Tracker boats????

I’m actually thinking of getting one, but they have such a bad rap… Anybody have a newer one that they would care to share their thoughts?

Thanks

They are what they are, more of a entry level boat. What you will find with your research is they under power the motor to reach a low price point. The hull it’s self is OK for the most part. If looking at used check the rating for HP, most you find will be under powered by at least 25% some as much as 50%.

If looking new go down there and price it the way you want it with a acceptable size motor. Then go shop it against Crestliner, Starcraft, Lowe, ect.

To add on to Dutchboy, when you compare with the other brands consider everything that is standard as the Tracker will likely have things missing that the others do not. If you get an itemized build sheet with every option you can compare apples to apples. Otherwise, the Tracker will look cheaper but the other brands may actually have more “stuff”. Good luck!

My Neighbor has one that I think is 19’1″ and it has a 150 opti on it. It seems to do fine with that motor, but he said they come standard with a 115. I can’t imagine how bad that boat would be with a 115 fully loaded. Good advice to make sure it isn’t under powered.

I have an older (1999) Tracker and love the layout and storage that it has. I agree with the others regarding the underpower that comes standard with them, but that can always be changed. In my older model, the quality on some of the hinges and fit and finish may not be quite as high as Lunds/Alumacraft/Crestliner but it’s still fully functional and as I said the layout and storage is great. Some will say the hull and body of the boat isn’t as good either, but that’s almost always from people who’ve never been in one or have owned one. I have heard their ads on the radio saying they have the best warranty of all aluminum boats, for whatever that is worth. Personally, I’m very happy with my old Tracker and I believe the price difference fully outweighs any shortcomings it has compared to the big 3 of aluminum boats.

I have a 2011 V-175 Combo with the 115 Four Stroke. I don’t disagree with anything already said, but if you have a budget it’s hard to go wrong with a tracker.

This has been my first boat and again because of price point, layout and the fact that everything was new I would buy again. Now my dream boat would be a Lund 1875 Crossover XS but that is well down the road for me.

With the 115hp motor, top end speed is 40mph with 1-2 people in the boat. I recently switched to a 4-blade spitfire prop and that definitely improved my hole shot, handling around corners, and lost about 2mph top end speed which I don’t really care about. I don’t fish any tournaments or huge bodies of water so going 50mph + is no benefit to me. I mostly fish smaller lakes for bass, panfish, and northern as well as the St. Croix and Rainy River for sturgeon quite a bit.

I’ve since upgraded my depth finder and in the process of upgrading the trolling motor. This is where they are truly underpowered. I like to fish bass so I used my 55lb stock minnkota trolling motor a lot and in any type of wind I would have trouble getting to where I wanted to. I’m upgrading to an 80lb thrust Xi5 Motorguide.

Also, I’ve looked at my same model of boat recently and they haven’t made any significant changes but the quality seems to be a little better and some smaller design upgrades on the passenger and driver dashboards.

It all comes down to your budget, where you will be fishing, how much you will be fishing and what you are used to. If you have never owned your own boat or were in a smaller boat, a Tracker will be a nice upgrade and serve your purposes well. If you’ve owned or fished a lot out of some of these other brands you will probably notice the difference in features, quality, layout and performance but as I previously said, this is my first boat with nothing else to compare to so I’ve been happy with what the boat offers for the price knowing that some day I can always upgrade if want to.

Good luck with your research and post pictures down the road with whatever you get.

ClownColor wrote:

Tracker has come a looooong way. Most all boats you buy now days in regards to hulls, are going to be good. Flaws do happen though. Tracker seems to be more a “southern” boat so Crestliner and Lunds rule the roost in MN.

Yup. It would be very interesting if boats didn’t have a brand sticker on them.

FYI, I am looking at, lund rebel xs, crestliner fish hawk, alumacraft classic & tracker pro guide v-16. All in the 16′ models for garageability (is that a word)?? Just sold an alumacraft lunker, need a bit wider, keeping it to a 60 HP motor, I just have no desire for more, 25-30 MPH is all I need, plus I do like to troll.

Thanks for all the comments, I really appreciate this groups opinion.

I just fished in my coworker’ 17 foot Tracker side console. I think it’s a couple years old.

