Singing the Praises

[Sam Luckie]

I never see much posted about the Aluminum boats, so I wanted to take the opportunity to chime in. I recently purchased a 2003 PT 185 Silver Anniversary Edition with the standard features. This is my first real Bass Boat !! I am graduating up from my little 2 man "bass hunter".

I am very pleased with this boat. It handles rough water well. Well laid out. The standard 50 hp pushes it along at 32-33 mph with ease. Maybe in a few years I can step up to a "racing" glass boat!!

 

[Rich D]

Sam,



Why step down to glass? Stick with tin! Welcome aboard!



Rich D

 

[mike chip]

congrats on the new boat. you will enjoy it for years to come.

as for buying a "glass" boat...DONT BE THAT GUY

 

[Richard Lane]

You made a good choice. I have the 02 PT185 and it is all you need. I have owned other bigger more powerful glass bass boats and discovered I would be happier with the lighter aluminum tracker (like the 17' i had in 87-88) so I came back and couldn't be happier. I run the 90. Two things to consider. Add a Garmin 240 to the bow and ditch the sorry mount that comes with the trolling motor and get the gator mount. Doesn't need much else. Have a good summer!



LT in Georgia

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Whatdaya mean ya never hear anything from the tin men?!? We glass guys can never get them to shut up!!! LOL!!



TOXIC

 

[Mike Levesque]

heehee Tox,



Welcome Sam, and congrats, that's a fine boat,

Also a tin owner here, and very happy with mine, a different model than yours, but I'm very satisfied and glad I chose Tracker. Enjoy it and good luck this summer. egMike

p.s.- LOL Tox......

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Yep them new 185's is pretty.. Have to stick with my old TXS17 for now I just hope the TXS don't have nothing to do about being Toxic....LOL

BF

 

[Travis Smith]

Here we go again with the glass tin thing...would sombody do an official count of how many tin and how many glass guys we have out here?







T.S.

 

[Kevin Jaquith]

Real Bassboat? It's aluminum isn't it well I guess you know my point of view.



QuinteBasser

 

[James D.]

congrats on the boat. hope she gives ya many years of good bassin.



jd

 

[Mike Levesque]

"real" bassboats are made of tin

they see stumps and timber as an invitation to "come on in"

they get wayyy back in the places where the big ones are

and can be towed, yes, even by JarJar's car



Them "other" bassboats are all sparkley and they shine

but in a few years they fade, and drink gas like it's wine

won't bang rocks or stumps cause they're made of glass

and the ride is so rough ya get 'roids on your..........



"of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong"



I'm only kidding all, Tracker,Nitro, Tahoe, it's all good to me..... just like to instigate once in a while then stand back and grin...hehe egM

 

[Andrew Zuber]

LOL at egMike!!!

TIN RULES!!!



Welcome Sam...

Another satisfied Tin customer!



az

 

[Larry Harp]

Congrats on the new boat. You are in for a whole lot of fun. I bought my 2001 PT185 last year and haven't gone more than 3 weekends without go to the lake. I have a 13 year old son who has really had a boost in self confidence and esteem by being able to drive and load and un-load the boat. I can't beleive what a huge part of our life it has become.

I'm mostly happy with the boat itself. Only complaints are how easily it is blown around in the wind. I live in the only state that mentions the wind in the state song. And sometimes I wish I had a little more horsepower, especially on bigger lakes. Those 10 or 15 mile runs back to the ramp can get a little long at 30mph. But hey the payment is managable and the shortcomings are no big deal considering the overall pleasure we get from it.

Enjoy-- if you need any help, advice, or BS you've come to the right place.

Harpo

 

[Charlie Nethaway]

Sam

I have a Tin Tracker boat that will make you a big pitcher of lemon-aid. Tin Rules but my tracker............ well nuff said!!



cb

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Charlie: Did your adjustment fix your idle/smoke problem?

If not what type of oil are you using? I have problems with mine at times and as soon as I get this tank of fuel out I am switching brands.. Been running Texaco, going to try the Lucas brand synthetic.. Mine is alot older than yours and I have bypassed the auto-oiler and it seems to gel in the tank?

BF

 

[Charlie Nethaway]

Bruce

stop... I am being told that if you have a Merc. use Merc/quicksilver oil, I guess it is superior to all others LOL but if "They" say it works better (don't jell as quick) and it is the same price why would anyone use anything but.

You should be able to find Merc./Quick oil for about ten bucks a gal.



Hope you are using 89 octane fuel.



ok not bad I use about one quart a week $2.50 then I use about $25 in gas (truck incl).

I don't know where I was when I posted last but the oil pump linkage was broken and the top carb. low speed mixture adjustment screw was turned in almost all the way.



Well........yes that was my problem, and I still don't know for the life of me how that got that way but I would put my money on the "Certified Tracker tech."



Oh and when I was talking to the Merc. Cust. Serv. they told me that the Tracker Service Center @ BPS Dallas was NOT listed as a Mercury Factory Certified Service Center.. .... could that be so????



No wonder they suck, or is it just that good help is hard to find in the south LOL



Wish I lived near Ken's in Auburn Hills, Mi. I hear nothing but good about that shop.



oh my did I say that?

standing back.. here they go again with that southern thing.



cb

 

[Rich Stern]

Some of the more famous boats made out of metals:



Titanic

Lusitania

Andrea Dorea

Bismark

Edmund Fitzgerald





I'll stick with glass.

 

[TrepMan]

LOW BLOW Rich!!! By the way, know ANY REAL SHIPS that are fiberglass???



