TV - 18

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Scott Smith

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Hey Marke, sorry I did'nt get back with you sooner, but I do this at work and have been off for 3 days. Anyways my TV - 18 is currently at your shop, go have a look at her.
 
Smitty....Marke....

What's up with this fine fishing machine???



az
 
Marke:



Is there any way to take some photos of Smitty's boat and e-mail them to me so that I can see what to look for on my boat?



MO
 
Smitty,

I'll take a run over and check it out.



Mo/Andy,



See Smitty's post a few days ago entitled "TV-18 Transom Woes".

The service center has a really nice digital camera. If smitty doesn't mind I'll post or e-mail you guys some pics.



Marke
 
Go ahead and post away Marke, they are supposed to be taking pictures and sending them to Tracker soon, I took some of my own but like I said, I do this at work and unfortunately we don't have the technology to post the photos, so if u wanna do that that'd be great..
 
OK guys, here's the pics of smitty's transom peeling off the back of his 2000 TV-18.



Marke
Port%20Transom.JPG
 
Sho'nuff looks like a problem!!...The fine crew at the Auburn Hills facility will get you fixed up though!! Looks like an engineering change is in order though for a "REAL" fix!! Obviously, a need for additional reinforcments if they're going to continue to rate that hull for a 150!!

 
Mac,

Smitty's boat is a 2000. The 01's and newer transoms have already been beefed up. It's great having Mo here so we can keep tabs on how his boat holds up...LOL



Marke
 
I believe MO has a 2001 hull...

I, on the other hand, have a 2000 hull...at least I only have the 90hp motor on it...believe me, I inspect this are frequently and thoroughly...the only thing that I have noticed is that one or two of the rivits that hold the corner trasom 'caps' in place are loose...

Marke---can I have these caps welded down? Can you ask the service guys??? I have access to folks that can weld aluminum...just wondering if I might be a good "pre-emptive strike" to weld it now...



az
 
There are two primary differences between the pre-2001 models and the 2001, 2002 models of the TV-18. First and foremost, the corner caps, which are separate pieces on the pre-2001 models, are brushed aluminum riveted to the transom and gunwales. On the '01 and '02 models, these corner caps are welded to the transom and the gunwales making for a solid corner connection. Andy, your idea about welding the corner caps down makes sense, since that's what Tracker decided to do beginning with the '01 model year. You may also want to think about drilling those loose rivets out and through-bolting the caps with stainless steel hardware, if you can.



Andy, do me a favor. Count the number of bolts/screws (not including big the motor mount bolts) that are through your and post it. I'll do the same on mine. My impression from seeing my boat sit side by side with a 2000 model is that my boat had more screws/bolts in the transom. That leads me to believe that there is some kind of reinforcing plate on the inside of the boat. That was the second big difference.



The other thing I noticed between the two boats (his had a 125 bolted on the back end), is that my transom looked THICKER. I can't prove it, unless I can figure out how to measure the thickness of the transom and have someone do the same to their 2000 or 1999 model. But I'm pretty good a gauging depth and distances and it just seemed to be the case.



Finally, I noticed that on the '01 and '02 models, the BOW cap is all-welded. On the pre-2001 models, it is a separate piece just like the stern corner caps.



One possible solution would be to look for a way to weld or bolt reinforcements in the areas which tend to pull apart (below).
PortTransom.jpg
 
I'll take a look tonight MO...

If I remember, I'll snap a few pics and post 'em too...

Of course that would mean I would have to pull the boat outside IN THE SNOW!!! aaaarrrrgggghhhh!



az
 
Great! If you snaps some pictures, I'll try to duplicate them (angle/target area) using my boat for comparison. A straight-on shot of the stern would be great, as well as a picture of a corner cap.



Snow??? You have SNOW???



It's mid-50's here with a cold rain expected overnight and tomorrow morning. GREAT crappie-fishing weather. Ugh!!



(See, I could've used the big fonts/colors, but DIDN'T. I am a model of self-restraint today!)
 
yep...

"typical" fall day in Michigan...

Cloudy, Windy, rain, drizzle, sleet, snow...

