Just started disassembly. Man, I swear there is 3 times the amount of carpet in a 175 than there is a 20+ foot glass boat. What a dang mess. The Front deck doesn't look bad or have any cracks, but should go ahead and replace it? I have not got the floor out yet, but it doesn't have an soft spots.
Last edited by Hammmerhead; 10-24-2017 at 06:00 PM.
Man that's a ton of carpet!
I personally think you should that way you know what you have. A few bucks more but you know it's good and everything continues to match through the boat!
Looks like you could extend the deck back to the console while it's all torn down. Framework out of thin-wall aluminum square tubing with 1/8" aluminum lids and wall panels would keep weight down.
What's behind that big aluminum piece on the passenger side? Looks like a good spot to cut into and add a hatch cover, or glovebox of some kind for additional storage as well.
YEs it is. I should have just traded boats! The deck is just 1/2" ply and I thought it was 3/4", so I will be replacing the front for sure. The top veneer layer had some cracks popping up after I stripped the carpet, so Im not going this far only to do it again. Im still not ruling out tough coating it, but I just don't like the looks of it or the deck lid gaps from the jobs I have seen. Will post more pics as I go. If you have a Tracker that needs carpet, be prepared and more importantly, get an extra couple of hands to help which I don't have. Im going to hit Harbor Freight for pinch clamps and pick up some adhesive stripper for the panels that carpet didn't strip very well.
I kind of in a catch 22. I wanted to rig this boat out with new carpet, new troller, electronics, etc. Its an '04 with an '04 50 horse that I picked up for $5K and it in stellar shape other than the carpet was shot on the aluminum lids only for some reason. Right now, I will have about $500 in tools, glue, wood and carpet. the troller I want is $1K and a new Sonar I want is $ 1-1.3K Do anyone think I am putting too much money in this hull for its model and age?
I have seen people extend the front, but I think Im just going to leave it factory for simplicity and trade in sake. I will be cutting the rod locker hole out bigger and extending the rod trough length, which I don't know why Tracker didn't do that in the first place. There is only about 3 inches of depth with the side panels, but that still leaves a few options for a few things I guess.
I was wrong. Deck is 3/4" and floor is 1/2", both 7 ply marine. Floor had a 10" X 10" wet spot in the foam on the drivers side front near the front deck. It looks like about an 8 inch section of the foam is holding water near the dewalt. Maybe you can see in the pics. Should I cut this out? That spot on the floor deck was black under it. Got the rod locker opening cut out as well and the fuse panel came out without any disconnecting.
Wire brushes on a drill work great and just blast off the old glue and carpet remnants in tight places and clean the exposed rivets very easily, but if the glue is still soft and a large section, it just smears it and it has to be scraped. The console was not as difficult dealing with as I thought. It looks like Im getting closer, but still have a lot of lids and panels to clean.
Last edited by Hammmerhead; 10-24-2017 at 06:05 PM.
Wow! I feel sorry for that bilge pump. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum!!
Thank you for the share. Doing a 2001 Ranger Aluminum now and this gave me some ideas.
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YW. Ordering carpet tonight, once I decide on a color. I'm sure I will be able to offer some donts once I get the first round of glue spread and that first piece of carpet is laid down.Originally Posted by DChil
Are you gonna have to pull the back deck off to put carpet on it? I have am 01 pt185 I'm hoping to do next year. Will be watchi g this very close since it's the same layout.
I used this stuff when I did my xpress to remove old glue. Just brush it on with a thick coat walk away for an hour and come back with a puddy knife and it scraps off like soft butter. I couldn't belief how well it worked. Only bad thing is if it touches painted areas the paint falls off like dust also.
Croix-man.." Only bad thing is if it touches painted areas the paint falls off like dust also "...... I'd hope so.. can says paint remover
Back deck is all aluminum and integrated in the boat, so its non removable.
I was hoping to avoid using striper, but I'm going to have to in some places. Thanks for the heads up.
I just did this two years ago on my 87 Tracker. Yes, it's a job. Since I was going that far I didn't want to do things half way. Even though the wood in the floor seemed to be solid I went ahead and replaced it along with the front deck. I treated all wood with epoxy resin from West Marine to seal it well. Take your time with the carpet and make sure you keep the carpet pile oriented the same direction. My 17' boat took 27' of carpet because of hatches and the console. Mine turned out great. My biggest mistake was doing the job over the winter. The adhesives I used needed 70 degree working temps so that delayed me a bit.
Good luck, when you're done I'm sure you'll be tickled with your work and look.
I wish you would have posted this two weeks ago. Everyone said to buy more carpet than you think you'll need. I bought 25' of carpet for a Tracker Pro 17 and ended up 2 feet short........talk about pissed! Now I'll have to order another 6 feet to complete. If you're buying from bassboatseats.com, you could get by on less ordering 8 foot widths but with 6, it will take just about all of the 27. The 20 oz. carpet is AWESOME! Had to trim a little here and there for lids, but it's well worth the money.
More is accomplished with a good attitude and a gun, than with just a good attitude!
I ordered 8.5' X 30' and I think its going to be close. I still can't believe how much carpet is in the Trackers.
Its coming along. I can say make as many cuts as you can with scissors, even a sharp razor can fray the carpet edges. It takes a lot of glue. 2 gallons may do it, maybe not. There is a bend down edge near the splash well on each side where the carpet slides under, it wasn't fun fitting that. A cheap floor scraper turned out to make cleaning the old glue much quicker and has done such a good job I didn't use paint stripper. Kids play sand and weed/feed worked great keeping things planted when drying. Every cut I made in the carpet I always drew an arrow with a black marker to keep the same direction...thats been my biggest worry.
I wanted to keep the carpet color as close as I could to factory, but Im wondering if I should have gone with a darker color. I will be happy when its 100 in July and my feet are cool, but concerned the color may be too light.
Last edited by Hammmerhead; 10-24-2017 at 06:17 PM.
Looks good
Last edited by GO55; 02-02-2017 at 08:24 PM.
I am going through is very similar build right now. I came across your post and I share your pain!
Here's a shot of the carpet, not including all the panels, the front deck, and the lids.
I went with a darker "gunmetal grey" from Boat Carpet Buys. https://www.boatcarpetbuys.com/colle...ss-boat-carpet
I made the mistake of Assuming the boat was less than 6' wide. So I order the narrow carpet, and the reason why the grain is ran perpendicular. I have used about 18' of carpet in just this picture and the 2 lids that are not installed. I only ordered 25' and 1 tub of adhesive. I ordered an additional 15' and another gallon of adhesive this morning.
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