RobDar

3K seems like alot of money. My 1989 pro17 has a 60 horse outboard and its NADA value only comes out in and around 2K ( do not remember the exact number) The mechanic is always a good suggestion. My mechanic would charge $65 to look it over and test run it etc, but it would be $65 well spent if it avoids an expensive problem. I would definately take it out with your friend and run in it as well. The Tracker boats have issues. 1. check the fuse block under the console for corrosion. I do not know what Tracker was thinking but the cheap fuse panels they used were absolute junk. 2. make sure the boat is still stable and does not flex or twist when running or crossing rough water. 3. check for leaks 4. stomp on the deck and feel around real well for rot. 5. slide underneath and look really well along the center rib on the keel for loose rivets ( seems these always go first on these boats) these are great little starter boats in my opinion...but they are what they are...and they were never the best built boat ever made.

I am about as far north in Indiana as you can go..in Hammond. Throw a rock and I can hit an Illiniosian on the head...which is great time! LOL! ...there is a little bar in Terre Haute we always drive by when we are going through there that has a cute name...Your Nieghborhood bar...or something like that... that is going to drive me nuts till I remember it now. LOL! Thanks...about the boat. The fab'd aluminum is a good idea. The locker bottoms they sell as a kit to go with the lids seem small and to waste space to me. I did not use them because I wanted as much room as possible. I did not think of having someone build bottoms for me...to fit my boat...but then I would have had to pay for them and that would have required approval from... HER.

wow catt... great info. or you could avoid the problem all together and use standard lumber...or better cedar lumber...and spar varnish.

I just ran into this problem on my own picture gallery... come to find out, alot of people assumed that because the display on their computer was a manageable size that the picture was as well...as an example...people who use the picture/fax viewer from microsoft, canons software that comes with their camera, the freeware Corel software...the picture will display a good size and when it gets saved it seems like it is a good manageable size...after all everytime you open it it seems the right size... but this is just the display properties of the program...these programs automatically size the pictures to fit well on your screen...but do not actually resize the file...a check of the file info/details in some other program will show that the file is STILL huge! There is a good picture program I use that I have found almost everyone finds fairly easy to use. Its interface is pretty similar to programs like Windows Explorer so it feels familiar to alot of folks...and it is free. It is the FastStone Picture viewer. http://www.faststone.org just my two cents

a storm rolled in on us last night...good lord was it windy. We had to load up and go. I had the trolling motor on full and was still moving backwards. ( had three fish though...lost two of them at the boat trying to fight the wind - trolling motor- and fish proved to be more than I could swing I guess ) so when fishing in strong winds...What do you guys prefer...to put the nose of the boat into the wind and drift backwards, steering with the trolling motor...or the wind at your back?

pain...I may steal the slinky comment in your signature...that has got to be the funniest thing I have seen in a long time!

1. Some of the conversions I see on the net use alot of wood in the boat. These boats have to be pushing their weight limit. I am going to try and get some aluminum angle for my support but in the mean time It is plywood and 2x4s. Aside from taking your boat to a scale, how do you know how much weight you have in your boat? I would worry about weight as well. Especially knowing that wood can quadruple in weight when it gets wet. Fishing in the rain could be dangerous! LOL! you should not use treated lumber with aluminum!!!! The chemicals it leaches rot aluminum! The chemicals are also poisonous to fish/water. If the protective coating of paint on the boat gets worn off and the wood gets wet...it will leach chemicals that will damage the aluminum. This is why any siding guy or carpenter worth his salt will never wrap treated lumber! If fact my nieghbor just failed his building inspection for just this reason!

I added a new deck and storage to my Bass Tracker. I don't know much about your boat. do you have pictures? It was not really a bad project to do. A little time consuming. I bought the storage tops from Cabela's. At the time all Bass pro had were plastic storage lids. I did not use the storage containers under the lids...I opted to carpet the inside and leave it open under the lids to get as much room as possible. I used plywood coated with fiberglass. You could use marine plywood, but I did this in and around Katrina and the marine plywood ( and the normal ply for that matter) was really expensive right then. I also wanted the improved stiffness of the fiberglass. You cannot use standard treated ply because the chemicals rot aluminum as well as the chemicals it leaches are poisonous to fish. There is a fairly new product called Bluwood ( www.bluwood.com) that I am told does not have these limitations...but i would ask around before using it to make sure. I made the mistake of wraping the carpet around the inside edges of the lid and the lid frame. On the lid door I wrapped it around to the inside and clamped it with dowel rods till it dried...which I would do again...but I also wrapped it down inside the lip on the frame...this I would not do again. I would stop it flush with the top. The lids are really hard to open because of the drag of the crapet against the carpet. I can try to answer any questions...I am not a pro though by any means. Hopefully a few other guys here...like LBH...will chime in as well with their experience and knowledge.

that does not solve the expansion/contraction problem the "pro's" feel I will experience.