Right now it's just cloudy and windy...



az
 
Oh man if Scott sees the size of those pictures use guys are gonna be in really BIG trouble.
 
Oh man...unbelievable, I can see it even in a pic...you better get that rig to your dealer right away.
 
Andy -



Let me caution you and others against doing any work yourselves on your boats..... Such attempts could void your warranties. ONLY a factory authorized repair center should perform the work.



me!



(I saw! Or should I say "I couldn't see 'cuz the picture was too big"!)
 
MO,

Where are you? I hope you're not on the water with that rig...please respond asap.
 
Just coming on to thank Andy for taking the photos of his boat. My boss borrowed the digital camera to take pictures of his cabin-raising party this weekend, so I can't take pics of my boat until next week.



But, I did just go out and count the number of bolts/screws in my 2001 TV-18 transom and I was right. On Andy's boat, he's got ten on each side of the outboard not counting the tie-down u-bolts or those openings for water to drain through. On my 2001, I've got 15 on each side for a total of thirty, and the pattern is different.



Ken, the pictures with the bad transom are Smitty's boat, not mine. I just edited the pictures Marke Cicero posted to illustrate a possible solution. My transom is still as good as the day we bought it, although I may break it this weekend. We'll see.



Okay. I'm signing off until Sunday night at the earliest. Sorry I've gotton on some of your nerves with the all caps post. On the way home from work I decided that I need to change my outlook, rather than ask others to change their style. USE ALL THE &#$@!*&$% ALL-CAPS LETTERS YOU LIKE! Don't mean a thing.



Rob:



"Uva uvum vidvendo varia fit"



Or, as my boss likes to say, "Illegiti (Illegitimus) Non Corborundum!"



MO
 
Shaky hands...



"Uva uvum videndo varia fit"



Do a google search if you don't know what they mean.
 
scott,i wont comment on the "factory" authorized repair center deal.sorry,we wont and will not go there right now!
 
My poor boat....it looks like it misses me...I hope your keeping it company Ken...
 
Yes Nick they did replace my first one with another 2000, I was told that there were some manufacturing defects in a few of the 2000 TV18's, this obviously was not true and that info was provided to me during the Pre-Neeley days of BPS Auburn Hills. Not sure what they are going to do this time, it's all wait and see right now but I'm confident they will do the right thing. Course, straight up trade for that Avalanche on the Auburn Hills sales floor would be very acceptable to me, just gotta toss my 150 on it..
 
Jeff -



You know that I agree with you and support you 100% on the ordeal that you went through.....



However, if someone were to attempt to repair their boat themselves - except for a possible emergency repair in the case of a failure to get it back to the dealer - and the repair didn't hold..... Then even I would have to take a close look at the work they had done and see if it might have contributed to the situation in any way.



There are some very fine dealers out there - Ken Neeley and Bob Bourget to name two - that I would trust absolutely to get the job done right.



me!
 
I'm with you Scott...

I don't think MO was implying that the 'owner' do the fixing...I think he was just suggesting a possible route the repair center could take...

'course, I could be wrong....again....



az
 
EEWWWWWW! Now that I've seen the damage that can occur by adding a 150 to my boat, I think I'll keep my 90 and be happy (maybe just go to a 125 :)

My question to Ken - since this is a warranty issue, shouldn't Tracker send out some sort of notice / recall on pre-2001 TV-18's to have this fixed?
 
SHHHH guys, don't let the 'glass boys here all about all this, next thing you know we'll be hearing "see your tin tubs can't even handle a measly 150hp!"



SHHHHHHHHHH, Go about your business, 'glass owners there is nothing here to see.
 
HA!! You can run but you can't hide!! Maybe ya'all ought to just stick with the trolling motor, ya know some have 100lbs of thrust, because that's the closest yer gonna get to 100 anything in yer tin. By the way, I hear there's a new weight on the market, "Sticky Weight" I think they call it.....Ya'all can buy it by the gallon to fill the holes and cracks!!



Honestly, I hate to see ANY rig develop that kind of problem. As Steve Irwin would say, " Crackey, Dangea, Dangea"!!



