Tracker Tundra vs. Warrior/Yarcraft

I have heard stories about the Tundra, but the 1 guy I know who has one loves it. I am considering it or a Warrior or a Yarcraft. All will be 5+ years old, 18 ft, and have 125 hp outboards. I have ALWAYS had aluminum under my butt and fear stumps and rocks with the glass boats. When we camp, it is common to leave my boat tied up on the bank for 1-3 days and overnights. Can someone help set my mind at ease. If the Tundra hull cuts like fiberglass and is as strong as other aluminum hulls, wouldn’t it be the obvious choice? I realize this is the old aluminum vs fiberglass paradox, but I think the Tundra is different. Am I wrong?

I know nothing about Tundra’s so I won’t go there.

IMHO the two “wives tales” are that the fiberglass boats are heavier and not as tough as alum. I’ve had both, currently have 2 fiberglass.

For my money I want fiberglass! Stick a keel protector on and you are good to go.

People will jump on here and steer you to other brands. Just remember it is YOUR money and you will live with what you purchase, not them. Be sure to test drive the boats you are looking at, it will be very clear when you find the “right” boat for you. Always check to see the motor rating, a under powered boat will not perform no matter what the brand or what it’s made of.

Have fun and enjoy shopping!!

Once you go glass you wont go back. I have owned both aluminum and glass. Currently I own a 620 Ranger I fish Rainy Lake every year and beach my boat daily on rocks and sand. as long as you have a keel guard theres no problem. as far as the brands you mentioned i believe its a personal preference. I swear by Ranger, but Im running a 20 ft boat with a 225 hp outboard. Good Luck.

One of the points that helped sell me on glass boats is the fixablilty of them, it’s easier to patch up some glass then pull the whole boat apart to fix the metal.

I leave my boat just beached at our cabin all weekend, never a problem, plenty of pleasure boats abound too so it gets hit by a lot of big wakes, I do have a keel guard and the beach is sandy.

If I had to leave the boat glass or aluminum in a rocky area, I’d anchor it offshore and wade to and from the boat.

Overall I found the Pros to far outweight the cons when looking at a new glass boat. I suppose if I ran a lot of really rocky areas that were really shallow, I’d not sure glass would be and easy choice, but stumps wouldn’t bother me, plenty of bass guys fish stumps and get caught up and on them all the time, with little ill effect.

Can’t speak anything about the Tundra’s, They looked nice never rode or fished in one.

Thanks for the insight on glass. I certainly agree with all that has been posted here thus far. The fact that I am even considering a glass boat is shocking to me. One year ago I could never have seen myself in one. Today, after reading up on it, I think I’ll end up owning one this spring. My only real alternatives are the Tundra or if I get a steal of a deal on a Lund. Does anyone know why I should buy a Tundra?

I have not been in one, but they say they have the ride of a glass boat do to the formed aluminum, it has the curves of a glass boat. Everything I have read people say they are dry and smooth.E Mail Jim at this site he has onehttp://www.downrivertackle.com/ also go over to the “The Next Bite” web site, they are popular there

Oh boy, I am going to get beat up on this one.
If these are your choices, I’d go with the glass boats.
I would seriously look into any research with welded aluminum and cracking. I know all boats can break and all brands have had their lemons, but the welded aluminum seems inherent to cracking, esp. the transoms.
The most cracked transoms I have seen have been on Crestliners and Tundras—and there must be some reason Tracker quit making the Tundra this year and is going glass.

My 2 cents.

Jeremy

I have ridden in aluminum and glass and own a 619 with a keel guard and beach it every year to let the kids swim. I will never go to aluminum. BUT it seems like they can be bigger, roomier, and at times cheaper. Now with that being said, I still won’t buy one. Good luck.

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must be some reason Tracker quit making the Tundra this year and is going glass.

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This in not true. They are not advertising them this year. They have to be special ordered. The Parson’s and Kavejecezs ordered their new 09’s.
They are a great riding boat that have a lot of advantages and disadvantages like all boats.

I would do a little research on customer service from the manufactures you are looking at. Are warrenties lifetime and are they tranferable???

Good luck in your quest for a new ride. There are lots of great boats out there.

I think you would be a proud owner of a fiberglass Warrior. One thing I would think about considering your situation, is the ability to repair fiberglass is quite simple for anyone in the bodyshop industry. So if you are a little hard on the hull you can get it shined up fairly easily. Plus a keel guard should protect everything just fine.

Jason Erlandson

Parson’s and Kavejecezs are contracted for two Tundras per year if that says anything about the quality. Why else do you need two boats to make it thru one year of pro fishing? Just a thought since this was brought to my attention when I also was looking at buying a Tundra last year.

