Henry Rifle Forums

Redthies wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 04, 2021 5:51 pm

I’m hoping to get the existing motor running reliably, but not sure how much that’s going to take. My Mercury guys are dropping by this evening and will take a look.

how'd it go

We got it fired up. Aimed that 1000 CCs of free flowing two stroke goodness pointed at our neighbor who revs the crap out of his open piped Harley all the time. It felt a bit cathartic!

We compression tested it too, and while not new, all three cylinders were in spec. Changed the lower unit oil, and now we just need to get the steering cable replaced and I can take it for a test run. I’ve been spraying the cable ends with PB Blaster daily as it is still seized.

Update time, and it’s a BIG one. I got the new steering cable in, and took it down to the river with a friend in his freshly built 17’ aluminum center console along as a tow boat. I didn’t end up needing him since the engine on my boat would not stay running long enough to put it in gear so we never left the dock. I took it to my Merc dealer friends shopand had his tech have a look at it. He said I “might” be able to get it running ok with about a $1500 investment, but that it would never truly be reliable...

So, on to Craigslist it went. After spelling out very clearly the work it needed, and the fact that a re-power was the best option, I came up with a price for the trailer, hull, and 8 hp Suzuki kicker. I must have been low, as I had a dozen responses in the first 12 hours. I sold it the next day for full asking, which coincidentally was $190 shy of what I needed to buy this:

Well, ok, not EXACTLY that, but other than not getting a center console, and it being 12” shorter, that’s where I wound up.

I ordered a 2022 Tracker Grizzly with 50 hp Merc with electric start, power trim/tilt and heated tiller. For fly fishing and duck hunting, the center console would just be a pain. I’ll order up some seats, navigation lights, bilge pump and switch / fuse box. I enjoy planning how I want my own vehicles, so this should be a simple, but satisfying build. The unfortunate part is I probably won’t get to take delivery until December. I’m hoping for October, but it’s looking like it may be longer.

Good things come to those willing to wait...so I've heard. Good luck James, looks awesome!

Tracker makes a good boat .... it should serve you well .... looking forward to your ongoing reports

Thanks guys! Luckily I have a Tracker 1436 with 9.9 Merc on it to use for the summer. I’ll keep that for the tiny lakes where there is no launch. It is a 2017 model and in my area I could easily sell it for 3x what I paid for it, but that’s not my style. This is all driven by the arrival of the new terrorizer...

Once she is the same size as Dexter, the two knuckleheads could easily capsize us in the smaller boat. It’s just too light and narrow for youthful exuberance!

JEBar wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:39 pm

Tracker makes a good boat .... it should serve you well

There are more than a few folks out there who turn their noses up at Tracker and say that Lund, Lowe and G3 are all “way better”. I’ve looked at all the construction, material thickness, hull angles etc, and frankly, the Tracker uses the exact same materials, has better angles and has a lifetime structural warranty. Then factor in that the Tracker is literally HALF the cost of a Lund or Lowe... I’m really not sure why people buy the other brands. They might be slightly better fit and finish,but it’s just an aluminum boat, not a piano! I think it will be scary fast with the 50 on it, as it’s only a 600 lb boat, but there was so little difference in cost between the 40 and 50, and they are the exact same weight and displacement. It made sense to put the maximum motor on and “future proof” any weight demands I have as time passes.

Keep your fingers crossed that it shows up by mid October so I can use it on my west coast deer hunt in early November.

Could not agree more! Be sure to take those beautiful companions with you! , they are beautiful...I'm jealous.

Enjoy the new boat when you get it. Sounds like it will be nice. Boats have sure gone up in price the last few years. Like everything else