'97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

[ezmobee]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

You are the vinyl KING! Looks amazing. I agree, looks better than the new ones!

 

[ncnjeremy]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Wow, That does look really slick. Im looking at alternatives to carpet on my restore.

 

[seakingbob]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

WOW That looks great, What brand of vinyl did you use. I really am leaning towards the vinyl. Could you come and help me with mine lol

 

[jigngrub]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

WOW That looks great, What brand of vinyl did you use. I really am leaning towards the vinyl. Could you come and help me with mine lol

It is the Nautolex that most of the other folks on here use.

My labor is $30/hr. + room and board, free drinks, and a Scarlet Johansen look-a-like living companion for the duration of the job.

 

[seakingbob]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

you got it buddy, but if I have to throw in the girl I'll have to cut out the hourly rate lol

 

[KDAVID1]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

jigngrub--I just got the chance to look at your job--VERY NICE!!

 

[seakingbob]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

What color is this. the Shark gray or the Storm gray ??? how much glue did you use for this project? Thanks

 

[jigngrub]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

What color is this. the Shark gray or the Storm gray ??? how much glue did you use for this project? Thanks

It's the Storm Gray, I opted for the lighter of the 2 so it would be cooler in the hot Alabama sun. It show dirt a little more than I'd like, but that just tells you it needs cleaning, which is a lot easier to do than carpet.

I used a boat load of glue! I used about 1 gallon of the Nautolex 88 adhesive on the large flat areas coating both the wood and vinyl, I used about 1 gallon of contact cement wrapping all the edges and doing the smaller pieces. I used 2 coats of contact cement on the vinyl and plywood because they're porous and drink up the first coat. If this vinyl ever comes loose from the plywood, it won't be because I didn't use enough glue.

 

[Bigboyitm]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Boat looks good!

 

[DougyB]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

I know this thread is a bit aged, but jig, I just had to say this a fantastic job, absolutely inspires me for my upcoming restore... I am in awe and this just set the bar twenty feet higher for my own boat, and I'm happy to have stumbled upon this thread

 

[jigngrub]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Thanks for the kind words Doug.

I'm always around so if you need any help just give a holler.

 

[Mr. Ross]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Great thread and pictures. I just picked up a 1988 Tracker 17 Magna with a 70 Merc. The rig has been stored for years, used to belong to a good friend and has perhaps 30 hours total on her. I noticed a small area of the deck just aft of the rise for the bow platform is a bit spongy, thinking it could be a joint there or some dry rot since it has been kept inside for so long. Given that this boat is like new I may want to remove the floor and fix the spot at some point in the future.

Appears as though it can be done without too much trouble over the winter. I attached a picture of the inside of the engine to show how clean it is. I'm in the process of replacing the oil and fuel lines as they are dry rotted.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

The deck fasteners through the carpet make it easy to take the Trackers apart and put back together.

There's no telling what you'll find when you take your's apart, quite possibly a rodent den.

I think your carpet and seat vinyl will wear out pretty quickly due to some dry rot too, but those are pretty easy fixes.

That motor looks sweet, I'd go ahead and replace the impeller and lower unit lube too. The impeller is a fairly easy fix, there's lots of vids on youtube on how to do it... and for about $20 it's cheap insurance.

Start your own thread when you dig into your boat and we'll be here to help if you need it, or we'll be happy to just sit on the sidelines and watch... we love the boat fix threads around here!

 

[Mr. Ross]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Thanks I'll do that.

 

[switchbackjr.]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Hey man, way to go...that looks great...i don't think that will come up anytime soon...great job

 

[Handyman663]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Thanks for the kind words Doug.

I'm always around so if you need any help just give a holler.

Hey, Captain. This is an ancient thread, but I am going to re-carpet my 2000 Deep V Tracker and hoped you could answer a few questions.

1. I got the screws out of 3 of the 5 seat pedestal sockets. On the other two I had to drill out the screws because the nuts under the plywood had rusted. Did you put new nuts on the underside of the plywood and are the nuts available in stainless rather than the carbon steel that Tracker used.

2. Do I really have to remove all of the decking? I was considering doing just a half-fast job and just replacing the horizontal surfaces. If I did this I would re-attach the pedestal sockets with stainless wood screws into the ply wood.

