Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

[riverred]

I just bought a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648. I will be using it primarily on the river, so weight is a major factor to me. Any recommendations on how to go about putting in the floor? Plywood vs. Aluminum, and does anyone have any experience with the factory floor kit that Tracker offers? There are so many options, and really, I am just looking for the option that will be the lightest, longest lasting, lowest maintenence floor (as I'm sure the rest of the boating world is)

And then once the floor is in, I have to decide on a surface... Rhino liner seems like a good way to go for a fishing machine that will be used in temps from -5 to 95, but does anyone know how much this stuff weighs?

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

I had a similar boat in which I put in a plain wood floor with several wood supports to level it out in the middle. I made the mistake of making it permanent. I should have left it loose or more easily removable. Every time someone dropped a piece of bait or small fish, it would slide down under the wood floor. If I were to do it again, I'd use 1/2" plywood, epoxy coat both sides with some sort of traction aid or sand in the top coat of paint, and leave it so that it can be tilted up or removed for cleaning.

I knocked around the idea of using aluminum but the idea of it being slippery made me choose wood. A buddy of mine did his in Rhino liner, it's ok and it kills a lot of noise, but it can be slippery when wet, especially if something is spilled like fish oil or slime from bringing a fish on board. Wood is cheap, easily replaced, it floats, and if properly treated will last a long time. On my current boat, a Duranautic V hull, I used two pieces of wood, coated with epoxy paint and carpeted on the top side. I peel and replace the carpet as needed since it's only a two small flat pieces. It's never slippery, it's light, and the floor is level and always looks good. When the carpet gets dirty, I pull the two sections out, stand them up along the wall and pressure wash them and let dry.

When I first made the floor panels, I used a few dabs of silicone sealer to stick them in place, it kept them from sliding around, but after some use and several cleanings, the wood no longer needs to be held in place at all. I suppose a wood panel would sit even better in a flatter bottom boat like yours.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

I made wood decks for my 1432 Tracker. I used 3/8 ext plywood with 1x1" pine ribs attached to the underside of the deck for support (the 1x1" ribs were the same height as the aluminum ribs). The hardest part was finding a piece of wood that would conform to the bowed front deck. Luckily I found the perfect piece of 3/8 plywood at Lowes, it was bowed up 12" at one end and flat on the other half.

Once the deck was fitted and sealed with 3 coats of polyyrethane, I lined the bottom of the hull with thin painters plastic, misted everything with water, applied spray insulation foam (Home Depot/Lowes) on the underside of the deck, dropped it into place and weighted the deck down with 200# so the foam didn't push the deck up. This needed to be done a few times to fill all of the voids. With the ribs every 12" and foam underneath, the floors feel rock solid.

I opened up the seats and chopped out the foam block, then lined the seat cavity with 2" construction foam. The 2" foam combined with the foam under the floors gives the boat the same amount of flotation as the original foam blocks. Inside the center seat are 2 group 31 batteries, 3 gallon fuel tank, anchors and ropes. The back seat has the same amount of storage, but has a split lid for easy access to life jackets, paddle, and other stuff.

I riveted 1x1" aluminum angle brackets onto the seats bulkheads and screwed the decks to these brackets for easy removal.

I've had the decks out 2-3 times for hosing down and removing dirt below deck and they are holding up great But, I live in the desert and if the decks get wet, they don't stay that way for too long.

I carpeted the interior of this boat since it's my stealth fishing machine. If I wasn't worried about noise I would have put truck bed liner or marine floor vinyl on the decks.

 

[riverred]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

Thanks for the info/advice so far guys. The boat already has a front platform, and if I go with Rhino liner, I'm questioning whether I bond it directly to the aluminum or put in a floor over the playform in case I decide to make a change down the road... And really, I've been hard pressed to find a reason not to go with bed liner, but I've read that it adds 40+ lbs to a truck bed, and my boat is about twice the sq footage, and I'm thinkin 80 lbs just in flooring is relatively heavy, especially when compared to carpet. I'm trying to avoid carpet if at all possible. I wonder if the floor kit from Tracker ($350) would be worth the money, but I'm not sure what the kit is exactly...

