1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

scubby · Jan 26, 2012

I recently started restoring a 1985 Tracker bass boat, and I have more questions than answers. Such as; Should I remove all the insulation from the bottom of the boat? Is there some form of channel drainage at the hull of the boat? If no channel for drainage and I remove all the insulation should I create a channel before adding insulation back to the boat? And many more questions. Am I over thinking these aspects? Should I strictly stay away from the hull and just give it a face-lift? The boat has never had any water issues, and is a great running vessel. The previous owner just did a real crappy job when he re-carpeted the boat? Any advice given will be taken with a grain of salt. I understand I do not know much when it comes to boats, but I do not want to restore this thing again, I want to do it right the first time and let my family and I enjoy the water for years to come.

Woodonglass · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

I'd core sample the foam and see if it's wet. Take a piece of 1 1/2" pvc pipe and cut some teeth in one end of it. Screw it down through the foam till it bottoms out and remove it. Check for wetness. If none. then replace the core sample and re-deck and carpet or use vinyl like jigngrub and go fishin.

scubby · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

The insulaton is completely soaked the closer you got to the hull. At the seating area (captains, middle, and passneger) there was a drain that went absolutely no where. When I pulled the floor, directly under the drain cap was insulation. Nothing went down any further than that. Any water that was going through the drain went directly onto the insulation. This is one of the things that has me completely puzzled about how this boat drains. Any advice?

Woodonglass · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

All the foam will need to be removed. Believe it or not it is adding several Hundred lbs in additional weight to your boat, and you can NEVER get it to dry out. There are methods on reinstalling it to allow drainage that we can discuss when you get to that point. Right now you need to concentrate on the Demo. A small shovel and pry bars and old time wood saws work well.

scubby · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Thank you very much for the advice. I was actually trying to dry it out. I will be in touch over the next few days to let you know how everything is going. Thanks again!

Woodonglass · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Keep posting pics and asking questions. Lot's of Great Help here on the forum.

gooseofdeuce · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

I'm redoing an 86 17 foot bass tracker also. The drain holes do go all the way to the back but get easily clogged. Check out my project page, NOTHING FANCY JUST SOMETHING FOR HUNTING AND FISHING. i had to use a coat hangar to unclog them. I just finished getting all the foam out today. If you use your stern deck a good bit you may want to look at re-encorcing it if you don't re-install the foam. The foam does help support the stern deck, once removed you will see substantial flex. I'm turning the new space into new storage. The wood from the decking degrages and clogs the drains from what i found. I'm replacing almost all wood with aluminum and removing all small particals that may clog the drain holes. I'm also planning on making them bigger.

scubby · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Hi Goose. Your boat looks to be identical to mine, but there are a few diferences. The floor in mine had 1 1/2" thick pieces of insulation and not solid insulation. Also, I checked thoroughly where the floor drain was placed and could not find any drainage down to the hull area. One more thing I noticed was where you are talking about adding insulation to the storage areas behind the two main seats, mine is full of insulation all the way back to about 12" from the back of the boat. One aspect of this restore project I am excited about is adding more deck footage at the front of the boat. I am planning on doing this by adding one or two more stringers where the floor is currently and having only leg room when you sit down, instead of having a 5' recessed area where you sit. How did you get the insulation out from underneath the seating area, and is there more insulation under the livewell area?

gooseofdeuce · Jan 26, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

There was insulation under the seating area, livewell, and from what i can tell under the sheet the gas tank sits on. Mine is a permenant mount gas tank. I'm not adding any more foam to mine. I wanted to get rid of my foam, yes i know it'll keep it up in case of a swamping, but where i go that's not likely. I had what appeared to be the two part foam in it. I removed about 10 or so 30 gallon trash bags of the stuff, all water logged. It's amazing how much lighter the boat is now. I drilled out the rivets and just had to work at bringing the foam out in small pieces. By the way where are you located?

scubby · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

I live in Ishpeming Mi., just off of Lake Superior. The U.P. (Upper Peninsula) weather is giving me a lot of time to work on this project in my garage. I looked at my boat tags and it says 4 people or 650 lbs. for capacity. I would really love to refill the boat with insulation but run some form of drain from front to back but don't think I can do it without removing my upper deck in the back of the boat. I swore I would not cut rivets when I started this project, I am re-thinking that decision now. I will try to post some pictures in the near future, and hope that more people like yourself will have much to add to our conversation. I would also love to see more photos of your finished product, the more the better as I am in need of a little inspiration.

jigngrub · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

When you put your floatation foam back it should look like this:

