My Xpress boat restoration (Lots of pictures)

I'm finally finished with my boat restoration project. I don't know of anything on the boat, or trailer that hasn't been restored or replaced. Only isue that I now have is the boat is porpoising so I've got to redistribute some weight because it didn't do that prior to the restoration. It only had one trolling battery in it when I bought the boat and it was under the front deck. Now it has 2, group 31 batteries along with the cranking battery in the rear compartment. I may just stick a couple of extra group 31 batteries under the front deck to see if that balances the boat so I won't have to move anything that's not necessary.




This is what the Xpress like when I bought it.


https://s26.postimg.org/iamfvfxa1/IMG_3524.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/mxshwmkgp/IMG_3525.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/kt84vjqjt/IMG_3526.jpg

There was around a 2 foot "gap" between the front of the console and the back of the front deck. I decided to make the deck come back to the console. Building the deck was no problem, but allowing enough room for the carpet so everything would look good when completed made my brain hurt.


The deck extension:


https://s26.postimg.org/40wrh4m95/IMG_3392.jpg


Added feet under the front deck for added support for 2 people:


https://s26.postimg.org/er0i5m7ex/IMG_3372.jpg

In the paint bay:


Before:


https://s26.postimg.org/8q2t8jsih/IMG_3409.jpg




After epoxy primer and urethane paint:


https://s26.postimg.org/3lb91edqh/IMG_3472.jpg




Motor cowling after new paint, new decals and clear coat:


https://s26.postimg.org/b7ekftk4p/IMG_3502.jpg

Green LED lights under the gunwale for night fishing:


https://s26.postimg.org/najw2u5bd/IMG_3546.jpg




White LED's in the compartments:


https://s26.postimg.org/6a0zu6n55/IMG_3549.jpg

This is her now! It was cloudy yesterday so the new paint doesn't shine, but the paint looks great. I also added a step to make getting on and off the deck easier, plus it gave me a great place to install another seat base so 3 can fish comfortably while casting.




https://s26.postimg.org/mqeib67u1/IMG_3521.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/62n08p07t/IMG_3516.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/877d9rmex/IMG_3522.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/mdn4504zt/IMG_3523.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/8elcv8eh5/IMG_3535.jpg


https://s26.postimg.org/6zjs6jveh/IMG_3538.jpg

FurFlyin,
Very nice work, looks great.

Looks great.

Excellent work!

Awesome job of rebuilding! Your going to enjoy every minute of fishing that rig knowing the amount of sweat and work that went into it. Fish on! :cheers2

Very nice job. Looks like some nice fabrication and aluminum welding you did there.

You have got yourself a boat to be proud of enjoy

Looks awesome!

Congrats! Very nice work!

Great job Brad ! Pictures don’t do it justice ! A lot of hard work ! :HandsClapping

WOW. That's some nice work right there. :cheers2

Well done. So often we see things done not quite right and they have to be revisited. I don't think you have anything to do in that boat but put fish in it. Very nice work.

Nice work, boat looks great!

Great job.

Now THAT is one awesome restore job..!!

Can I bring you my tracker? Great job! Looks like nothing untouched.

Great refurb job. I put a new floor in my '89 Tracker last year so I know how much work you put into this boat. Enjoy yourself!


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Congratulations on a fine restoration! Well done, sir. I hope you enjoy it ten thousand times longer than she took to restore. Just add water.

Jim

One heck of a job, congrats & hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of it

Looks great...
Good job

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

What a great job!

Looks great!

Thanks guys! I'm am proud of how it turned out. Only one bad thing.... I've destroyed the ride of the boat, and I'll need some advice on how to get it back....

It's porpoising like crazy when I get up over 4000 rpms. I can't run it WOT unless I bury the nose. It's cut my top speed from 53 down to 41 mph. I knew that adding weight could cause issues but never dreamed it would be this bad.

I only took the boat out once after I bought it before I started the refurb. It got up on the pad and rode great. 53 mph. It had the shorter deck, a much lighter TM on the front, one group 31 trolling battery under the front deck and one group 24 cranking battery in the stern compartment.

Now I have 2, group 31 batteries, a group 24 cranking battery and a Minn Kota 3 bank charger in the rear compartment. I took her out yesterday and it was porpoising. So today before my daughter and I went fishing, I went by our shop and grabbed a couple of battery "cores" to put under the front deck to see if adding weight to the bow would help. It barely did any good. I was able to get up to around 4200 rpms before it would start bouncing today.

The wind was horrible and I only got to stretch her legs right at dark, but the bow started bouncing at 4200. The more throttle I give, the worse it gets.

So, what to do? I know NOTHING about chosing a prop. I also don't know if raising or lowering the motor would help. I don't have a jack plate, so I'd have to go one hole at a time. The motor is currently in the 3rd hole down from the top.

Any advice GREATLY appreciated.

Very nice, sweet ride! Congrats .:ThumbsUp

That is quality work. Nicely done.

I'm no expert at setting up a boat like that. I run a 16' Xpress with 40 tiller. What I will say is, that's a lot of weight on that tail end. Personally, I would try putting my TM batteries in the front. My cavitation plate is about 1.5" above boat bottom. I know you added a couple to test but you still had the weight on her tail. I run one grp 31 in back and one in front. 24v TM. I would try shifting weight first, then play with motor. A jackplate would help you.

You done a amazing job it looks great.

I’m no expert either on boats that big, but I would think that you should definitely try raising the motor. Jackplate would help as you could play with the motor height much more easily, but remember for every 6” of setback you need to come up an inch. I would try playing with weight distribution first, but if that doesn’t fix it I would definitely try bringing the motor up, along with a bow raising prop. Great work, the boat looks great!


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Boat looks great.

Lots of ways to add weight to the bow for testing purposes, cinder blocks, cooler full of water, fill the live-well, etc.
Have you thought about a Doel-fin?

Good luck!

Really a nice job on your rig [emoji106]now enjoy


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Where is your gas tank?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by juice

Where is your gas tank?

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Mine is in the back. Only a 9 gallon though.

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Gas tank is in the rear compartment, in front of the batteries. I think this one is an 18 gallon.

Wow! Well done, and something to be very proud of!

Great Job! I will definitely know it if I see it on the river.

Lets see if the batts in the back are creating a problem, take em out. run the boat and see if it changes. I believe that you would be ahead of the game to take it to someone that sets up boats more than most any of us do. Small changes can make a big difference, and in my opinion, you're going to wind up with a jack plate. So much easier to adjust height and I'm led to believe that moving it in half inch increments can make a difference worth noting. Again, just an opinion.