Hello Gentlemen,
My dad passed away in January at 56 yrs old from cancer. In his estate and left to me was his beloved Bass Tracker. It is a 17 foot aluminum boat with a Mecury Classic Fifty, 45 HP 2 stroke inline 4. All that stuff was told to me and I am a Network Engineer (Computer Guy). I know nothing of boats other than I wish I agreed to accompany my dad on more fishing trips than I did. I am trying to bring this boat back to its optimum. My dad loved it and after he got sick he took the grandkids for one last run pulling the tube and it sat for almost two years. I am learning and bright and eager enough to learn more. This boat means so much to me and I will do whatever I need to to get it up again. I have a mechaninc friend looking at the engine, said it needs a coil, some plugs, but nothing major. He said that the boat is in great shape and my dad took good care of it before he got too sick. The trailer is new and the aluminum boat is perfect. So the reason for my post is this. I had to put a whole new steering system in (which I did myself and it works great!) when I did however, a lot of the wiring underneath the console loose. I also disconnected stuff from the batteries to charge them. Now I have no idead how stuff connects. I want to run all new wire everywhere. Inititally I just connected the red cable from the engine to positive and the black to negative like a car. That seems to get her started (before the engine issues) but is that all that is connected to the battery from the engine? I have two batteries, one starting and one trolling. I also have a fishfinder, bilge, accesory lights, anchor. I am reading stuff about alternators, selenoids, I am not sure how to connect the two batteries together, how do I ground stuff? How do I connect to switches? Basically I need a specific diagram. I saw some on here that gave me some insight, but I am not sure. Can someone please help me with this? I want to do it rights. This means a lot to me and I want to get out there and fish before it gets too cold. I need to know what to buy and how to connect everything. Which switches and circuit panels, etc? Also, I bought new seats too and I also want to redo the carpet. Do businesses do that? I can't find any here. What do I look for? Is it a do it yourself thing? It seems hard seeing as a lot of the existing carpet is under riveted aluminum. Anyway, I know I said a lot, but I need a lot of guidance. I want to make this thing like new and while I don't want to throw money away, I am not afraid to spend what I have to to get this boat in tip top shape. Thanks for reading.
My dad passed away in January at 56 yrs old from cancer. In his estate and left to me was his beloved Bass Tracker. It is a 17 foot aluminum boat with a Mecury Classic Fifty, 45 HP 2 stroke inline 4. All that stuff was told to me and I am a Network Engineer (Computer Guy). I know nothing of boats other than I wish I agreed to accompany my dad on more fishing trips than I did. I am trying to bring this boat back to its optimum. My dad loved it and after he got sick he took the grandkids for one last run pulling the tube and it sat for almost two years. I am learning and bright and eager enough to learn more. This boat means so much to me and I will do whatever I need to to get it up again. I have a mechaninc friend looking at the engine, said it needs a coil, some plugs, but nothing major. He said that the boat is in great shape and my dad took good care of it before he got too sick. The trailer is new and the aluminum boat is perfect. So the reason for my post is this. I had to put a whole new steering system in (which I did myself and it works great!) when I did however, a lot of the wiring underneath the console loose. I also disconnected stuff from the batteries to charge them. Now I have no idead how stuff connects. I want to run all new wire everywhere. Inititally I just connected the red cable from the engine to positive and the black to negative like a car. That seems to get her started (before the engine issues) but is that all that is connected to the battery from the engine? I have two batteries, one starting and one trolling. I also have a fishfinder, bilge, accesory lights, anchor. I am reading stuff about alternators, selenoids, I am not sure how to connect the two batteries together, how do I ground stuff? How do I connect to switches? Basically I need a specific diagram. I saw some on here that gave me some insight, but I am not sure. Can someone please help me with this? I want to do it rights. This means a lot to me and I want to get out there and fish before it gets too cold. I need to know what to buy and how to connect everything. Which switches and circuit panels, etc? Also, I bought new seats too and I also want to redo the carpet. Do businesses do that? I can't find any here. What do I look for? Is it a do it yourself thing? It seems hard seeing as a lot of the existing carpet is under riveted aluminum. Anyway, I know I said a lot, but I need a lot of guidance. I want to make this thing like new and while I don't want to throw money away, I am not afraid to spend what I have to to get this boat in tip top shape. Thanks for reading.