It could go to quality but more then likely it’s the dollar value of the sponsorship contracts. I’m sure their contracts far exceed the value of just one boat set-up.

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Parson’s and Kavejecezs are contracted for two Tundras per year if that says anything about the quality. Why else do you need two boats to make it thru one year of pro fishing? Just a thought since this was brought to my attention when I also was looking at buying a Tundra last year.

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And you know this for sure? Or is this your assumption?

I’ve also been told they get two boats a year. Why I’m not not sure.

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Parson’s and Kavejecezs are contracted for two Tundras per year if that says anything about the quality. Why else do you need two boats to make it thru one year of pro fishing? Just a thought since this was brought to my attention when I also was looking at buying a Tundra last year.

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I guess that’s why they call it a contract! Brilliant! 2 boat per year lets the manufacturer tear it apart after 1/2 of a professionals season, lets them make improvements if needed. I see this as a positive. I have heard from others who rode in the boat as a co-angler that they thought it handled the waves really well. Both at Erie and Francis Case. In one of those tourneys a Ranger drilled a swell and filled up. These guys in the Tundra went around and collected tackle boxes floating around.

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And you know this for sure? Or is this your assumption?

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Yes its been posted on Nextbite for sale in the past and came from the “horses” mouth at NPAA meeting 2007.

Yep I saw that, if you notice one is for sale now, unused and the other at the end of the season, so it looks like they only need one boat for the season.

I was at the Mpls Boat Show and heard rumors from the Tracker booth that the new fiberglass boat they came out with this year will be the basis for a new hull for a fiberglass walleye boat next year.

I don’t take it as a good sign when they make the Tundra special order. I don’t see why you would do that if you had long range plans for the boat.

I know a guy at the lake that has a tundra.His words were it was very expensive and the hull was decent however everything on the inside was falling apart and had wireing problems when I talked to him.If they were a great boat you would actually see more than a couple on the water.I rarely see one and I wouldnt even consider buying one.

Warrior makes a good boat however I thought their price was to high for such a small company.Also have heard horor stories about their service.But you may find a good price on a used one.

The reason they run two per season is from the sponsorship agreement. It doesn’t have anything to do with the quality of the product. Tracker allows them to purchase up to a couple of boats at a discounted price. So the pro can turn around and sell them at some amount of profit. It is the compensation they get for promoting the company.

Jason Erlandson

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I know a guy at the lake that has a tundra.His words were it was very expensive and the hull was decent however everything on the inside was falling apart and had wireing problems when I talked to him.If they were a great boat you would actually see more than a couple on the water.I rarely see one and I wouldnt even consider buying one.

Warrior makes a good boat however I thought their price was to high for such a small company.Also have heard horor stories about their service.But you may find a good price on a used one.

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I don’t know that the price / profit point has anything to do with the size of a company. Seems to me Rolls Royce (the car end of them) isn’t a huge company.

I haven’t heard a hole lot about their service. Seems that also would have more to do with the dealer. Unless of course the factory won’t back up their dealers. I really don’t have any first hand knowledge of their operation.

That is what I have read, their service and warranty is

Warrior, Tundra or somebody else?

Pretty sure he’s talking about Tracker, heard that from a couple people, not sure if it was the dealerships or the company or both.

Well…I have owned a Tundra. The biggest positives of the boat were speed and a dry ride. The biggest negative I had was that all the interior screws kept working their way loose even after I took EVERYONE of them out and used some Screw Tight on them. It seemed like it was a brutal ride in big water. I did have some issues getting the warrenty of the boat transfered over to my name. It was a “Pro” boat and was told by the pro that there would be no issue what so ever getting it in my name. When it came time I did run into some issues. But with a little “persuasive language” on my end they came around to my way of thinking. I ended up selling this boat to a gentleman in Cananda. Personally I would not buy another Tundra, my first boat was a Pro-V and that would be my next purchase.

I have a Warrior 1890–that’s the tiller model. I went from aluminum my whole life to glass and couldn’t be happier. But that is a personal preference thing–like coke versus pepsi (COKE ALL THE WAY!)

Anyway, for me, the service at Warrior has been oustanding. I can call or email them and I have always (the past 2 years) gotten good advice and parts. I have another relative with a Warrior and he has says the same.

If used stuff needs constant repair, makes me wonder what people do to it. Stuff needs maintenance and consider who is going to help you out.

I’ve got a buddy that has a Tracker that looks very much like the one that Parsons uses. He’s had it for about 4 years now. Very awesome looking boat. I think he has had it in about 3 times since he has had it for very seriously cracked transoms. His boat is known on the St Croix as the “Cracker Tracker”. Again.. its a very nice boat when it stays in one piece.