Looking for Tracker Feedback...

[salmonslammer]

My BIL is considering a 06 tracker, the 16' one I do believe, and is looking for some feedback on them...


Seems like I remember some brewhaha about them a couple of years ago, but don't recall the skinny on them :rolleyes:

[Skeeter]

Best thing I can tell you is to go to Walleye Central (www.walleyecentral) and type in Tracker in the search section in boats and motors section. You will get all the info you need. The good and the bad. Skeeter

[WALLEYE MIKE]

I have one and it works just fine. 18 ft Targa with a walk-thru windsheild.

My buddy also has one but a 17ft. Likes his just as well.
Decent boats for the money.

[shametamer]

tracker is a 'welded' boat as opposed to riveted( everyone has an opine on which is better)..for years tracker marine(in most peoples opinions) underpowered their packages( corrected, pretty much in the 2006 lines). The biggest 'knock' on tracker was workmanship and trying to get 'service' if you had a problem. the biggest 'plus' was the relatively small price you paid for the complete package. Upon , correcting the undersize engines on their packages they pretty much come into line(pricewise) with most other aluminum boat builders. Boats sold under the Fisher name are the exact same boat as those sold under the tracker name. Lots of people love their trackers(and the mercury engines they come with are the number 1 seller around these parts, regardless of which boat), others 'pshaw' the idea of a tracker...so you can get into a ford vs. chevy vs. dodge debate with about anyone....................looking into a new boat myself, I might advise ur BIL look at a few others before making his final decision(can't hurt) and ..keep in mind..its the DEALER that makes all the final preps on your boat motor and trailer.so if you have any doubts about the DEALER....RUN!:yikes:

[quackills]

I was looking at tracker until my buddy told me about the problems with his. Floor board rivets coming up and he experienced bad CS. I looked and went with G3. From my view I am very satisfied with the G3

[wally-eye]

Have a 2004 Side Console Pro Guide V16 w/50hp Mercury. Have not had any problems with the boat. Fishes nice and often. Fish it at least twice a week or more for going on three years and have done nothing but put in gas and oil.

[enfield]

I fished a riveted 17ft Pro Deep Vee for 10 years, took good care of it, and never had a problem outside of the front deck rotting out, and I blame shrink-wrapping for that. It was a great boat and I'd buy the equivalent in a heartbeat.

[FYRE926]

I had an 87' Tracker Pro 16 which I sold in 03' on Ebay and I bought an 02' Tracker Targa 17 foot with walk through windshield on Ebay in 03' as well. I have fished both boats from Maine to Northern Ontario to Minnesota. I would recommend Tracker based on my experience. The one thing I will say is preventative maintenance & general care for the boat can give you immeasurable returns in not having problems. Often I see and hear people complain about problems they have with their equipment and quite honestly it would seem they're lucky it lasted as long as it did because of the way they took care of it. I agree you can certainly buy a product and it could have problems no matter how well you treat it. But more often than not we create our own headaches by failing to maintain and be proactive in caring for those we rely on so often to give us the experiences of a lifetime. :cool:

[Beave]

I don't know a ton about them, but my advise is to suggest he buy used. Lots of people get pinched by job loss, divorce, the economy, etc and dump relatively new boats on the market.

[ATB]

I have a one year old Tracker PT 175 with a 60hp 4 stroke Mercury. I used it a lot last year with no problems it starts nice, handles great (with the exception of the time I left the boat keys at home and had to use the trolling motor the whole time on a choppy windy day --- no boat can protect from stupid mistakes though):lol: I've remember seeing some complaints of Tracker quality 5 to 7 plus years ago, but them making huge improvements when I was researching my boat purchase.

I would say my boat has a lot of positives and only a few negatives.
The few negatives 1) The fish finder the Lowrance X37 that came with it seems cheap, 2) the rod storage could be set up a little better (problem with more than 4 rods getting in an out and anything over 6'6 doesnt fit so well). I think the 06 models have better laid out rod storage, I didnt want to look too close since I already bought one just last year though.

[salmonslammer]

Thanks for all the input gents!!!!!:)


Looks like he is ordering the Protacker 175 XT package....


Now all I have to do is teach him how to fish!!!!:lol: