Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

I finally have all my patches on. I did run into a few issues with the mandrels. 95% of them would snap off as they should, while the other 5% would either break off too soon, making for a loose rivet, and one of the mandrels broke off about an inch over the rivet.

The few that broke off too soon had to be drilled out, and replaced with a new rivet, but the one that broke off outside of rivet was a real pain in the @ss! With the steel being MUCH denser than the aluminum rivet, I had to snip it with pliers, then grind the mandrel down to be flush with the rivet head, and seal it as best as I can from exposure.

Next is a leak test once everything has cured. I'll post my findings.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

So I've got success with the leak test. None of the 11 patches leaked, and I found no surprises...Well except for the livewell thru-fit, but that one's an easy fix.

The patches sure are ugly though...they should look a lot better after a bit of sanding and paint.

Bilge pump works!

I'll post some pics of the finished product after paint

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

...

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Success! Well done

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Looks good and ugly Dog!

She's seaworthy now, just pull your bilge plug after every trip to make sure you aren't taking on any water while you're out and you'll be good to go.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Re: Tracker hull damage. Patched.

Success! Well done

Thanks! I couldn't have done it without the valuable info from the fine folks on this site.

Looks good and ugly Dog!

She's seaworthy now, just pull your bilge plug after every trip to make sure you aren't taking on any water while you're out and you'll be good to go.

Yep, I know I'll be poking my nose into the bilge frequently on my first few times out to see if I'm taking in any water....

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

I've got my 9 patches all ready to go. Just need to rivet them on now.

The patches look great, but I think I found something... Patch 1S, 4S, 1P and 2P only have rivets down the sides of the patches, there isn't a rivet in the center-end to keep the middle of the patch from flexing away from the hull. It's kind of late for this to be noticed, but I'd slowly and carefully (with a new bit) drill 2 more holes on each of these patches, then pop in the additional rivets.

The patches as they are now might work, but they also might start leaking in the future if hull flex pulls the patches away from the hull. It's one of those, darned it you do and darned if you don't situations.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

The patches look great, but I think I found something... Patch 1S, 4S, 1P and 2P only have rivets down the sides of the patches, there isn't a rivet in the center-end to keep the middle of the patch from flexing away from the hull. It's kind of late for this to be noticed, but I'd slowly and carefully (with a new bit) drill 2 more holes on each of these patches, then pop in the additional rivets.

The patches as they are now might work, but they also might start leaking in the future if hull flex pulls the patches away from the hull. It's one of those, darned it you do and darned if you don't situations.

Ya, I thought about adding a rivet in the center of those patches, but as they are now, they're about 1.2" centers, and I really didn't want any rivets at 1/2" apart. I guess it's possible for some flex, especially with the thick layer of 5200 between the patch and hull, but I cant make it flex at all with force. I'll keep a close eye on all these patches...especially my first few trips out.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

Bah, no way that 5200 will let go of the hull. I wouldn't sweat it at all.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

Turned lemons into lemonade. Very nice job. That boat must have been a victim of some serious stray current or something.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

That boat must have been a victim of some serious stray current or something.

Haha, when I first read that, I was thinking of a random strong current out of nowhere pulling this boat into the rocks repeatedly bashing the hull...then it clicked...
yes since all of the pitting is on the transom, I can only presume this is because of failed ignition. The starter has been replaced (must have assumed this was the problem), then all new wiring for the ignition system. The previous owner told me he had the ignition re-done, and that the old wiring was "melted", but I guess if it was bad for a while, sending a stray current, then a badly pitted transom is what I'm left with. I don't think any of the pitting actually made it through, but some of them are deep, so it's possible.
I took a core sample of the transom wood, and the area I checked seemed good and dry. Kind of tough to tell for sure though.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

After putting some JB marine weld over the transom pitting, I noticed a couple pits looked damp after it cured...took a couple more core samples, and I've got wet wood! I'm not exactly sure what I should do? Can I expect that it having wet spots means that it is rotten or will rot? I'll have to dig around through these forums to see what I'm up against here, but my initial thought is that I will have to remove the outboard, remove the transom cap, replace the wood, seal it up? This is beyond frustrating right now.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

Hang on now, don't go gettin' all riled up yet. What year model is that boat?

My '98 Tracker Pro Deep V came from the factory with CCA pressure treated wood decking and in the transom, it won't rot. If your boat has the CCA you might be ok. What color were the shavings? CCA is green when new, but turns a light bronze with age.

Post some pics of the shavings and we'll see if we can figure this out.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

Hang on now, don't go gettin' all riled up yet. What year model is that boat?

My '98 Tracker Pro Deep V came from the factory with CCA pressure treated wood decking and in the transom, it won't rot. If your boat has the CCA you might be ok. What color were the shavings? CCA is green when new, but turns a light bronze with age.

Post some pics of the shavings and we'll see if we can figure this out.

It's an '04. The shavings are a yellowish color. I'll try and get a pic of some shavings on here tomorrow.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

Yellow/orangish shavings are CCA treated ply, if it isn't sealed up air tight and is exposed on the interior, it will dry out. I wouldn't worry unless the shavings are black/brown. Now, if this were a fiberglass boat it would be a completely different story as the wood is encased on fiberglass, won't dry out,,, and will rot.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

^^^ True^^^

Is the wood wet toward the bottom or the top of the transom Dog? If it's at the bottom it's probably from the PO taking it out with all of those cracks in it and taking on water. You may want to check your through transom bolts and fittings just to be sure though.

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

This iPhone pic is probably the worst possible picture to represent the color of the wood. I put the shavings next to a little piece of spruce lumber for reference. That's also a bright white piece of paper. The shavings are wet, and are taken from around the mid section of the transom...I just had my hull full of water a couple of days ago for my leak test, and I'm not sure how sealed the wood is on the inside on this transom, but if it's not sealed then this would explain why it's still very wet.

If it's treated wood...and it feels solid, then I guess I'll just clean it up, and try and forget about it.

 

[Teamster]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

I don't know,......

As long as you've come this far and done this much work replacing the transom would be an easy thing to just have done at this point,....................Just my personal observation,...

 

[efdog]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

I don't know,......

As long as you've come this far and done this much work replacing the transom would be an easy thing to just have done at this point,....................Just my personal observation,...

I will replace it if I absolutely have to, but as far as easy, well I'm not so sure about that. It's an all welded hull, and the transom cap is actually also welded right onto the transom...so I would need to grind it off, then later hire a welder to reattach later...and that's assuming I can remove the old wood in 1 piece from the top.

I'm going to take out a transom through bolt to perhaps get a better look at the condition.

 

[Teamster]

Re: Tracker hull damage. Lots of it!!

Do you have any good pictures of the splash well and how it is attacthed??

I could swear I saw what looked like rivets holding in in from the outside of the boat in one of your other pics,...