3. Did you remove the hatch covers? Was it a nasty job? How did you re-attach them. Mine are all riveted.

Your job was really top notch. It is nice to encounter someone as anal as I am.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

1. I used new 1/4-20 stainless "T" nuts for all of my pedestal bases. Be sure to install your pedestal bases on the decking after you install the new carpet but before you install the decking back on the boat to make sure the end of the 1/4-20 screw is flush with the bottom of the plywood. the pedestal bases sit over top of the aluminum deck framing below and if your screw isn't flush with the bottom of the decking and it hits the framing and it will hold the decking up from laying flush on the framing.

2. Removing the horizontal decking is easy and makes for a much better job when you wrap the carpet around the edges an onto the back of the decking. Re-attaching the pedestals with wood screws won't be as secure at the "T" nuts, and if you don't re-tighten them every season (3 months) they will loosen and strip.

Another HUGE plus to removing the decking for carpeting is being able to re-install the newly carpeted panels with exposed fasteners through the new carpet. This makes for easy decking removal without having to rip up your nice new carpet job to get to the fasteners in case you have to make below deck repairs like livewell leaks or hull breaches... or if you just want to make some kind of below deck modifications or inspections.

3. Hatch covers are an easy removal too, just drill out the rivets that hold them to the hinges. You'll need to do this to wrap the carpet around the edges for a snug fit when re-installed. I used 1/2" 8-32 stainless oval head machine screws and nyloc nuts to re-attach them for a more secure installation than the factory open end pop rivets.

If you plan to reuse your old decking, removing it from the boat will make removing the old carpet adhesive a lot easier. I used a belt sander with a 30 grit belt for this, it worked well.

After removing the old adhesive you'll want to seal your decking, epoxy resin is the best for this but exterior grade spar urethane will also work... 3 or 4 coats of either. This is what my old decking looked like before adhesive removal and after sealing:

4 coats of epoxy resin.

... and here's the hatches removed:

Thanks for the compliments, my wife calls me anal... everyone else just calls me A-hole.:lol:

 

[Handyman663]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

1. I used new 1/4-20 stainless "T" nuts for all of my pedestal bases. Be sure to install your pedestal bases on the decking after you install the new carpet but before you install the decking back on the boat to make sure the end of the 1/4-20 screw is flush with the bottom of the plywood. the pedestal bases sit over top of the aluminum deck framing below and if your screw isn't flush with the bottom of the decking and it hits the framing and it will hold the decking up from laying flush on the framing.

2. Removing the horizontal decking is easy and makes for a much better job when you wrap the carpet around the edges an onto the back of the decking. Re-attaching the pedestals with wood screws won't be as secure at the "T" nuts, and if you don't re-tighten them every season (3 months) they will loosen and strip.

Another HUGE plus to removing the decking for carpeting is being able to re-install the newly carpeted panels with exposed fasteners through the new carpet. This makes for easy decking removal without having to rip up your nice new carpet job to get to the fasteners in case you have to make below deck repairs like livewell leaks or hull breaches... or if you just want to make some kind of below deck modifications or inspections.

3. Hatch covers are an easy removal too, just drill out the rivets that hold them to the hinges. You'll need to do this to wrap the carpet around the edges for a snug fit when re-installed. I used 1/2" 8-32 stainless oval head machine screws and nyloc nuts to re-attach them for a more secure installation than the factory open end pop rivets.

If you plan to reuse your old decking, removing it from the boat will make removing the old carpet adhesive a lot easier. I used a belt sander with a 30 grit belt for this, it worked well.

After removing the old adhesive you'll want to seal your decking, epoxy resin is the best for this but exterior grade spar urethane will also work... 3 or 4 coats of either. This is what my old decking looked like before adhesive removal and after sealing:

4 coats of epoxy resin.

... and here's the hatches removed:

Thanks for the compliments, my wife calls me anal... everyone else just calls me A-hole.:lol:

You da man, Captain!!! Thanks for the reply. I am sure I'll have a few other questions in the spring.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Just bumping this thread up to get rid of the red banner in case someone new hasn't seen it yet and would like to ask a question, I'm also available for PM if you'd rather do it that way.

 

[Mr. Ross]

Re: '97 Tracker Pro Deep V Facelift

Thanks for bumping it. I was busy with a kitchen remodel so my boat was waiting in the garage for the deck job, then I had heart surgery. So now, it's still waiting and for certain I had forgotten about this thread.