I have been rattling my brain trying to think of a way to do a nice floor without any screws or rivots, possibly lay down the floor, use angles to attach the floor to the sides, and use the lip of the rail to hold the sides against the floor, make sense to anyone? Again, thanks for the input!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

The bottom of your boat is pretty flat, if the wood floor panel is cut to fit properly, it won't move around much if at all. A few dabs of adhesive would help hold it in place yet still be removable without drilling any holes in the hull.
You might want to look into a rubber flooring, something like Nautilex or rubber mat. It will be a lot lighter and easier to replace. I'd coat the wood with epoxy paint or similar to ad to it's longevity too.

I agree that the Rhino lining is a bit heavy, it makes a nice interior and kills lots of noise, but it's pretty permanent. If you ever needed to make a serious aluminum repair, it may hinder that repair process.

I like to keep my boats simple, easy to maintain, easy to fix, easy to clean. I also don't like to create areas that I can't get too or clean, especially since I run in both fresh and salt water here.

 

[riverred]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

Yeah, I had actually looked at vinyl first, but headed towards spray on liner, and after looking back at the vinyl, Nautolex is only about 3lbs for a 6' by 3' roll! Much lighter than the spray on liners. And visually the vinyl doesn't look much different than the spray on liners. How does Nautolex hold up in cold (-5) weather? I know it's just a fishing boat, but if she looks good, she'll feel good and give me a better ride

So now my thought for the main floor is one or two large pieces of marine grade ply with a few strips of PVC or 1"x1" on the underside running aft to stern between the ribs to hold it secure for sure, vinyl flooring and "deck plates" for easy access and removal. What are the pros/cons of using foam underneath as Dr. Dan mentioned? Would if be worth it with the limited space (an inch or so) I would have under my floor?

Another thing I'll have to do is put in some storage, so I'm thinking of extending the rear "platform" or maybe the front one and installing a 150 qt cooler for those tasty salmon and beverages and a dry storage space. There are alot of nice marine coolers out there, but does anyone have any recommendations for one that I could install under my deck?

This is my first boat, and I haven't even seen her yet! 2008 1648 with a 2002 25 hp Merc elec start with the extended tiller steering. Decided I wanted a boat while I'm working on the desolate border land, so she will be waiting for me when I get home. Being a former Marine I firmly believe in the 5 P's (prior planning prevents poor performance) and attention to detail, so I am getting everything laid out so when I get home I am pulling in big steelies ASAP!

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

I'm putting light tan Nautolex in an 18' Crestliner I'm rebuilding, nice looking, light and pretty easy to work with. I don't think you will be disappointed with it.

From the looks of the rib spacing, I think you could get away with 1/2" marine or exterior 1/2" 5-ply plywood to make a strong deck (marine ply being 2 times the price). If you have a scrap, place it in the boat and see how much it flexes while you stand and bounce on it, that's how I found out the 3/8 exterior would be strong enough for my deck design.

When I bought my 1432 I loaded it with gear and took it to the river to see where everything needed to be located for balance. Then, when I got home,,, I took out the jig saw and commenced to cutting up the boat My intent was to make the ultimate stealth fishing rig, so making the tinny sounding hull quiet was top priority.

Foam under the deck panels is not required. But,, I only installed 1/2 the foam back under the seats that I took out from under the seats. I needed additional flotation so it went under the deck panels. This significantly dampened the tinny sounding hull and I probably would have done it anyway even if I didn't need to flotation. The foam also strengthened the 3/8" plywood I used for the decks and it "locked" the decks in so they don't shift around.

Here are a few pics:

(yeah,,, I know I need more ventilation for the batteries and gas tank compartment, it's in the works )

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

Check your PM's, I think I found something for you...

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

That boat should have factory flotation in the existing metal compartments or seats. I would say that adding foam under the floor will only hold moisture and speed up floor rot.