someone wanted pics of the windsheild project...I added a few others... I do not know If I am going to tint the windsheild. I have been refused by two tinters and another tells me that he feels the tint will develope bubbles as the plexi expands and contracts with the temperatures. Anyone have any experience with tinting? This is the deck replacement. I replaced and expanded the deck to add fishing room and storage. I also painted RhinoLiner on the bottom to fix a leaky rivet or two and where someone had screwed up some weld repairs and they leaked. ( that is what the black is...Rhinoliner) This is project I would not do twice. I will sink the sucker before I do this job again. I also added a fiberglass cooler under the seat...rewired the troliing motor...added a dual charger...and I have to replace my fuse box and a little corroded wiring next and then I think I am DONE!!!! My wife will be overjoyed!

depends on your towing habits... if you just go to a local lake, on surface streets, and are not hauling long distances or at expressway speeds...the 8" tires might not be a problem. ( but still keep a real good eye on your breaings) If you ever plan to run at expressway speeds I would not use 8" tires. I doubt the little bit of hieght you get from the tires will make too much difference anyway. Sounds like the ramp you are launching from is too shallow of a pitch. We have this problem launching at the Cal River launch near us...we have to darn near drown the back of our van to get the boat off...but there are other ramps where the boat floats right off.... do you have this problem EVERYWHERE you try to launch or do you mostly fish the same lake? Are your bunk supports bolted or welded? What is the rise on your leaf springs? ...if the present boat is much lighter and smaller that the one the trailer is built for...You may be able to go with a lighter weight leaf or remove a leaf or two from the spring and change the ride height that way...but I would have this done by someone who knows how to do this kind of thing...for safety reasons it is not really a back yard weekend project.

The EPA has not and will not rule against two stroke motors. ( some states have ) What they WILL do is set down emission standards. The limititations and quantities of emissions a motor must meet in order to be legal, This will be done in parts per million, Millileters per hours..yadda yadda yadda. If two stroke motors meet these guidelines they will be legal. Motors like the E-Tec and the OptiMax are examples. So long a people want them and manufactuers are willing to meet those guidelines...there will be two stroke motors. That does not mean that manufactuers will not just simply move to making only four strokes for the sake of production and cost effectiveness. ( like Yamaha is ) I know Yamaha and anyone who sells Yamaha will tell you differently. ( have spoken to several dealers and they all said the two strokes are going to be illegal in a few years)...but this is just them protecting their own interest in the four stroke market. I called my State EPA and asked about this. I was thinking maybe Yamaha had some info everyone else did not or maybe they were really good at judging future market necessities... My state EPA explained the above. Oh and my state EPA...Indiana...says that they are not aware of any rulings, push, or interest in banning Two Stroke motors. They did say that there are states with legislation in the works and mentioned California, Michigan, New Jersey...and one of the Dakota states. so you might want to check with your state before deciding

The EPA has not and will not rule against two stroke motors. ( some states have ) What they WILL do is set down emission standards. The limititations and quantities of emissions a motor must meet in order to be legal, This will be done in parts per million, Millileters per hours..yadda yadda yadda. If two stroke motors meet these guidelines they will be legal. Motors like the E-Tec and the OptiMax are examples. So long a people want them and manufactuers are willing to meet those guidelines...there will be two stroke motors. That does not mean that manufactuers will not just simply move to making only four strokes for the sake of production and cost effectiveness. ( like Yamaha is ) I know Yamaha and anyone who sells Yamaha will tell you differently. ( have spoken to several dealers and they all said the two strokes are going to be illegal in a few years)...but this is just them protecting their own interest in the four stroke market. I called my State EPA and asked about this. I was thinking maybe Yamaha had some info everyone else did not or maybe they were really good at judging future market necessities... My state EPA explained the above.

we fished saturday in nearly identical conditions...76 in the morning and got to 91 by about 11 AM. we were fishing Koontz Lake in northeast Indiana. We had just about the same luck and found fish in pretty similar local. We fished all over the lake but had our best luck in a channel on one end of the lake. It was the only channel that had structure like docks and weed cover close to ( 10 yards) deeper water ( 5-7 feet). The rest of the lake was too shallow near structure ( 2-4 feet). If there was not deeper water nearby...we could not seem to find fish. The water had to be 5 foot plus for us to catch fish. so I would look for structure in "striking distance" of deeper water. I had good luck yesterday with a senko...even in the weeds. I was dragging it across the top when it was too thick to sink...and letting it drop into pockets in the weeds...letting it fall, givin it a twitch, then pull it back up across the top to the next pocket. I caught two this way...not lurkers by any means ( 15 inches)...and one hit while coming on top of the weeds, the other down inside a pocket. hope you tear em up today.

I am not a fan. I tried it for a season and was disappointed in it. It works okay for cranks in open water, but does not handle abrasion in the least...and it seems like you have to be real careful with your knots. If you over stretch the line or tie it too tight it snaps. I will not buy it again.

