Tracker boats question

[JohnnyD]

Hey guys looking for some reviews on tracker boats. Im looking to purchase a boat next summer up to $30,000. Im drawn to the tracker 17' walk through as it has a lot of competitive features that other manufactuers have, however, the big sell for me is the 8' rod lockers.

I have been searching the internet for boat reviews and there was a fair bit of negative reviews towards Tracker. People were reporting issues from bow to stern with minor problems ranging from gauges, and lighting not working all the way up to major problems with welds cracking on the hull and transom. Not to mention that when people were having the repairs done under warranty they would lose the boat for 10 weeks at a time, yikes!

My biggest fear is to drop mega dollars on a boat and have it spend more time in the shop than on the water. Hope to read some good input and thanks for information in advance!

[saskyangler]

i dont have any experiece with tracker but i know that the lund impact is a great quality boat for under 30k. plus it has options that allow you to use it for weekends with the family tubing or wake boarding and such. nich to have that option. check them out

[TROLLER]

Hey guys looking for some reviews on tracker boats. Im looking to purchase a boat next summer up to $30,000. Im drawn to the tracker 17' walk through as it has a lot of competitive features that other manufactuers have, however, the big sell for me is the 8' rod lockers.

I have been searching the internet for boat reviews and there was a fair bit of negative reviews towards Tracker. People were reporting issues from bow to stern with minor problems ranging from gauges, and lighting not working all the way up to major problems with welds cracking on the hull and transom. Not to mention that when people were having the repairs done under warranty they would lose the boat for 10 weeks at a time, yikes!

My biggest fear is to drop mega dollars on a boat and have it spend more time in the shop than on the water. Hope to read some good input and thanks for information in advance!

when you are considering dropping 30K on a boat then you should be looking at Crestliner and or Lund for sure.

Tracker while a fine boat is an entry level and thus you should not expect top line stuff like a Lund or Crestliner

[Lornce]

I love my tracker pro guide V-175. Great boat.

[npauls]

Another brand to look at is Alumacraft. They are right up there with Lund and Crestliner.

[wellpastcold]

Whenever you plunk down your hard earned money you must be confident that the company that built your boat will step up when it comes time to stand behind their product. It has been my experience that companies like Lund and Crestliner deal with warranty issues without delay. I cannot say that about Tracker. They fight looking after warranty issues all the way. The dealer in my case went ahead and repaired my boat not knowing if Tracker was going to reimburse him or not. This is not a good position for a customer to find themselves in. Be very careful.

[sheephunter]

I've ran several Tracker boats without any major issues. I've had a few minor problems but I can say that about every brand I've owned.

[Jamie Black R/T]

if you have 30k to spend look at a lund or alumacraft for sure

[ATF]

Cracks in the aluminum hull will develop along their stringer stitch welds that they use to keep the prices low. If you only run the boat for 5 years or less you can most likely have it repaired under warranty. If you plan on having the boat longer than 5 years buy a pair of dice and roll em.
Do yourself a favour and look at a better made boat as others have said. You get what you pay for has an all new meaning with tracker and bass pro.

[hogsmoker]

I have a 175 Tracker Targa 175 WT, Ive had no problems with the boat, also owned a Crestliner 1700 Superhawk and prefer the Tracker over the Crestliner.

My brother runs a 21 foot Tracker Tundra and he has not had any problems with his boat.

What I do like is the center rod storage on the tracker in which the Superhawk didn't have.

Your going to get minor problems with any boat you have, do your research and pick the boat that fits your style.

[Cal]

I always concidered Tracker a cheaper brand but a co worker just bought a Tundra and man is that thing nice! Very dry and stable and fast, did I mention fast? That being said I would probably still spend my money on a Lund or Crestliner. Theres a few Harborcraft boats kicking around here, they apeal to me in that they seem like a realy tough, no nonsense fishing machine, not sure what they run for prices.

[fish_fan]

trackers arent fast.

they have a very deep hull design that rides low in the water.

they might ride a little smoother but i wouldnt call them fast.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

I love my Tracker , Very happy with it , a few minor things but those are Ironed out for the most part , I have not had a single Mechanical issue with the boat just cosmetic .

[Cal]

trackers arent fast.

they have a very deep hull design that rides low in the water.

they might ride a little smoother but i wouldnt call them fast.

I cant speak for the other models but the Tundra seemed fast to me. Realy quick holeshot and does about 55 mph. The co-worker fishes the Anglers Cup regularly and his boat is usualy one of the fastest when the gun goes off, anything that beats him is sporting a significanly larger motor. He's runnin a 225, if he had the 275 the boat is rated for it would do even better.

[Cal]

Cracks in the aluminum hull will develop along their stringer stitch welds that they use to keep the prices low. If you only run the boat for 5 years or less you can most likely have it repaired under warranty. If you plan on having the boat longer than 5 years buy a pair of dice and roll em.
Do yourself a favour and look at a better made boat as others have said. You get what you pay for has an all new meaning with tracker and bass pro.

Just wondering what you mean by a "stringer stitch weld" not saying your wrong, just curious is all.

[aulrich]

I did a little googling it seems stitch welding is used where burn through or distortion may be an issue. With a continuous bead the heat can build up to where the base metal melts away. With stich welding you run a section skip a bit then another "stich", then you back track and fill in the gaps.

Getting back to the deep running nature of trackers I would make the correlation that they are better in the waves. I have had run on bad days on dorey in my in-law's boat were it's like getting punched in the kidneys. So I'll trade some speed for comfort.

Not that it will make much of a differnce, I'll probably have a tracker next month.

[Shmag]

I love my tracker and have not had any problems with it. I'm sure if it was to fall apart it would of done it a long time ago. I don't baby it at all, from tourney fishing to beating the storms on slave lk, my boat takes a POUNDING

[Cal]

I did a little googling it seems stitch welding is used where burn through or distortion may be an issue. With a continuous bead the heat can build up to where the base metal melts away. With stich welding you run a section skip a bit then another "stich", then you back track and fill in the gaps.

Getting back to the deep running nature of trackers I would make the correlation that they are better in the waves. I have had run on bad days on dorey in my in-law's boat were it's like getting punched in the kidneys. So I'll trade some speed for comfort.

Not that it will make much of a differnce, I'll probably have a tracker next month.

OK gotcha, and you are right on the aplication. As well the welds could be more prone to cracking due to having more tie ins. Just curious how the "better" boat compaies weld their stuff as it seems to me that distortion and burn through would be a major concideration on any boat. I always assumed that it would be an automated process, would have to be some kind of wicked machine to run an automated sequence of stitches to complete a hull though.