I have worked in the Marine industry for about 20 years and have sold the following aluminum boat brands Lowe, Lund, Alumacraft, Smokercraft, Sylvan, Harbercraft, Jetcraft, Klamath, Bayrunner, Crestliner, Northwoods, and probably a couple others that I have forgotten.
After that long you can look at a boat, its construction methods, and components and tell what level of quality it is in a few short minutes. I have looked at many Trackers over the years so I am quite familiar with them. One thing that Tracker was notorious for doing (not sure if they still do)is using a butt weld where the transom and bottom joined. Very quick and cheap to do but very weak. If you hit a rock while underway it is almost always in the back quarter of the hull, if you have a butt welded joint it is very easy for the bottom to push upwards as you move over it until the rock reaches the transom where it then catches and tears the transom loose from the bottom. Lund and Alumacraft fold the bottom of the transom and attach on top of the bottom sheet. This will allow a rock, pipe, stump, etc to slide across the bottom without catching the transom. Much more expensive but much stronger and safer. Tracker opts for a much cheaper lower strength method of construction. That is just one way that Tracker uses cheaper construction methods to make a cheaper boat.