Mine came from the factory like this and I circled the drain hole in the ribs for clarity.

scubby · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Hi Jig. Thanks for the pics, that's exactly what I was thinking about doing but was unsure if it would jeopardize the integrity of the boat. I can see now that my worries are unfounded. Do you have any advice about what kind of insulation to use here? As I understand it there are different kinds of insulation to choose from (more dense or less dense). And if so, where could I find these products?

gooseofdeuce · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Scubby, i think you are going to want to got with a closed cell 2 part foam and probably do some form of solid foam like Jig's boat has to contain the 2 part and not fill the channel in the middle so it can drain properly. Closed cell is supposed to not absorb water. You may be able to put the foam in a trash as a way to add a barrier between it and any water. do a google search for "two part boat foam" "Boat Foam" etc. I did a search a while back and didn't have any problem getting results.

scubby · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Hi Goose. It was my understanding that the insulation was a must have with these boats. I would definitely be open to not replacing it during the renovation process. How does your boat function without the insulation? Is your boat less stable without it (more tippy or rocky when fishing)? The boat has a fifty horse Johnson, which runs great, but if I could create less weight in the boat I think the vessel would get up and go even better? What are your thoughts?

gooseofdeuce · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

I don't know how it is in the water yet. I'm still in the construction mode. I never put it in the water, i bought it and started ripping it apart. I even have to replace the motor, wish the 85hp mercury was working, i believe it would be scary fast with the weight i'm shedding.

scubby · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

The plaque I posted to you earlier about (4 people or 650 lbs.) says not to exceed an 80 hp. motor, so I think you are right it would be scary fast. Does your boat have the drainage holes through the stringers like Jig posted his pictures of? Also, did you remove the upper deck in the back of the boat and gut all the insulation? Also, what is the extra hole for you cut in the rear of the boat?

jigngrub · Jan 27, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

scubby said:
Hi Jig. Thanks for the pics, that's exactly what I was thinking about doing but was unsure if it would jeopardize the integrity of the boat. I can see now that my worries are unfounded. Do you have any advice about what kind of insulation to use here? As I understand it there are different kinds of insulation to choose from (more dense or less dense). And if so, where could I find these products?

My boat has the 2 part pourable expanding urethane foam (from the factory) and that's what a lot of people use, you can buy it online here:

http://www.uscomposites.com/foam.html

The pourable is the best floatation IMO

There are videos of how to pour it on youtube that will help you understand how to use it.

Other folks use the rigid blue or pink polystyrene building foam from Home Depot or Lowes.

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

The sheet foan is also very good floatation material.

You can actually use both of these foams together. Pour a layer of the urethane down and then put a piece of sheet over it, then pour another layer of urethane on top.

Both types of foam are closed cell and won't absorb water.

scubby · Jan 28, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Thanks for the reply Jig. Last night I removed most of the insulation from my boat, about 2/3 of it. Just over two-hundred lbs. came out of the hull (couldn't believe it). I found holes running down the center of the boat for drainage, but they were the size of a #2 pencil (also, couldn't believe it). I am so glad that I tore into this boat and decided to do everything that I am doing. Planning on drilling-out the drain holes to at least a 1 inch diameter (maybe bigger so this problem never happens again, also planning to replace insulation back to factory specs (basically the same as in your pictures). The more I rip-out of the boat the more I want to redo the transom on it. I would hate to redo the entire boat just to find out in a few years that the transom needs to be replaced. I have been doing a lot of searching in the forums of iboats and have found a great deal of information on redoing transoms. Why not just do it right? Gaining more confidence as I go, thanks to the help and suggestions from people in these forums like you and goose. I'm working on the pictures of my progress and hope to start posting some in the near future. Thanks again guys, talking with experienced people helps a great deal.

Woodonglass · Jan 28, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

I highly recommend you plan on doing the transom. I really makes sense to do it ALL since you have it torn all the way down. Doing it all the right way will ensure that you have a boat that will last for decades with no worries about similar issues to the ones you are experiencing now. JMHO

jigngrub · Jan 28, 2012

Re: 1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

Woodonglass said:
I highly recommend you plan on doing the transom. I really makes sense to do it ALL since you have it torn all the way down. Doing it all the right way will ensure that you have a boat that will last for decades with no worries about similar issues to the ones you are experiencing now. JMHO

Ditto!

Don't forget to check your hull for leaks after you get the foam out and before you install the new. If you find any leaks we'll help you with fixing those too.

1985 Tracker Tournament V 17

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