I was pretty impressed overall. Main motor seems fine. I guess maybe it’s underpowered a bit but seems fine for most applications. He did finally upgrade to a 24 V trolling motor. He said the stock 12 volt was way under powered. Beyond that, he loves the boat. I guess I’d take a hard look. I have a used 16 foot Crestliner tiller now and am starting to explore too so will be curious what you/others post.

I have a 2014 18v targa with a 115 4 stroke.
it does 34 mph with 2 people & gear.
I went to all the shows the winter before, kept going back to the tracker
the boat has a ton of storage & nice big casting platforms.It has a all welded haul & the only wood in the boat is the floor. I’m happy with the boat GOOD LUCK

I just have to ask why? If you are in MN, with all of the other makes available in the used and new market, I just can’t see any reason to go with a Tracker. A Tracker will be harder to sell here and it will lose more value than the other brands. What is the actual price difference you are seeing? Especially for new? Is it really worth it?

It Bass Pro goes ahead with the purchase of Cabela’s, I would assume that Cabela’s will no longer sell Alumacraft and Lowe and replace it with Tracker. I think then you will finally see Trackers make more of an impact here in MN. Right now, I believe that Cabela’s Rogers is the highest selling Alumacraft dealer in the nation. This is going to hurt Alumacraft and help Tracker.

Done deal. Ended up with a 2016 crestliner fish hawk, walk thru with a 90 merc. Black and way nicer than I need. Thanks for all opinions!!!

That didn’t take long. Congrats! I’m sure you’ll love that boat.

hunterjoe wrote:

That didn’t take long. Congrats! I’m sure you’ll love that boat.

Oh….it took long, been keeping an eye out since spring, just wanted to wait till the end of season for discounted boats. I wanted a side console with a 60, when my wife saw the full windshield, it was all over…

dont get me started on tracker boats. I was so pissed at mine it wasn’t even funny. I had my brand new one in the shop 2 days after i picked it up. there was so much that went wrong with it in the first year that I will never ever own another tracker. if you don’t believe me, ask Dean. he still laughs about me and my tracker. they are not worth the money. if you are looking for a boat around that price range, I would look at alumnicraft or lund or even some of the other off brands. you can get a hell of a glass boat for the price of a new tracker. just my two cents.

I have a 2016 tracker pro team 175tf 60hp motor brochure says 36mph top speed ive got it up to 40 a lot of space and room for gear ran this boat all day long and still had life in the trolling motor on board charging unit is a plus trailering the boat over the road feels like its not even there have to look in my mirrors often to make sure its still behind me most of the time

Attachments:

1. 

   13413082_604578909710359_5315254863268976597_n.jpg
   

2. 

   13007186_584520905049493_1369259608652103064_n.jpg
   

Got my 2018 Targa V19 W/t 40th anniversary TE last year. I love the boat. Had a couple of warranty claims and they were handled without issue. The boat is stable in rough water and smooth as silk on plane. In Colorado, we get thunderstorms almost daily, so it can be smooth one minute and rough the next. Most of the time, we ride out the storm. I was careful to assure I had all the power I need when I bought the boat, and added a kicker. Will buy another without worry. Much depends on the service department you use.

I see tracker boats as an entry level budget boat with limited options. Granted, that may suit some people and they are the most popular aluminum bass fishing boat in the country too. Does the cost have something to do with this? Likely. I’m not saying every single Tracker sucks. That’s absolutely not the case and Tracker owners have posts indicating their satisfaction. There were a couple things that deterred me from buying one in 2015: I didn’t like how the electronics had to be mounted to the side of the console rather than being able to flush mount one. Also, I heard that the floors are still made of wood. Everyone else has gone to aluminum floors. The one item that made me consider them was the price tag though. It was easily 5-6 grand lower than the other two boats I was considering (Ranger and Crestliner). Good luck with your search mnice.

As for the people that have posted about them coming with an underpowered outboard: virtually every single boat dealer does that. Its called a standard option. Usually the max HP outboard allowed does not come with the boat you want – it requires an upgrade for an additional cost. Whether you should max out the outboard on the boat is another topic to discuss.

three year old thread

mikek wrote:

three year old thread

And I didn’t buy a tracker either!!

I could be wrong but worked best for myself was find the Lund you want and buy it in August when rebates are high and they want them gone. Don’t customize. Buy something on the rack they want gone