By the time this spring rolled around, the 14-foot 1976 Gregor U-141 I refurbished last year was set up just the way I liked it: plenty of storage, a robust electrical system (patterned after the one on my old Mirro Craft), new paint, a reliable outboard, all mounted on a well-maintained trailer.
Whenever the subject came up, I proudly announced that “This is the last boat I’ll ever buy.”
When I noticed a partially refurbished 1985 Bass Tracker for sale on Facebook Marketplace, however, I was intrigued. “It can’t hurt just to look,” I told myself.
And so it happened that I bought my third boat in as many years, surprising no one–except myself.
I sold the Gregor at a loss, just like the Mirro Craft the year before. Since I never plan to sell my boats–and wouldn’t, if I had room to keep them–I invariably spend WAY too much on paint and parts to ever show a profit.
Meanwhile, I took inventory of this new boat: a Bass Tracker Tournament V-17.
A previous owner had installed new plywood on some of the decks and hatches and covered it with bright blue marine carpet. He’d also installed a new console, new seats, and a bimini top.
Somewhere along the line the boat had acquired a 2000 four-stroke Yamaha F25 to replace the original 50 hp two-stroke. I thought that wasn’t enough motor for this boat, and the gentleman who sold it to me agreed it was sort of a slug on the water.
I started looking for another motor.
In the meantime, I took off the bimini top and stored it behind my shed: unless I was taking someone on a picnic cruise it would just be in the way. I really didn’t like the carpet, either, but it seemed wasteful to pull it up while it was still brand new.
Besides, there were plenty of other chores to keep me busy.
Trailer rehab
Sprucing up this trailer posed a challenge I hadn’t run into before: unlike my previous two boats, the Tracker was too heavy to lift off the trailer by hand.
I thought about renting a slip at the lake and leaving the boat there for a week, but they only rented by the month–and there was a waiting list.
Next I considered jacking the boat off the trailer myself, but decided that lacking the necessary safety stands and blocks such a course would prove too perilous.
In the end I called a boat transport company, Hale’s Marine Services. I’d seen them at the lake hauling huge cabin cruisers, and figured lifting my 17-foot Tracker off the trailer wouldn’t be a problem for them.
We negotiated a very reasonable price for them to put the Tracker on stands over the weekend. A pair of forklifts made short work of the job and soon I was on my way home with an empty trailer.
The trailer had one brand-new wheel. I removed the other two and sanded the rust off before priming and painting.
Naturally, the tire on one of the newly-painted wheels split a tread as soon as I put it back onto the trailer.
Amazon to the rescue! I didn’t want to bother with dismounting and mounting the tire, so I ordered one already on the wheel.
(note: some of these are affiliate links, which means that if you click the link and buy the associated product, the vendor may pay me a fee. Your price is unaffected.)
Meanwhile, I sanded the trailer and hit the rusty spots with primer, accidentally creating a cool “ghost camo” pattern.
I briefly considered leaving it that way, but in the end I painted it with two cans of flat black. I’d used gloss on the Gregor trailer and found that dirt and water stains really show on that shiny finish.
While the trailer paint finished drying, I painted and recarpeted the bottom and side bunks (using this guy’s technique), added Caliber end caps, then filled the mounting screw holes with GM 5200 before reinstalling them.
I replaced the lights with the same LED set I’d used before, added side and rear reflectors, and replaced the winch strap.
I went and got the boat on Monday, sweating bullets the whole time because my new spare didn’t arrive until AFTER I was safely home.
I added a Tracker logo I found online and called the trailer project complete.
Wiring
A previous owner added navigation lights, a switch panel, and refurbished the original wiring, but I found a few things I wanted to do differently.
The original trolling motor plug wasn’t compatible with my new Terrova, so I fabricated this one out of an old microwave vent cover.
I used a hole saw to cut the opening for the plug–and therein lies a cautionary tale. Because the aluminum was fairly thin I decided not to bother with a clamp or even stand on it while cutting, instead holding it in place by hand.
As soon as the saw teeth touched the metal, the whole piece whipped out of my grasp and flew off the bench, catching one of my fingers on the way.
There was blood everywhere and my whole hand was numb. When I finally summoned the courage to look, I confirmed that although the finger was still firmly attached, I was going to need an Urgent Care visit.
I bandaged the cut, mopped up the crime scene, then drove off to answer the question “You did WHAT?” several dozen times before returning home, one tetanus shot and eight stitches later.
