$4,500
Garland, Texas
Category
-
Length
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Posted Over 1 Month
1981 Bass Tracker Vintage Restoration First I’d like to introduce myself, before I do the boat. My name is Tony hence the YNOT in YNOTMOTORS. This is not my first Bass Tracker restoration. So I am not an amateur. Officially her name is Hydra but technically she is Tracker #4. I am a military Veteran, and then a 20 yr. professional car salesman, in car dealerships (good ones). Even though I gave that up professionally, I still dabbled in buying and selling cars and motorcycles as a hobby, always treating my customers like I wouldlike to be treated. For the last ten years of my life I have been a 5th grade reading teacher where I taught Language Arts in title one inner city schools. Two years ago I had a neighbor down on his luck with a broke down Bass Tracker he was trying to sell. My dad has a lake house with a three boat lift and at the time no boat. One thing led to another, I bought that boat, I fell in love with Bass Trackers and over the last couple of years, I believe that I have become a Bass Tracker expert. How did that happen? By taking them apart and seeing what didn’t work, why it didn’t work, and then I made the repairs and the improvements, and found homes for them and my customers were happy to get them. One thing is for sure, these aluminum boats are works of art and when bass tracker makes them they put out the finest hull, in my opinion. But the problem is that there are only two ways to buy one, especially here in Texas, and that’s new from Bass Pro for $14-15k, or you do what I do, you find one on used, you pay $1500.00 and you go to work. And you pray, and I’ve learned, that you may have only spent $1500.00 but you can easily make a $5000.00 mistake. I’ve been fortunate, I am mechanically inclined, and I have been able to part out engines and get myself out of trouble, and I have learned a ton about outboards along the way. Google: 40-50hp engine for sale, and see what they go for. The hull is aluminum it melts and welds at 600 degrees, if it has a hole or a bad weld, or welds that come apart, and they do; there are people that can fix it, I know the best welders with the best equipment in the world and it’s no big deal, wood and wire is replaceable, but if your motor craps on you, forget about it. This particular boat was just about ready to list when I was fine tuning the carbs and all of a sudden the side of the motor starts to glow red when finally a hole had burnt through the side of the engine. Apparently along the line someone had repaired a hole on the side of the crank case with JB weld and then sold the motor. It held for a while, long enough to sell it to me. Currently that motor is being parted out on ebay, and that is why there is an Evinrude blue stripe along the side of this boat as it was to match that engine. I had to pony up and pay big for a Fresh water, 1996 Force 40hp “40ELPT” and that is what is powering your new boat. It is in very nice condition, I repainted the skeg. The hood was discolored so I hit it with some flat back paint and it looks really sharp. Since my old controls would not adapt to this engine, you also get a new out of the box Mercury remote control system with working tilt and trim buttons. The engine is attached to what I call the robot “panther 135” that lifts it up and down in degrees and angles that you can only imagine. It was designed to get you in and out of tight spots, and let you load and float in the shallows. A new out of the box fully adjustable transom saver takes away some of the stress from the transom while towing. You’ll see some of the pictures; this boat had her maiden voyage last week. If you know anything about Texas lakes than you might think: “where did he launch that thing? This boat will float in almost no water. The hull is not just super strong it is super lite. It was fully stripped and I’ve included a picture, two people, one on each end could have lifted it over their heads. The boat hull inside and out was steam cleaned, filled with water to check for leaks, and then all debris knocked off with a soft stainless steel wire brush wheel, and lightly polished. That is why the hull looks new. I am very impressed with Trackers Hull. This one is especially neat as it has natural dual ambient live wells. Even though we are starting to get into the boat, I want to finish with me. You don’t know me personally but you can look at my feedback, most of those sales where high dollar items and I have never had a problem. Why?Number one, I do it right. This boat has been restored to better than Industry standards! No corners have been cut. I can’t charge you for all of my labor because there are literally hundreds of hours of “Labor of Love.” The boat is right and you will know it, secondly if it’s not, I’ll give you your money back. I don’t want you to have it anyway if you’re not in love with it. Sadly she needs a good home with an aspiring fisherman because that is why she was built, with much love. When I got this boat 7 months ago, I was prepared to strip it, replace the floors, re-do the wiring, change fluids and hoses, carpet, repair welds all the usual stuff, when I realized I had a rotten transom, my heart sank. The transom was replaced correctly once again using better than industry standards, the labor was intense and the formation of the new transom time consuming, however we can now say that your boat has a new transom that will outlive any of her future owners.In addition to replacing the transom, the boat’s lower floor was replaced with aluminum sheeting and all new foam below the deck, it is solid and will last forever. In addition all the foam that was originally in the boat, is back in the boat unless it was no longer serviceable, and it was then replaced with a suitable high tech product. The boats steering cable was shot so, it was replaced, to include the entire helm Teleflex system to include the steering wheel. Two new bilge pumps were added. One is hardwired with an auto float and the other is manual, just in case. The boat has two new Ever Start Marine batteries. One dedicated to crank the engine and the auto bilge, and the rest of the electronics are wired off the other battery, everything has a fuse. While, we are talking about wiring; all wiring is correct and professional. Aluminum boats are a bit special; all grounds must be run back to the battery or it does real ugly things to the hull of your boat. There are no wires that run down the center of the hull allowing them to be submerged below water, like I see over and over creating magnetic fields and the decay of the aluminum. The boat is equipped with LED lighting above and below the deck. The Attwood 6 gallon tank is new, and so is the fuel line/primer bulb. The sound system is a 200 watt, Pyle Marine sound system with waterproof speakers, (resistant)no radio or