Thread: Cane Pole's Boat of the Month Contest - FEBRUARY is sponsored by Strike King

Well, here's our little rig. It's 12' of fish catching machine! LOL! Seriously, we catch a ton of crappie out of this "Tin Lizzy".....trolling, casting or drifting.

My boat isn't new or fancy, but it has a story......
It is a 1994 Tracker Magna 17 that was doomed to the aluminum scarp heap. The prior owner ran into a submerged log and that caused it to have a continuous leak, therefore he just kept the bilge on most of the time. He eventually bought a new boat and then the Tracker sat outside for a couple years unused. My friend Bruce asked the owner if he would sell it to him since Bruce wanted the outboard motor, a deal was made and Bruce brought it to his home and took off the motor and console with the controls. Seats were striped out, and left to sit outside until he could haul it to the scrap yard.
I mentioned to my friend I'd like to sell my 19' Thompson and buy a used deep v aluminum boat, he told me what he had and what he robbed off it......but, he had a junk pontoon boat with a good motor and console that he'd put on it if I wanted to take a chance on the leaky boat. Together he and I got the boat put back together with motor, console and then installed seats. As you can see in the picture the carpet was stained from rain water and tree leaves sitting in it. We scrubbed and scrubbed on the carpet and brought it back to a much cleaner condition.

Now.....the Leak problem! We found the area where the original owner hit the submerged log, one of the ribs was broken. we drilled out the rivets and put in stainless steel bolts and nuts, then sealed it over with a marine grade sealant, and I brought it home.

Although the leak wasn't terrible now, it was still a leak that I would need to hit the bilge pump periodically to get the water out. I bought a secondary bilge pump in case I ever need it and its stored in one of the compartments. Being somewhat satisfied I fished with it last year and the old scrap yard boat did a good job of staying dry, but not a great job.....so I took up the floor, and removed the Styrofoam that you find under it and commenced to putting a end to that pesky leak. I put the boat in a nearby lake to see where the water was coming in and found 3 more leaky rivets. Loaded up the boat and brought it home, drilled out those rivets and installed 3 more stainless steel bolt/nuts then sealed it up with the marine grade sealant. I also bought some of that flex seal in a can and sprayed it inside the hull at the offending area, then sprayed insulation back in the areas I removed, installed the floor and hoped for the best. At this point, whatever small leak it may have I will live with, it's a whole lot better than when I got it.

The cost of my boat? My friend Bruce charged me my labor to install 8 square of siding on his house......which I think is a heck of a deal!

I have added a few things since I got it, a minn-kota trolling motor, a inline fuel filter, rod holders, a splash panel to insure my grandkids stay safely in the boat and don't fall out the back, some cargo netting in the bow, a new Lowrance Hook 7 fish finder as well as new wiring my son installed to hook up live well, lights, etc.

Like I said it's not fancy, but it does what I need it to do, and I feel good saving the old hulk from the scrap yard.

Let's try again!!

PONDTOON!
1672 PONDTOON, 20 HP Yamaha, 55# MinKota foot control up front, shallow water anchor pole system 8' to 14', rod racks, sonar unit with GPS and structure scan, touch screen, at the back. Sonar with down scan up front off the TM. Aluminum diamond plate raceways and terminal boxes with storage for the sonar units. Starting battery in the rear and a deep cycle battery for the sonar units and backup power for TM with an on board charger,dual unit. Separate battery box with single charger and deep cycle battery for the TM. Two seats on storage boxes and a removable pedestal seat to use if needed. Storage pouches on the right side rails for tackle and extras. A true fishing machine, not fancy!!

Last edited by Zinger; 01-10-2017 at 06:16 PM.

My boat is a 1985 Charger 170v with a 1983 Evinrude 140 V4 on the back, and a 70lb Motorguide on the front. She was my father-in-laws boat before he died from multiple myeloma cancer in 2009. Before his death, we caught plenty of crappie and bass out of it from Lake Eucha, Lake Tenkiller, and Beaver Lake in Northeast Oklahoma/Northwest Arkansas. I inherited her after his death, and have been using the boat to catch crappie, bass, and bream in Louisiana. The boat is in great shape for a 32 year boat as it has always been garage kept or covered. The deep v means that she rides great in rough water. A consistent fish catching machine!

Great job Just Steve! It looks like a new one. Lots of hard work I'm sure.Good luck with it for years to come!!

Here is the wife and I's crappie fishing Scrat machine nothing fancy but it will "get'er done".

My Yankee fishin machine.

Originally Posted by Zinger

Great job Just Steve! It looks like a new one. Lots of hard work I'm sure.Good luck with it for years to come!!

Thank you, I hope to "slow down" in about 5-6 years, then I'll buy my "Retirement" boat. Probably hand this one down to my son and grandkids when that time comes.