TOXIC
 
Hey Boys and Girls.... I had a short attention span interest ina Suzuki 140hp 4 stroke last year when I needed a rebuild...Did the rebuild instead. Now, I hear rumors that Bombardier/OMC is redoing the Johnson line of motors to be all 4 strokes... All Suzuki designs but built by Bombardier ... This could give us tin boys a very nice lighter weight big hp 140hp four stroke... Not exactly on point but as the issue comes up on this thought about weight and transom strength thought you all would like to know...



Smitty...do not let the Glass boys see or hear this thread... Gonna ask Rich to do a hidden tin only section...LOL
 
MO,

I know which boat is yours...I doqwnloaded your pic and zoomed in on a few areas near where the motor is bolted to the transom....
 
Greg,



Oh yeah, that's just what you need with a weak transom....a 4-stroke....heaver with less power. Just the ticket if you ask me. Why, maybe you can put 2 Susqueezeeme's on your rig.... If I wait long enough, you tin guys are gonna self-destruct!! Make sure you all come to my home lake to fish....those tin rigs will make great fish habitat...no rust. LOL



TOXIC (naney naney boo boo)
 
those magna series boat transoms are built like iron.no flex in mine.and thats with a 90 and a 8 hanging on back.tugged on her today at the oswego launch and no flex.



bad weekend,went out to 200 ft,no fish,harbor,no fish,the creek where we were,2 ft low,seen a total of 10 fish caught today.



oh well,at least i was out running the boat!
 
Well, we did our best to bust my transom. Ran across the wakes of a Larson, a Sea Ray and a Four Winns. Then we ran upwind on the main channel at Lake of the Ozarks into a good rolling chop. Then my wife let me drive.



Sorry guys, everything appears to be okay.



One dink bass and one keeper crappie was all we had to show for the weekend's effort. The boat and cover is filthy from all the road grime since all we did on Friday was pull the boat in the rain, fish for a couple of hours and then pull the boat in the rain again.



Oh, and I busted my St. Croix Avid rod and lost the tip.



MO
 
ALright MO, I guess you're not gonna fall for it a 3rd time!!!
 
Yeah, shame on me.



Fool me thrice, won't be nice.



Good job on the first one. Second one, Russian judge scores a 4.2.

 
dave,where in Pa do you fish?



join up,its free,and we need another tinman here!!
 
Just some input on the transom I was told that there is a thin strip of stryofoam/plastic strip between the transom and the splash pan (i will call it)and there is no weld across the middle/top of the transom, where it pulled away in that picture. I will keep my 90 it is good enough to keep me in trouble.
 
how do I get a star and how do I post a picture in this form?

please and thank you
 
im not that far from wallenpaupack,about 30 min or so.been on cayuga once this year for browns.been up ontario mostly.a lot of local lakes round here mostly.



you fish the upper end of cayuga?we never got that far up,the lower end is the trout landlock salmon area.



hard water hasnt set in yet.still have the boat ready to fish.was on lake ontario last weekend.no fish,but good to be out.



depending on the weather in 2 weeks,looking to get out fishing for a while.got some snow here,just a loght dusting,nothing more.cant do nothing this weekend,went and did a semi stupid thing.bought a 78 ford bronco with a plow off ebay.$150 is pretty good deal i figured!going to suffern ny to pick it up.so fishing out for saturday,but sunday....
 
Dave:



My boat is only a year old, and we can visually see where the crossmembers are welded to the outer hull skin. It is supposed to look that way. It ain't pretty, but Jeff (Magna19) said that it is a sign of a strong weld. As a welder, he should know. I think anyone with a TV-18 would say the same thing.



The transom is a different story, and I'm sure you've seen us compare the pre-2001 models with the 2001 and 2002 design. If I can get my hands on our office digital camera, I'm going to take some picture to compare the construction of my boat (2001) with Andy Z's (2000).



MO
 
Charlie,



Stars come after you post fishing reports. See that section for more info. To post a picture, it is easiest to save it in your member library and attach copy the url into the Picture field, below the message field. Your picture will be attached.



Rich D
IM000054_thumb.jpg
 

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