Re: 1987 BassTracker livewell question...
I checked through the manual last night and it reads that the standpipe could be removed to fully drain the livewell. I live just a 1/4 mile from the boat launch and will trailer it home. Probably just need to put some lube on pipe to get it freed up.
The short version story on the boat. I saw it sitting in the trees beside a house- it was covered with the tracker cover. Last registration date was 1997. I asked the owner if he was interested in selling it. After a bit of coaxing, he said he would sell, but warned me that under the cover was a nightmare in waiting. 10 years worth of water damage to all the decking and carpet, no seats (he put them in his jon boat)
wiring a mess, etc. I pulled off the cover and all I could see was a diamond in the rough just needing some elbow grease and a bit of cash. After a short discussion on pricing, I paid him the $650.00, put air in the tires and pulled it home. I want to be upfront and say- I DIDN"T TAKE ANY PICTURES- why, becasue I am an IDIOT. I do things like this once in awhile and buy something to restore it. When I get going, I just never think about pictures, just thinking about the next step and getting it done.
I spent the first 2 hours pulling all the junk carpet, decking, and debris out of it. The bottom was still full of water as rotted wood had plugged the drain holes in the stringers. After getting it drained, I pulled the motor and hung the boat from the rafters in my pole barn. Using the winch on my polaris ranger, I winched it up and flipped it over, draining about 5 gallons of water hiding in the foam. I ran a heater under it for a week drying to salvage the foam, but it was too far gone, so I stripped out all the foam. It hung for 2 more days with the heat just to dry things out. I gave the bottom the mothers aluminum polish treatment while it was hanging. Once dry, I flipped it back over and onto the trailer. 12 cans of spray foam, along with some nice foam blocks and I was ready to move on. Next step was to repaint the inside. I bought some textured spray paint (rustoleum- gray,with black and white texture) and got the inside done. Next came the carpet and decking- using the smoke colored carpet from cabelas. While that was being done, I also repainted the outside which was all sun faded. I taped off the big bass tracker decal- touching up a few spots with airbrush paint, then painted the outside with a dark metallic gun metal color (like the newer tracker color). Ordered new seats, and poles, reinstalled the anchor mate, trolling motor (which I plan on replacing soon) and the steering column. Bought a new switch plate, got the new light bases installed and wired everything up. Ended up replacing the bilge and aerator pumps as well. At this point, I am just waiting on my local boat mechanic to finish with the motor- having the water pump impeller replaced, lower unit oil changed, carb cleaned and new plugs installed. My last fw steps will be to pull the tires off the trailer to sand and repaint the rims, replace the bunks, and the other wood pieces, rework the trailer wiring and I should be done.
I will take some pics of the piles of carpet, decking and foam I removed (haven't had time to clean up the mess yet) and of course some of the completed project.... should have it in the water tomorrow if I can get the motor picked up this afternoon.
