1990 tracker magna17

megna17 · Jun 4, 2012

Hi
I have a 1990 tracker magna 17 and the the transom needs to be replaced. Can someone help me in which is the best way to get at all the screws that need to be taken out.
It looks as if I have to take the floor out to be able to remove a section of the boat to get at the screws or is thare someway to remove the top portion of the back of the boat.

Thank you

Bob_VT · Jun 5, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

Welcome aboard.

Common repair. I will move this to the restoration section and you should read the top posts in that section for a good understanding of how and where to start.

jigngrub · Jun 5, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

You should post pics of your boat and the area you're working on for the best help/information.

Is the Magna an aluminum or fiberglass boat?

If it's aluminum you'll probably need to remove the back deck and splashwell to access your fasteners.

megna17 · Jun 5, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

Yes its a alumlnum boat. And the gunnal go out over the ends of the transom. How do i post pictures.
Just new to this forum.

jigngrub · Jun 5, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

Here's a link to pic posting instructions:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=410147

The Photobucket method is the best and easiest IMO.

I thought the Magna was aluminum, but wasn't sure.

You're probably going to have to remove some blind rivets to be able to get enough of your splashwell out to access the inside of your transom, this isn't a big deal and they'll replace easy enough. If you need help finding a rivet tool and rivets I can help you with that.

Just so you know up front, no pressure treated wood in an aluminum boat.

megna17 · Jun 6, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

I will post some pic when i get back at the project. But i thing that i need to take the floor up to get at some rivets and then take the back deck off.

jigngrub · Jun 6, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

It won't hurt a thing to take your boat mostly or completely apart, you may even find some other things that need to be done.

Trackers are easy to take apart and put back together, I took mine apart last fall. Here's the thread if you want to take a look.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=509163

megna17 · Jun 10, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

jigngrub said:
It won't hurt a thing to take your boat mostly or completely apart, you may even find some other things that need to be done.

Trackers are easy to take apart and put back together, I took mine apart last fall. Here's the thread if you want to take a look.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=509163

Thanks for the pictures. Will I got the splashwell out and the old transom one 1/2 was rotten and it weighted about 200 pounds. My next question is the holes that I drill for the motor bolts such I put spacers in the holes? there were no spacers and it looked like the wood and aluminum were been squashed togather and also the eyes for towing skies have also been squashed. what should I do?

Thank you

jigngrub · Jun 10, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

megna17 said:
Thanks for the pictures. Will I got the splashwell out and the old transom one 1/2 was rotten and it weighted about 200 pounds. My next question is the holes that I drill for the motor bolts such I put spacers in the holes? there were no spacers and it looked like the wood and aluminum were been squashed togather and also the eyes for towing skies have also been squashed. what should I do?

Thank you

You don't need spacers, you need good solid wood. The wood was getting squashed because someone tried to tighten the bolts with rotten wood in the transom. They did this to try to stop the leaking, it didn't work.

You'll probably need to replace your washers if they're cupped from the squashing, and maybe your nuts and bolts too if they look to be in bad shape.

Don't use pressure treated wood for your transom, use a good exterior grade plywood and seal it with 3 coats of epoxy resin or exterior grade Spar urethane.

megna17 · Jun 18, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

HI again Will I have the transom made and put back into the boat but now I have trouble replacing the top cap its not wide enough and I made the transom the same wide 1 3/4" same as the old one.

Can someone help?

Thanks

jigngrub · Jun 18, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

Most transoms are 1 1/2", and most people use 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood laminated together. Your old transom was probably swollen from absorbing water and that's why it measured 1 3/4".

How did you make a 1 3/4" thick transom?

Can you shave off enough of the inside of the wood to make the cap fit? What is the inside dimension of your transom cap?... that was the dimension you should have fabricated it too.

Again, pictures would help a lot.

megna17 · Jun 18, 2012

Re: 1990 tracker magna17

Will I laminated 3/4 and two 1/2" pylwoods togather. I measured the inside channel that the transom fits into and it was 1 7/8" so thats what I made the transom I did not think about the cap.
The transom as resin on it and is in the boat with some of the bolts replaced. It sound like i may need to take it back out.

1990 tracker magna17

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