here are some pics of my saltwater days... can't wait for the bass though...

-FishinGirl

(Go Patriots) - through thick and thin

one again thanks!

Just remember that I'm taking tomorrow off because of Good Friday.  So, I will call them before I go.  

Is that a bluefish you holding?  They give you the best fight lbs per lbs.

Yes that is a Blue Fish... what a fight they give... I spent the summer catching Stripers and Blue Fish... Good luck registering.. its a pain the ***... but when its done, its a huge relief..... - Good Luck

-FishinGirl

Well if you can catch that with out a boat I'd hate to think what you'll catch on a boat ;D

welcome and congrats on the boat, got one tiny question.

Is there any line you can use to get out of a speeding ticket ;D

seriously tho look forward to the before and after post pic builds

Here she is... my 95 Bass Tracker.... Here's the pre pictures... I am starting to realize there is sooooo much to do....

Here are the seats... I tore them all out..... I love the colors on these but the condition is horrible.. so I bought all new seats to replace these....  

Here's the view from the front... the old carpet....

I tool the wood from the front off... just in bad condition... and the screws were all rusty and looked horrible...

Next step was to take the carpet off the bottom floors... I started it but did not finish today... It got to cold outside... A nice 40 degrees... and couldn't feel my fingers anymore... But it was a good start..

So that's where I am right now...  Long day... I realized there is a little bit of a soft spot on the floor wood... so Im not sure what to do.... I really don't want to replace the floor... its way too big of a project to do that...

I will keep everyone posted... SO MUCH TO DO!!!!  wish me luck...

-FishinGirl

I thought I had a soft spot in my boat's floor too but when I pulled up the old vinyl floor covering I found out it was just a pop rivet along the edge of one piece of wood that had broken. Quick fix with a new rivet. Might get lucky on that if you haven't already tore the carpet up there and found out for sure.

Here's the link to the thread where I posted my pics of my boat doing the recarpeting job.  I tried to document as I went along what I did so you may see something there that will help you with yours.  I have pics of how I carpeted the wood panels as well as the aluminum ones.  Shows the different steps I took.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1206128651

Whatever you do, keep that fron't deck piece as a stencil for your new piece of wood. Otherwise you might ruin alot of plywood.

Welcome! There is a lot of great information on this board just for the asking.

You and other who are tackling boat renovations are prodding me to start on mine. Looks like a fun project you're involved in. You might consider leaving the buddy seat out and making the space an easier access to the back deck.

Looking forward to pictures of your progress.

You are tenacious young lady! I love it!

Looks like a good ride!

Happy Releasing,

H.G.

A girl with a bass boat and handcuffs! Hope she has a good sense of humor too.

of course I have a sense of humor.. I love to laugh...   This boat project is turning into a bigger thing than I thought... It looks like Im going to replace the back deck as well...  Just more work than I had thought...  But Im getting there.. piece by piece...

I will post pics soon of the progress...

-FishinGirl

From a former leo, still with the dept., to another welcome aboard. Hope things are going well with the boat.

Thank you sir, its going all right... more work than I realized.. but if Im going to continue, then I have to do it right... .. I will post pics of the progress.. and of course of my big fish..lol

Thanks again for the support...

Carry on my friends,

-FishinGirl

Keep at it! That is how it works sometimes, but in the end after tackling things one at a time you will be finished. It will be then that you will be SO GLAD that you put the time in to do it!

What are your plans for your decks to protect the wood from water damage? We all want to make sure your efforts will hold up a long time for you. Might have some better or easier ways to get the job done.

I have been doing research and the chemically treated wood is much heavier and is known to wear down aluminum... so Im thinking of using plywood and treating it several times with waterproofing... Im not sure if this will be enough.. but I am still researching....

Any advice is greatly appreciated...

Thanks guys!!!

-FishinGirl

Use marine plywood. It may need to be ordered but I would think you could find some in the Boston area. A coat of marine varnish on the top, bottom and edges should make it last longer than you have the boat.

I agree with NBR on the marine plywood,  it will cost alot more but will last much longer. It's put together with waterproof glue and I think it may also have a chemical treatment to help it last. I'd really soak down the edges several times with whatever you choose as a sealer because this is usually the most porous spot plus water gets trapped there where it butts up to the boat. The top usually is not a problem if you attach the carpet with an edge to edge coat of exterior grade carpet adhesive that Lowes or Home Depot should have. put the glue on with a notched trowel from the same stores the glue will seal the wood. Most of this you probably already know but I'm long winded...Good Luck!

I did the same thing to my Tracker Jetboat about a year ago. If the pictures post, you can see how I changed the seating....

and after....

The first two pictures were to show you how, imo, I improved from the original to give myself an easier walk-thru to the back of the boat without tripping over the middle seat.

Here's another, imo, improvement to give myself more of a fishing platform in the front of the boat....

to this...

I took out that open dead space, made it more storage space underneath.....

Wow! DonB looks very professional, great job! Are you volunteering to help Fishergirl?

Wow! DonB looks very professional, great job! Are you volunteering to help Fishergirl?

Only in spirit!....and with a few new ideas for her on the seating and decking since she has it tore down to the barebones like I did mine.

It was a lot of work, about two weeks worth for me, evenings after work, and for one weekend.

Good luck with your project fishergirl. When it's all done, that rig will be a part of you!