As far as a cooler, I'd probably just surface mount a good size marine cooler up front, it will help offset some stern weight and won't require any serious construction or modifications. I have two strap clamps and a 100qt cooler I carry up front on the bow of my 16' V hull, I can also carry it on the floor as well if needed. I think your options will be limited when it comes to a built in cooler in that boat unless you make your new floor the same level as the metal boxes already installed. That would change the whole construction method of putting in a floor as you will need more serious supports than just a few runners to level the floor over the ribs.

Nautolex seems to hold up fine in the cold, a buddy did his whole 21' center console with it and we fish off it all winter long here with no problems. The only concern with any covering is getting the right glue to make it stick. Being that you will be using it on a flat floor, it should be no problem.

 

[tboydva]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

Another potential is to use "fiberboard" instead of wood. I've almost completed an extensive (more than I wanted) restoration of my aluminum boat - with a major objective of removing ALL wood. I made my new transom out of laminated fiberglass plywood (for lack of a better term). This stuff is STRONG although not really light. I redid my floor with plate aluminum, but if I were to do it over (which I never will), I'd surely consider using the fiberboard. Here are some pictures of the 1/4" stuff. If you were to put a series of nut-serts in your internal ribs, you could screw plates of this stuff in so it could be removed. The issue is getting it. I got mine from a guy in Altoona, PA where my brother-in-law lives. The guy works at a fiberglass factory and <mysteriously> sells odds and ends of this. I got four large sheets (1/2" and 1/4") for $15, but I bet new it would be a significant expense. Don't feel comfortable posting the guy's contact info here, but email/PM me off-line and I'll forward. My 2c...

 

[riverred]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

I wanted to build in the cooler simply because the boat has no storage except that little cubby under the front platform. So being that I would probably have to create some sort of storage, my thought was to just extend either the front or rear platform 2 feet or so, and with the bottom hull width being 4', a coleman 150 qt cooler looks like it would be a perfect fit width wise, and I could use any "left-over" space around the cooler as dry storage.

Or I could take reelfishin's advice, surface mount the cooler, because with the big open main deck, that big cooler becomes a mobile bench seat for a third/fourth passenger if I so need it! Then I could extend the platform only a foot or so (to the first rib or so) to give me my storage space, without requiring too much work in the line of supports. Still keeping it simple. I just liked the idea of a nice clean, uniform look, but I know I'll have to compromise something...

Nice to know Nautolex holds up in the cold! How does it compare to Deco Dot as far as cleaning? The texture looks like it would trap a little more dirt, or does it hose out really well?

 

[NJBASS44]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

How did the floor go? I was looking to complete the same project with the same boat and was curious to see how it turned out?

 

[riverred]

Re: Floor in a brand new Tracker Grizzly 1648

Floor turned out awesome, so awesome in fact that I haven't taken the time to take pictures because I've been gettin my use out of it! All I did was cut some 1/2" treated plywood so it fit between the ribs, which locks it in so I don't have it screwed down. I used a big piece of cardboard as a die, it worked better for me than measuring, because I rounded my notched where the ribs are, it's a pretty exact fit. I covered the two pieces of plywood with Deco Dot vinyl flooring from Cabela's. I've cleaned the boat 3 times this summer, and pulling out the floor was simple, and made cleaning the boat easier, and nothing was trapped under my floor, I was always surprised to see what managed to get under there!

The front deck was extended about 17" to the first rib, and my battery and gas are tucked under there. I covered the whole floor with the same vinyl and am very pleased with it so far. It's only September and the boat has easily seen 100 days of hard fishing. I used your basic spray adhesive to stick down the vinyl, and it has held up well, except in a few awkward corners, but it's just a quick spray and it'll stick back down, I was surprised at how well the 3M spray adhesive worked!

I did put in the 150 qt cooler, and I use large tupperware containers inside of it for dry storage, all my tackle fits in there and I still have room for fish, ice AND beer! Depending on the season and type of fishing I'm doing, I swap out and move containers to make each trip as convenient as possible.

My favorite modifications though, are ones that allow me to run in about 2 to 3 inches of water, on plane, with 2 people in the boat going upstream... Not a big deal for all you guys with jets, but I only have a 25 hp prop. I'll post some pics and update that stuff soon.