I love this thing. Alright I am looking at purchasing either a 17' or 18' deep v boat. I am currently looking at The Tracker line - either the Targa 175 WT or 185 WT both come with 90hp Optimax. I have also glanced at the Sylvan, Trition and G3 boats and I am having some trouble deciding. I used to own an 18' fibrerglass that was a project but it was really heavy and I think I want to go to the Aluminum becasue they are lighter and better to tow. Also, you don't need as many ponies to get it to plane. Here are the factors. I am on a budget but I am looking to stay in the 23k range (as a package) but I guess I am not sure which brnad is better - all seem to have similar standard featuers. The boat will be in used in the potomac river for striper, catfsih and smallmouth. It will also be used for a little bay fishing as well which is why i was looking for the Deep V. I also will occasionly get a tan and pull some tubes with it as well. So all of your input would be nice. Thanks!
Might want to also think about motor brand. I believe Tracker and Triton are both Merc only. G3 is Yamaha only. Dunno about Sylvan. Lotsa aluminum brands out there. Any other dealers in your area?
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Sylvan is generic -- they are pre-rigged according to dealer order. In fact you could buy a boat with no engine at one dealer, and go to another for the engine of your choice. They are good boats by the way. Not on the high end of the quality scale but great value for the money.
I used to own a 1990 17ft deep vee walleye boat with a riveted aluminum hull and never had a problem with the rivets "weeping". You might also want to check out starcraftmarine.com
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2006 Sea Ray 185 Sport
4.3L V-6 190 HP
65 hours
I second checking the Starcraft / Fisher Aluminum brands. I have had both the Starcraft for over 30 years and currently a Fisher 12 years and going strong. Both made in same factory by the way. They both are great in the shallow creeks and do well in the bay too.
I hope this helps
Well, if you check the hull #'s on starcrafts and on Fishers, they both start with STR, at least they did in 1995 and a dealer whom I have known and trusted for many years explained they were from the same plant. As we know, there have been many changes in corporate America since then.
You are correct! In calling Tracker Corporate, I learned that Fisher was aquired by Tracker from the Brunswick Corp. about 1996. Fisher is nownaffiliated with Tracker.
THanks for all of your advice. I am guessing you guys would suggest going with an all welded hull vs. a riveted one correct? I feel have a welded hull is better...??
Also, are the Merc Optimax's good motors. I have read good and bad reviews and we could probably debate this all day. From what I can tell my previous top choices (Tracker, Triton) are Merc only so I just wanted a dependable motor. I wish I could get one of those new Rude E-tecs on it.
Looks like I am going to have to look into a new Starcraft/Fisher from what you guys are telling me. I will jump on the websites now.
Just a quick note to say that there can be huge value in a used boat that's only seen a couple of season's use. There ain't much that depreciates faster than your average family boat.
Happy hunting. Not much I'd rather be doing than boat shopping!
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Not everything that can be counted, counts -- and not everything that counts can be counted.
Don't know if you can get 'em over there, but you should also consider Hewescraft, Ducksworth, etc. If you look into the Pacific Northwest aluminum boat builders, you will see that they build extremely durable welded hulls design specifically for brutal water conditions. Your other choices are fine, and you'll want to include Crestliner in your search. I myself am partial to Ducksworth, but I also like Crestliner. Smokercraft is another decent one.
I just spent this last weekend crawling all over aluminum boats, the Duckworth and Hewescrafts had excellent attention to detail, although carpet was something that was not on these boats. The Sylvans, Starcrafts, Crestliners, Trackers all seemed to be fairly even as far as fit and finish, so among them I don't think you can really go wrong. Your dealer support is what is goin to determine your positive or negative experience with any boat, so you should include that in your decision.
Also, Scoutabout brings up a good point. I see a decent amount of really nice aluminum boats well equipped for thousands less that are only a few seasons old. We get a lot of people who think they want to fish for the big boys and realize that it takes patience and work, and they give up. Or the wife convinces them that the wakeboard boat is much more usefull than a dumb ol' fishing boat (baffling mindset, I just don't understand ).
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