CD here just plug in your IPOD, Android or IPhone via the phone Jack, there is a place on the console that you can put your device into for water resistance while under way. I installed two 12V plug ins on the console if you need extra power. Up front there is a brand new MinnKota 45; not foot controlled, because I hate the cables and there always in the way. The trolling motor, along with all electronics, to include the Piranamax dual beam fish finder, and boat batteries are all under manufacturer’s warranty. There are some new pole holders on board, and both the front and rear navigation lights are new. All seating is new, Wise seating under warranty, and of course the carpet is new and if it makes us feel better it is 100% recycled water bottles, yes; last long time, yet porous. The front and rear decks were Fiberglass gel coated and fibers glassed at stress points and are designed to outlast you. They will easily take a 300lb man or woman. The Hatches are water tight sealed, high dollar, Jim Black’s in Polar Gray. While on the subject of the decks; my biggest problem when restoring a Tracker is getting the decks off. I will tell you now there are no hidden bolts on the Hydra. The front and rear deck will come off in a matter of minutes, as was my design. Hey! Come on Bass Tracker! Stop screwing the decks down then carpeting over them. Here, you can see the bolts; you don’t need a chainsaw to figure out how to get the decks off. If there’s a bolt anywhere on the boat, then it is stainless steel, otherwise it is an aluminum rivet. There will never be a stainless bolt or screw in standing water. There are no bolts or screws on the floor; I only use aluminum rivets so you can drill them out and get the floor up easily, no more dissolved screws with stripped heads for any of her owners to worry about. If you have ever tried to get one of these floors up from the factory, or after Jim Bob got through with it, than you will thank me. Over the floor is an industrial strength rubber mat cut to fit exactly with a little rubber adhesive to keep it tacked down. The decks tops and bottoms have been designed to drain well. In fact the biggest challenge that I have seen and the biggest problem can come from the boats lack of an ability to drain. This happens because of poor design, not correctly storing your boat and/ or because drain vents clog up over time with debris. Let me brag on my boats, they are designed to drain, however all boats on trailers need to have the front of the boat higher than the rear of the boat during storage. All Tracker mid floors, rot from the bottom up. Imagine a pool of water under a piece of sheet plywood under the Texas heat and couple that with old porous non tech Styrofoam that just holds the water like a sponge, and then it begins to swell with little room to escape, oooh then we get the mold. Imagine a piece of foam the size of a cereal box that weighs ten pounds because it is alive. I have seen mold under floors and paneling that has made me run for my breathing apparatus. In fact if you are at all allergic and it kicks up around an old bass boat then you may now know why. My favorite test when buying a Tracker, is taking a 5 gallon bucket. Tilt your boat up so it will drain, now pour those five gallons along the inside of the front of the boat. Now go to the drain hole, place the bucket there and see how much water you recapture. Did you get five gallons? Give it some time, not draining? Where did that water go? My boats pass the five gallon tests, over and over and over. All channels for drainage are clear, and I use foam that will not hold water when submerged. The foam is required for these boats; they provide structural integrity, and keep them afloat in the event they are capsized. Also there is a small quirk with Trackers in the center of the hull especially the Pro TX 17, that keeps them from fully draining the centers/lowest parts. I solve that by drilling holes in strategic places. I have written Bass Tracker with images. I am sure I have forgotten something, but it is time to list it. The last one I sold on ebay sold to a gentleman in Alabama at this same price, and I will say that this is a nicer boat. The trailer is sound. I replaced the wood bunks and rails and carpet, the tires are ok, they look new but in reality they need to be replaced. Most of us around here keep our boats in the lift. If you’re going to pull it for a long distance than let me know and we can get the tires, they are $56.00 new apiece and they are trailer tires, I will ask you to pay for them, Ill mount and balance them free. The spare is decent. I did replace the bearings and races on the hubs, and mounted a new rolling/folding tongue jack so there are no issues there. I replaced the boat launch strap, new tail lights, new coupler and all of it works dandy, It, has a four pin tow wire plug. You can see in one of the pictures that I have two more vintage trackers inline that need some love so this one has to go. The “buy it now” is very fair, but make your best offer. Like I said earlier when you come get it, and it is not what I said, then I’ll give you your money back. I learned that at a Five Star Dealership I worked at for many years. Customer isn’t happy? Give them their money back. Please keep in mind that eBay charges me about %10 at the “buy it now” so my profits are tight. With my Trackers it’s always a labor of love, and I hope to put them into the hands of people that know how special they are. Buy it, you will love it! I am in Garland Texas, come by and take a look. I have 330 pictures of the restoration that comes with the boat on DVD and are on a zip drive, I could possibly upload them somewhere for you. I have been trying to put them on YouTube, but I can’t get them to load there. Nonetheless, you will receive the DVD. Also Included are all the instructions and manuals you will need for the sound system, fish finder, remote and trolling motor. I will accept full payment through PayPal in case you’re trying to use a credit card, and of course, I accept cash. I need $500.00 within 24hrs of the completion of the auction and full payment in 7 days. You must pick up the boat within that 7 day time frame. You will need your own Trailer plate. You may not borrow mine. You may not leave with the boat unless you or your representative are satisfied with the boats condition/ serviceability, and log onto my computer or yours, while here and provide me with positive feedback. If that is not possible you should not bid on this item. I cannot control what happens to feelings or machinery once it leaves me, and I certainly can’t be responsible for it. If you have questions ask now, not later.This boat is sold as is, where is. If it is not as described, I will refund your money %100. I am not a dealer, so I am not required to collect Tax or License. You will receive signed titles for the boat and the engine. Best wishes.
