before. It previously was hyper sensitive once it went past the sweet spot. I still have not run it with a full load but I foresee it getting even better with my wife setting in front of the console.

Side note. Adding the tach allowed me to finally see what rpms the prop I have would allow. It is running right at 5600 rpm at WOT with a 14P prop. I will order a 13P soon to raise the rpm's a little. Might even go to the 12P depending on how much the rpms change.

As for my original budget of zero dollars...well that came and went. B.O.A.T (Bring On Another Thousand) pretty much describes it.

The good thing is I found a really nice guy about an hour away from me that wanted the original side console and all the gear that went with it. When I heard the story about how he got the boat from his father who just recently past I let him have it all for $100. He was restoring the boat with his son. How could I not give him a great deal.

 

[Catch Release Repeat]

Looks great man! Got enough coolers? Haha have you looked into a windshield yet? You'll. want one trust me! And probably a grab bar if you drive like I do.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[richg99]

Looking great.

Isn't it wonderful when you can make a boat what YOU want, instead of what some designer four States away thought was right?

richg99

 

[Ebug]

"Got enough coolers?"

Yeah, I definitely agree. The one in the front is where I put ice/drinks/lunch for the family when we fish.

I did just buy a much smaller Engle 30QT cooler to use up there. I am going to mount it offset to the left by the trolling motor to provide more room up on that deck and to get a chair for the wife.


The larger green cooler in front of the console is used as a fish box. I am a carnivore and I aggressively practice CFE...(catch, fry, eat).

What looks like a cooler between the back seats is actually a bait tank. I found a picture of a live well on a G3 boat and contacted my local dealer about getting one. It is plumbed with an inlet and return to the stern with a pump on a timer that exchanges the water throughout the day. No aerator required.



As far as windshield I have found several sources that will make the bent Lexan style that is commonly seen on center console boats. While I was fabbing up the console I went ahead and bent up a blank to make the windshield style shown in the photo below. Just not sure what I am going to do yet.




Rob

 

[richg99]

Heck, I'd just stick a piece of plexiglass into the "bent up blank" and call it finished.

Ha Ha richg99

 

[Ebug]

Hello all. I figured I would stop in and provide an update on my center console conversion now that I have had time to run the boat a couple of times.

The first outing was with just me in the boat and minimal fishing gear which was a first for me. It was a little strange getting used to driving in the standing position. Working the throttle is something I am going to have to get used to. One thing I really like is being able to swivel around and see behind me. When previously setting down I was limited by how far my back would twist. Of course the standing also affords much more visibility in front of the boat.

The boat now gets on plane within a couple of boat lengths and I am able to trim the motor a lot more than I used to. Not that it is necessary to achieve top speed, but it feels much safer. Before the boat would get into dangerously violent porpoising with just a little too much trim. Now I feel like I can trim it until the prop was out of the water and not achieve that situation. I did not have my GPS with me on this outing but my tach was showing 5600 rpm at WOT complete trimmed for speed. My motor has a 6200 rpm rev limiter so I have a little room to play with on prop selection.

Yesterday I took my buddy fishing. He weights about 260lbs and he set in front of the center console. This time the tach was showing 5500-5550 rpm, and I did have my GPS hooked up and it was showing 33.1mph. Interestingly when I over trim the motor it blows the prop out trying to get on plane with the extra weight in front of the console. Never had that happen. I stays hooked up with the trim set appropriately. I was also able to stay on plane at speeds under 15mph.

My next major project for the boat is to install a jack plate. With that done I will look into selecting the appropriate prop once I see how the combination acts.

Interesting tidbit. When I go to the Mercury website and use their prop selector it shows I should be using a 13.4P prop to achieve 5750rpm and should be going 39.8 mph. I currently have a 14P prop so I am not far off...and my rpms of 5550-5600 is real close to their estimation. The weird part is my boat currently only goes 33.1mph. While I don't believe a prop change is going to get me 6.7 more mph...I feel that this shows I have room to improve my current combination via the jack plate. Both raising the motor to reduce drag and getting it farther back into cleaner water flow.

Once I get the jack plate project under way I will start a new thread.

Rob

 

[richg99]

Sounds like things are working to your satisfaction. Nice when that happens. richg99

 

[Ebug]

A quick update on the center console project.

I floundered around for a while trying to decide how to get a windshield and grab rails on the console. With the boat being so narrow I really didn't want to add much width to the console so I decided to make a square tube frame that mounts to the top of the console. It would allow me to mount a sheet of plastic to the front for a windshield.

I went to my local metal supplier (1 hour away) and found some 1-1/4" 6063 T5 square aluminum tubing that I liked. It was a little beefier that 1", yet still fairly easy to bend. It has 1/8" radii on the corners so it feel nice when you grab on to it.

I already owned a JD Squared tubing bender and have a great selection of round tube dies, but I didn't have the required square tube die. I called manufacturer and was quoted $385 to my door. That was way more than I wanted to spend on a dozen or so bends.

I looked around on the internet for some ideas for low buck methods for bending. I did not find exactly what I was looking for so I rummaged through my shop and found this really neat Ø1/2" tubing bender made by Rigid. It is a compression forming style of bender that uses a wiper shoe to form the tube around a matching die. I didn't like the idea of so much friction with the wiper so I elected to use rollers on mine. I sat down at the computer and modeled the bender and the frame in the CAD system.

Again, I went back into the shop and was able to find all the material I needed in my scrap pile so I got to work. Most of the pieces needed to have a large radius machined in them so I set up a rotary table on the manual mill and got after it. I wasn't in a hurry so this part of the project took a few weekends in the shop.



Once everything was machined and assembled I took the bender outside and mounted it to an old metal frame I have behind the shop and got to bending. I welded it up last week after work one evening and was able to get it painted last night and mounted today.





I just couldn't decide where to get a windshield. I found a couple of sources and was quoted $150 for one made to my dimensions. Again, more than I wanted to spend so I jetted over to one of the big box hardware stores and found smoked lexan for $25. It is 1/8", but with plenty rivets it will be solid enough. Once it breaks I will replace it with the 1/4" material ($57).





I also designed and fabbed up a rear rod holder to go behind the bait tank/seat at the rear of the boat. I still need to weld on the feet and paint it. It has 11 rod holders. LOL. I am a man of excess...but I do lug around 10 crappie rods most of the time. I still need to finish welding and painting it. Maybe this next week. It will get a small upholstered cushion to function as a seat back when setting.