1st Story... While fishing Canada for Northern...we had been having a very bad day. We just were not finding the fish. The Indian reservation is allowed to net the river so they were catching about 90% of the fish as the came back from spawning in the bay down river. ( could not get there with a boat that year). After fishing all day and not having much luck...which is particularly frustrating when you are used to not even having to work at catching fish...a friend finally had a blow up on his bait...and I mean a BLOW UP! a absolutely HUGE northern...he set the hook...and his rod snapped at the handle... the next thing we know there he is in the water wading across the flats with his line in his hand fighting this northern and cussing like a trucker... He was screaming...OH NO! NO YOU DONT! I am putting your *** in the boat if it..." I was laughing so hard I almost pee'd! 2nd story... took one of our rescue dogs out on the boat for a day of messing around. This dog was a nut case! While we are out fishing there was a bouy marker out...someone who lives at the lake was obviously marking something...well there it is bobbing in the water...and she figures she is jesus or something and can just walk over and play with it... she steps off the deck and the look on that dogs face as she tumbled into the water...doing a complete summersault as she did...was something I will never forget! I had never seen a dog so bewildered... the guy fishing next to us was laughing so hard he had to sit down.

my father inlaw has the same problem where he is... after bombing the boat and geting it cleared of existing ants...he knows ties a rag sprayed with ant killer on his extension cord when he charges the boat.

Well...last year on an over zealous hookset I tripped over a rod on the deck and fell, busting my windsheild into pieces. ( and no I did not land the fish ). While I do not really NEED the windshield on my boat...it belongs there so I went about trying to get a new one. I tried to order one from Tracker...NO GO. Boat is too old ( 1989). so then I decided to check with a local plastics company I do some electrical work for...they wanted $180!!! I was not paying $180 dollars! ...so I decided to make my own. I have since mounted a fish finder on the top of the council so I need a whole new shape anyway. I got a piece of plexiglass ( poly, not lexan) from a freind, made a template with cardboard, cut it out, shaped it with a heat gun...and it came out pretty good! It is clear and needs to be tinted yet, but if I would have bought pre tinted poly I could have saved a step. ( but free poly is free poly after all) It really is not a difficult job. with the right plastic and a bit of patience I think just about anyone can do it. the layout and making the template is the hardest part.

I am not sure the "I will believe it when I see it" thinking is qualified... I have said the same thing about ALOT of things...and low and behold it really happened. I never thought my taxes would be raised 130% in one jump when the law clearly states an increase limit...but it happened. I never thought my state would sell public roads to forgiegn interests...but it happened. I never thought my town would get away with a law that says you cannot use a tie out for your dog and if you own a dog you are required to build a fence and will get fined $100 a day until you build one...but it happened. I never thought my town would pass the law that the police are now allowed to come onto private property to ticket vehicles...but it happened the list goes on and on and on... a mark twain quote... Those people....the departmental interpreters of the laws in Washington...can always be depended on to take any reasonably good law and interpret the common sense all out of it. it is as true today as it was back then...

Well it is official...my "problem lake" ( Potato Creek State Park, Indiana) ...has now gotten inside my head and is causing me to make stupid mistakes. I always catch fish here...but never seem to find big, weigh-able fish...and now my frustration had led to stpidity! Missed two good fish on Saturdays tournament. One I lost because I was talk ing strategy with my wife ( partner) and not paying attention...the other because my frustrations caused me to throw a lure I did not check first and the darn hook was not loaded right and I ended up pulling the lure right out of the fishes mouth... This happened in the first hour... and it was all down hill from there. arrrrggghhhhh!!!!!

is it stick steer?

should be on the info tag inside the driver door...it is on my dodge at any rate. there is actually a formula that someone once told me that calculates the COMFORTABLE towing weight from the tongue weight capacity... I will email the guy and see if he still has that. The 4.2 liter V6 should do fine. I might consider a transmission cooler. Your modern V6 is producing more torque and horsepower than most V-8's did just 15 years ago. Manufactuers are continually getting more capability out of "smaller" engines. towing is as much about gear ratio and torque as it is horsepower. A V6 can actually tow better than a V8 if it is geared right. I have towed my father in laws 20 foot Javelin with my 3.9 liter V6 van and it did better than his V8 Dakota does pulling it...but my van has the towing package.

the triton magnums costs almost as much as a low end fiber boat. I have never heard about problems with the Tritons until the posts here... but If I were looking into an alum boat I think the advice about going with a manufactuer who specializes is not bad advice...Xpress ( alumacraft) , War Eagle...both have great reputations. another boat I hear good things about is the Crestliner CMV and CX series boats. This is the boat I would likely end up with but that is decision based on local dealers not boat manufactuers.

every year it breaks??? something cutting it? is it rubbing somewhere? I think I might try spraying it down with a UV protector as well...maybe that will slow its decay.

...and you have checked the vin and all??? I do not know Rangers all that well but it looks like a short front deck for a 96...I thought Ranger had followed suit with the others by 1996 and had a full front deck by that year.