1979 Tracker.

[nimmor]

I have some soft spots in the floor of my 79 Tracker so I thought this winter I would gut it and replace floor and decks. The decks look easy but I was looking at the floor and it looks like the rivets holding it down run all the way through the aluminium from the bottom of the boat. Has anybody ever replaced the floor in an early Tracker and know if this is right? If so that is going to make this job a lot more complicated.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1979 Tracker.

Welcome nimmor,

Sounds like you have a tin boat on your hands and I know next to nothing about 'em.

I just wanted to welcome you aboard the Iboats drydock and let you know that one of the aluminum boat pros will be checking in with you soon...Hang in there.

Regards,
GT1M

 

[wlg]

Re: 1979 Tracker.

I don't know about Tracker, but I'm working on a 79 Sylvan. The rivets that hold the floor down should only be attached to the cross ribs that are under the floor. Drill the rivet head off and pull up the floor. You can remove the rest of the rivet after you have the floor out. I used stainless steel screws to put my floor back in.
Check out my thread. You can see the ribs I'm talking about. I'm sure the Tracker is similar.
79 Sylvan Supersport 18' open bow rebuild.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1979 Tracker.

This is not necessarily true^^^. All boats substructures are similar but can be very different too! You should post some pics of yours so we can see what you see and advise you from there. There's a link in my signature on how to post your pics.

 

[nimmor]

Re: 1979 Tracker.

Thanks for the responces. I think I'll try drilling one of the rivets and that will tell me whether they go all the way through the hull or not. I hope they don't because if I count right that will be about 40 rivets to replace.

 

[nimmor]

Re: 1979 Tracker.

Update. I drilled one out and it didn't go through. After drilling them all out I found that there are floor supports underneath and the rivets are perfectly lined up with the rivets holding them down. That was why it looked like the floor rivets went all the way through the hull.