Suntracker 2003 Transom

vf2502

Recruit
Joined
Aug 28, 2015
Messages
1
I have a 2003 Suntracker Party barge 22. Sat we were in the bay and we made a turn and I lost my center pontoon and transom and engine and pontoon fell into the bay. I had 4 adults and 2 children on board and thought we were gonna get killed. We were right in the middle of the channel when it happened. I called the corporate office for Tracker and they told me that my warranty ran out in 2008. What a joke they did not even use stainless steal nuts or bolts to fasten the transom on. They told me that there was nothing that they could do. I will never buy a SUN TRACKER BOAT AGAIN. I have picture but cant seem to load them
 

1983 ercoa 21'

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
632
Welcome aboard 1st off
2nd that really sucks I'm glad no one was hurt.
3rd it sure should have lasted longer than that.
4th captain duties require inspections to make sure the vessel is worthy of it's voyage which would include checking items that are bolted on. Especially if in salt water with aluminum.
 

Silver Eagle

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 16, 2010
Messages
852
If you hadn't had bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all. How did you get the motor back or did you.? that really sucks.I hope every one got back safely and no one was hurt.
 

1983 ercoa 21'

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
632
If he lost the transom ,motor,center pontoon its a triton wit the transom built in the center log which would be more than enough for it not to have sank. The toon might be sticking straight up in the air with the motor under the water that is if the wiring harness and steering cable broke away.
 

ahicks

Captain
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
3,957
From what I've seen, the engine pod fasteners and area they're installed can be surprisingly wimpy - even on nicer boats. Fresh water operation bad enough, but If operated in salt water, they really need to be on your watch list for trouble. If you haven't yet, most of us doing our own work can take one look at this and see the potential for issues pretty clearly. The engine pod is fastened to the 'toons cross stringers with as few as 3 bolts per side, and these are not big bolts run through doublers or reinforced areas at all!

Honestly, I'm surprised we don't hear about stuff like this happening any more often than we do....
 

Reel Kahuna

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Messages
271
Being that I just towed my new to me Party Hut home from the marina, I'll check those bolts when I repower next week. Thx
 

1983 ercoa 21'

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
632
A good fix would be replace the washers with a flat strap and make sure it's bolted to every cross member it crosses
 

ahicks

Captain
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
3,957
I used fairly heavy (3/16"-1/4") 10" pieces of alum. angle on an older boat that concerned me. I used it as a doubler where the vertical bolt holding the pod comes through, but then added 2 more bolts installed horizontally through the stringer and reinforcement to spread that load out a little.
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,304
I have a 2003 Suntracker Party barge 22. Sat we were in the bay and we made a turn and I lost my center pontoon and transom and engine and pontoon fell into the bay. I had 4 adults and 2 children on board and thought we were gonna get killed. We were right in the middle of the channel when it happened. I called the corporate office for Tracker and they told me that my warranty ran out in 2008. What a joke they did not even use stainless steal nuts or bolts to fasten the transom on. They told me that there was nothing that they could do. I will never buy a SUN TRACKER BOAT AGAIN. I have picture but cant seem to load them

plenty of stickies on posting pictures. new members have to have a few posts under their belt (its in the stuff you clicked agree to).

second, as indicated in post #2, its the captains job to inspect the craft before every outing.

lastly, was it the fasteners that failed (and stainless fasteners will rust, most are only 18-8 and not 316 which is 4X the cost) or was it the aluminum that failed from corrossion or fatique.
 

Old Screwball

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 20, 2012
Messages
240
WOW, Never heard of anything like that. I assume when you said "bay" you were in salt water.... not that it would make any difference. Did you buy your barge new?? Our's (2010) has never given us any problems at all. It is parked at our house in Arizona. First thing I'm going to do when we go back next week is check EVERY bolt on her. Good Luck!
 

1983 ercoa 21'

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Messages
632
I just came from a friends he has a tracker 18' toon 2014 .
was looking his toon over and was in aww over the cheapness of putting it together .
the transom pan crosses 4 cross members and is only bolted to two of them..
 

ahicks

Captain
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
3,957
My point exactly. Did you happen to notice the horsepower rating? My bet is at least 50hp - and every pound of engine weight (especially w/4 stroke, like Merc Bigfoot!) and horsepower generated is delivered through those 4 bolts. Now add a few waves to the picture....
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,304
In the past year there have been 4 or 5 tracker pontoon transom threads started here on iBoats alone.
 

littlerayray

Lieutenant
Joined
Feb 17, 2013
Messages
1,456
Let's see some pics and welcome aboard we will get you back on the water soon enough
 

ron nh

Cadet
Joined
Sep 19, 2014
Messages
27
That is unbelievable, Also I thought they had lifetime hull warranty? I'll tell ya, Not all Trackers have transom problems but every problem with a transom I've heard in last 2 years have been sun tracker.
 

Water logged

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
371
I checked my 2008 Regency Party Barge 22 and found there are 26 bolts attaching the motor pod to the cross members and deck. I cant understand why there would be so much difference between the 2.

Glenn
 

Reel Kahuna

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Messages
271
I checked my 28' Party Hut by Tracker today where it has 9 on each side, 1/8" aluminum rivets. I won't remove them being that appear to be very solid but I'll be drilling and adding 5/16" stainless bolts and nuts on each side for "added peace of mind".
 
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