It was a while before I was trusted to use power tools without supervision…
I ended up with three circuits: one with a deep cycle marine battery to start the motor and two with lithiums, one each for the trolling motor and for the “house” circuit (lights, fishfinder, etc.), plus onboard chargers for all three.
I installed strips of red LED cabin lights under the steering console and inside the main electrical compartment, where a new fuse box and trolling motor circuit breaker lives.
I wired everything into the switch panel a previous owner had installed: he chose blue backlighting to match the horrible carpet, rather than a night vision-friendly red. Again, since it was already there I just went with it–for now.
Update: OK, THAT didn’t take long. A month later I replaced the scratched, blue-lit switch plate with a nice new red one.
I was familiar with the Nilight brand, having put them on my last two boats, and knew to disconnect the red wire jumpers on the back so each switch had its own fuse.
Since I’d already redone the wiring, I just plugged it into the new panel.
Trolling motor
Just before I found this boat I’d saved up and bought a Minn Kota Terrova 55-lb thrust trolling motor and mounting bracket.
I tried several locations on the front deck before finding one where it would be easy to deploy without taking up too much space.
Installation went pretty well: by lying down on the deck and reaching through the opening where the plate for the plug went, I could just barely reach all four bolts for the mounting bracket.
Someone with beefier forearms would’ve had serious difficulty. If you find yourself in that situation, I will cheerfully rent you the use of my anemic limbs for an exorbitant fee–or you could just remove that part of the deck.
The Spot-Lock feature of this motor, by the way, is AWESOME: you press a button on the included remote (or your phone app) and the motor holds you in place despite wind and current. It can “jog” in small increments as you follow schools of fish or just fine tune your position.
It came with a GPS puck that I hotwired to the fuse box and installed just in front of the console, where it has good line of sight to both the satellite array and the motor itself.
The higher-end models are easier to deploy and presumably come with even more bells and whistles, but I’m very happy with this one, despite the premium price.
Fish Finder
Having completely lost my mind buying the boat AND a high-end trolling motor, it followed that I’d spend my remaining life savings on a new fish finder.
While I was very pleased with my Striker 4 (especially since it was a gift from my brother), I decided to invest in a Garmin Echomap UHD2 93SV with GT56 transducer.
I drilled two new holes in the transom amid the three dozen or so I inherited from previous owners and lucked out: the transducer location was good, yielding clear pictures in traditional, ClearVu, and SideVu modes.
I mounted the graph on the console with the Johnny Ray swivel mount you see in the previous picture, so I can see it from anywhere in the boat.
If I one day stumble over a bag of gold, I might just invest in a forward-looking LiveScope sonar, too, but this will do for now.
Repower
I visited a salvage yard belonging to the boat mechanic who’d serviced the Tohatsu motor on my Gregor. They had hundreds of used motors, but only one that met my criteria: 50 hp or better, 2000 or newer.
They agreed to sell my old Yamaha on consignment and install this 2003 Johnson 50 hp two-stroke on my boat. Eventually they did so and I took it out for a test run, hitting 29 mph with the throttle wide open.
I bought a cheap engine control online for them to hook up to the Johnson. After a few trips the ignition key switch shorted out–fortunately at home, vs. out on the water–so I ordered a more expensive OEM switch to replace it.
I replaced the hardware on the leads that shorted out, then plugged everything back together. The new switch held up fine, once again proving that cheap components often end up being no bargain…
Splash well
In addition to the dozens of holes in the transom the boat also had a badly rusted engine splash well, with gaps along the back and both sides that drained onto the transom and into the bilge.
I installed a new through-hull drain fitting for the bilge pump and asked the mechanics to install one for the splash well while they had the motor off the boat, since the engine tilt/trim unit blocked access to it.
I cut some new corners out of aluminum angle. The plan was to scrape everything clean, paint, then seal any remaining cracks with silicone caulk.
Interior paint
My goal was to match the original paint: a sort of sandy beige. Since it was all above the waterline, I chose Rustoleum Topside Paint in “sandy beige” and the associated primer rather than the more expensive aluminum paint I normally use.
I picked off all the old silicone, sanded–reaching all the tight corners with my new mouse sander–then wiped everything clean with isopropyl alcohol.
I masked off the carpet to minimize splotches, then started with the primer.
All of the under-hatch storage had the original paint, which was in pretty bad shape. I decided to prime and paint that, as well.
After two coats that white primer looked pretty sharp. I was tempted to leave it uncovered, but I knew it wouldn’t hold up as well as paint AND would act as a dirt and stain magnet.
You can see that despite my attempts to mask it, I ended up with some white primer stains on the carpet.
Some hasty internet research led me to try acetone–aka fingernail polish remover–which worked like a charm, removing both paint/primer and the grease stains the engine mechanics had left all over the back of the boat.
The next morning I wiped the primer clean with alcohol, then put down two coats of topside enamel. I guessed right on the amount: there was just a little left in the bottom of the quart can when I was done.
The new plywood was sealed, but the original wasn’t. While I was at it I mixed a batch of epoxy resin (since I have a lifetime supply left over from when I did the Gregor) to coat the old stuff where it was exposed. After a few hours I mixed up another batch and put on a second coat.
While that was drying, I sanded the gunwales again with a green scouring pad and hit them with spray cleaner.
I rinsed the bare metal part of the hull a couple of times with Purple Power Aluminum Brightener. The acid did a great job, dissolving decades of old gunk without scrubbing.
Now it was time for:
Exterior paint
The first step was getting rid of the old boat decals: although I liked the original color scheme, I thought the decals were ugly. Even if I’d liked them, they were battered from years of hard use.
In fact, after nearly 40 years they were almost fused into the paint, defeating my hopes that they’d peel off with a little applied heat. However, a blade scraper worked wonders, once I’d gotten the hang of it: turns out you use a slicing motion, rather than “chipping.”
Interestingly, some colors peeled off easier than others: the orange stripe on top was no problem at all. If the rest had been like that I would’ve been done in no time. The folds and strakes in the aluminum complicated things, but eventually–after much wailing and gnashing of teeth–I got it all off.
I sprayed the remaining “shadows” of old adhesive with Goo Gone, let it sit for a little, then wiped it off.
I removed the rickety boarding ladder from the transom and peeled off all the silicone blobs. I used GM 5200 to seal bolts and, after sanding the old paint, covered all rivets and seams with Gluvit so I wouldn’t be painting over leaks.
I got up early to mask the trailer and wipe the hull with white vinegar, since my sanding and scraping had left some exposed aluminum.
After 20 minutes I wiped everything down with alcohol to stop the etching and clean the surface for paint.
Because I’d waited until the hottest part of the year, as usual, to paint, I thinned my Alumahawk “Tan” with MEK as I went along to keep a wet edge, using inexpensive rollers and disposable brushes to chip in wherever the rollers wouldn’t reach.
It was the usual panic, racing to get coverage before the paint thickened to a paste and left horrendous brush marks. I had to keep an eye on my rollers, too, because the MEK was trying to dissolve them into the finish.
I finally finished the first coat but was a little disappointed at the coverage. That old paint residue quickly absorbed the new, leaving odd streaks along with my usual brush marks, drips, and other “texture.”
I also managed, despite all the masking, to get a few drips on the trailer. No problem: I’d eventually take care of that with a few touchup squirts of flat black.
The next morning I sprang into action even earlier, sanding down the worst of the brush marks, etc., with my trusty white Scotch Brite pads. I wiped the paint with alcohol and remasked before embarking on the second coat.
As I went along I started to worry about the rate at which the remaining paint was disappearing.
When I painted the same scheme on my 14-foot Gregor, I only used three quarters of a quart.
Since I had a quart of this tan left over from painting the Gregor, plus the new quart I’d ordered, I figured I’d have plenty.
However, I was learning about a thing called “surface area,” whereby the extra three feet of length PLUS the extra foot of side below the gunwales (exacerbated by the increased absorption of the old paint on this boat) left me wondering if I was going run out.
I made it–just barely. I scraped every drop of pigment out of both cans, and by the time I finished the second coat I was pretty much down to paint thinner and good intentions.
I peeled off the masks and fled inside, away from the killer heat.
After letting the paint dry for a few days I set about painting a pinstripe on the hull like the one on my Mirro Craft.
I applied five 1″ strips of masking tape side by side where I wanted the stripe to go, then peeled away strips two and four.
I used an X-Acto knife and a steel ruler to trim the center strip for the front of the “spear,” then I sprayed everything with clear coat to help seal the mask.
The next morning I masked everything, wiped the surfaces with alcohol AGAIN, and sprayed two coats of Rust-Oleum “Ford Blue.”
After it dried I applied the registration numbers and decals then, after the inevitable touchup (which required me to order another quart of tan paint) declared the exterior of the Bass Tracker complete.
The more I look at that blue carpet, the more I think about one day replacing it with light brown marine vinyl, which would wear better and look neater (especially under the hatches). That project would also allow me access to the inner hull, where I could do some additional cleanup and sealing.
And come to think of it, that engine is starting to run a little rough. Might need to investigate.
I think this project is just getting started…