codybuehler

Sounds good. I planned on being generous with the 5200. I also went just a hair bigger on the new bolts. The originals were 3/16" and I ordered 1/4". I snapped a few of the 3/16" ones off taking them out. Not that 1/16" bigger will make a huge strength difference, but it'll make me feel better. The new ones also have an allen wrench head instead of a phillips head. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I haven't made much progress in the last few days. My work schedule has been insane! I managed to get almost everything I needed to be able to finish this whole thing off once I get the wood epoxied. I have a simple question that has to have an easy answer, but my common sense flew out the window. I ordered stainless washers with the neoprene gasket attached for the bolts that run through the transom. The bolts I took out all had them, so I figured they would be good to use again. The question is which side does the neoprene go on, bolt head or transom? When we took them off, they were neo to bolt head. I am going to use 5200 on the bolts as well for double protection. I hopefully will get the wood cut to shape tonight and fitted before I seal it tonight. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Looks like I will be stopping on the way home for resin and a new sheet of plywood. Why the 3:1 mix? I am assuming 3 parts epoxy, 1 of hardener. By the sounds of it, I can just use the resin as the glue and to seal the wood? It doesn't need to look fancy, it'll be buried in aluminum sheeting. I'll be looking for the acid etching paint as well. I'll post up some pictures later tonight once I get the process going again. Thanks all!

And as for talking to a boat repair place locally, I live in northeast PA. They would probably charge me to ask questions! 😄 Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

That is good info. I'll be doing round #3 this week with epoxy! Would resin without the fiberglass between 2 sheets of plywood work or is the fiberglass sheet necessary? As for UV light degrading, all the wood is covered by aluminum. None of it is exposed to sunlight. But, what kind of paint would work? I'm not sure I want to get into gelcoating. Would an epoxy garage floor paint work? Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Thanks for the well wishes with this! It turned into a waiting game watching glue dry! I have definitely learned a few things with this so far. 1. Silicone is not a proper sealant for unused screw holes. I found a lot of spots the previous owner tried to seal up places that looked insane. He must have held the caulk gun on the hole and pumped it in until he ran out. 2. Liquid nails won't work for gluing plywood together. You can clamp it all day and when you unclamp it, it will just pop apart, even if you follow directions. 3. Tracker should have never used galvanized screws to hold the motorwell to the transom, even if they thought it would never see moisture. 4. When the galvanized screws rot off, more silicone will not hold the wetwell plate to the transom. Those are just a few initial observations. This next sheet of plywood is untreated pine sheeting. I used contact cement to glue them together. It's no cheaper than fiberglass/resin the sheets together, but seems like it is similar to make the plywood. If there is a reason that fiberglass/resin is used, I'll probably make another plywood part. For sealing, I am going to use spar urethane. The brand name is Minwax Helmsman. An open thought is about painting bare aluminum. Should it be done? I thought about just spraying it with rustoleum. Something is better than nothing! Another thing I have been trying to figure out is the bolt holes that go through the wood. Should they be drilled before or after sealing? If I drill before, and make sure urethane gets in them, that is just a bit extra protection. I am going to use 5200 on any bolt or screw that goes into the wood. I really don't want to replace this again anytime soon! Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

I am working on replacing my old wood transom in my Tracker. I had a hunch the transom was completely rotten, but was in denial. I literally had this out a week ago fishing on Seneca. I had to share once I started pulling things apart. The wood really isn't wood anymore, but loosely assembled wood chips and soggy wads of the remnants of plywood. It was unnervingly close to pulling the motor bolts through, also. I'll post more pictures as the project progresses. I Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Had an ok day out of clute. 2 salmon, 2 rainbows. Had another salmon hook up and bump off shortly after. The bows and 1 salmon were literally in front of the boat launch, the other salmon was out near the dirt line. Lures were a little firetiger rapala and a rainbow trout yo zuri pinfish. The big rainbow was 30", 8.5 lbs. This was his first time fishing outside of PA. Beginners luck! Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Hey CT3057. I tried to send you a message about the boat but got a server error and couldn't. I'm very interested in this boat. Can you try to send a message my way? I'll try again in a few minutes to send one your way. Cheers. Cody

Hi all I have picked up a project that I may regret. It's an older Proline walk around with an I/O 4.3l V6. The person I am buying it from is a co-worker who said it popped and seized fast. I know going i to it that it may require a complete repower. Has anyone ever replaced the engine in a similar boat? I have found reman'd engines online for $2300 that are complete and ready to bolt in. Seems like it won't be a nightmare project, but I have been wrong before.

And by hotgoot, i meant hotfoot. These iPhones aren't nice to type on!

I am looking to sell or trade my Nitro bass boat. Here are the specs: 1998 Nitro 884 Savage with 150 Mercury 2 stroke. It is also a 1998, direct oil injected. I bought it with a hotgoot gas pedal installed. Cranking battery was replaced this May. It runs awesome and is pretty quick (~52mph). It has a Minn Kota Powerdrive V2 70# 24v trolling motor with iPilot. The trolling batteries were new last summer. Console has a Humminbird 757c depth/GPS combo unit. Front deck has a Humminbird 570 that is hooked to the trolling motor universal sonar. Both work great! I am in the process of changing out the plastics for the dash panel and switch panel with ABS plastic. The original wood grain look plastic is old and cracked. Included trailer is a Loadrite single axle bunk trailer. The tires were replaced last year and the bearings, seals and buddies were replaced in early June. Carpet is in decent shape. The livewell pumps were replaced last summer. They didn't need it, but I wanted to tweek with something and had a couple days of fun! I just had multicolor deck lights and white compartment lights installed and a Pyle radio/CD player installed. I am asking $7800. I have nearly $10,000 invested in this since May 2012. It is a great boat, but doesn't fit the style of fishing I mainly do. For trades, I am looking for a walkthrough deep-V style for fishing finger lakes and the Big lake for trolling. 18-20' aluminum with an outboard. Any questions or want for more pictures, just ask!