Welcome Sam - A 2000 Pro Crappie 175 TIN here and LOVE IT!!! We (my wife and 2 kids) spend every weekend in it! Fishing, Tubing, cruising, anchored in a cove swimming and lunching! Gonna try Kneeboarding this summer, just gotta wait till the water hits 80 degree's so it's warm enough!!

 

[Carlos Hathcock III]

HAHAHAH Rich!!!!! Way too funny!!



Carlos









subliminal message Glass rules

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I have a 2002 185 w/90 and I'm very happy with mine...You should have many years of fun with that rig. It is I think by far "THE BEST RIDING ALUMINUM RIG"....I know there's gonna' be a few that disagree but, if anyone disagrees...do a little comparison. Check out the sharp"V" at the front compared to any of the others(including Triton and Express) and it's a lot more pronounced on the Tracker's. That's how they say "Guaranteed Smooth Ride"....These rigs also take abuse well. Congrats.....

TEE

And Rich....Keep your "Glass with Cracks".....I'll keep my tin cause'" Tin Is In"!!!!!!!

 

[Texas Transplant]

I'll chime in here. Welcome to the board, and congratulations on the new boat.



Tex

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Rich RULES! ROTFLMPCFGJNO!!!

 

[Mark Gross]

The kids and I watched "The Wizard of oz" last night for he 100th time ! They talked about the tin Man having no HEART. I pondered on that for a while...and it all kinda made since to me in the bigger picture .

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Had they had a fiberglass man, he would have whooped that witch in the first ten minutes of the story and the rest would have been how they made HIM the wizard of Oz! LOL

 

[TrepMan]

IF they had a Fiberglass Man he would be hiding behind the cowardly lion AFRAID to get his gelcoat scratched!!! Oh, and then he would have blown a powerhead trying to get to the Wiz first and have to troll home!!! LOL

 

[Rob LaMoy]

You been smokin that funny stuff again jarjar? I haven't met a glass guy yet that's afraid to scratch their gelcoat. We buy our rigs to fish and fish with them we do. We get right back in the cover. In fact, we're back in there, while the tin fellas are still out on the main lake takin it a wave at a time! LOL (no offense to any tin owners, just bi+c# slappin Trep around). And powerheads blow no matter what you've got them strapped onto. Just....like....TRANNIES! How IS it goin towing with that wagon by the way??? LOL

 

[Charlie Richardson]

I beleive that aluminum has a definate place in bassboats. I always have a few aluminum cans in my ice chest when I go fishing.......Cmack





Remember: aluminum is for beer cans, fiberglass is for boats

 

[TOMMY RICH]

O.K. all you glass people....Ya' don't see the NAVY runnin' glass because it CRACKS! I see more guys out there on the web these days cryin' about their $40,000 rig ain't 6 months old and the stress cracks look like grannies legs. I'm not talkin' Nitro either...these are high dollar rigs. Some say it doesn't hurt the integrity of the fiberglass...I KNOW BETTER!

Rob...don't tell me that a guy with a nice glass rig ain't gonna' have a heart attack when his motor won't start and he's headed for rocks! Come on...

TEE

 

[Rob LaMoy]

And a tin guy WOULDN'T??? Difference is, the glass guy is bright enough to get on the TM and get out of there until he figures out what's wrong while the tin guy admires how well his boat "holds up" as it gets bashed repeatedly against the rocks! LOL Geesh, we all need to go fishing again soon! Soundin like March again!

And oh YEAH....TEE, I constantly hear guys with their brand new tin complaining about leaks, loose rivets, bad transoms, flexing hulls etc. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other.

 

[TOMMY RICH]

No flexin' here,no leaks..no rivets......and I don't need a Tractor-trailer to haul it......toodles....

TEE

 

[Rich Stern]

Trep, there are lots of big yachts made out of glass. The finest ones.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Rich!

That was just too cruel!!

ROFLMAO!!!

 

[Andrew Zuber]

Rich-

What about the Exxon Valdez???

LOL



wait, what am I saying???



TIN RULES!!!



az

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Yet another excellent point Rich. SeaRay Sundancers, Hatteras, Donzi, none offer TIN!!!! LOL

 

[Rich Stern]

Andy, we don't make fun of boats transporting oil, no matter what their made of.



If there's one thing tin and glass owners can agree on, it's that we need large quantities of inexpensively priced petro chemicals to enjoy our pasttime.

 

[Larry Harp]

Isn't it amazing how grown, other wise rational men get soooo worked up over some chemical compounds and alloys?

This is why women laugh at us behind our backs.

Harpo

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Oh yeah, ask them about their SHOES and see grown women get all uppity and worked up. Or better yet makeup? I don't get it, spend 2 hours putting it on in the morning with a putty knife, and another hour at night taking it back off with paint thinner. Who'd a thunk it???? LOL And they say we're hard to figure out?

 

[Donald Fruge]

One Word:



GRAVOIS





You can look it up.



Wolf

 

[Mark Hofman]

In reply to Rich's list...



Some other boats made out of metal:





U.S.S. Enterprise (CVN-64) "Big E II"

All Nimitz-class CVNs

U.S.S. Kennedy, Constellation, Midway (active CV's)

All Ohio-class SSBNs

All Los Angeles-class SSNs

All Seawolf-class SSNs

All Aegis cruisers and destroyers

All FFGs

Pretty much any and every warship in the US Navy







"For the pursuit of life, liberty and those who threaten it!"

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Yep and how many of those big ole jet planes are made out of glass???

BF

 

[TOMMY RICH]

They still take "Best selling aluminum" honors again this year and will probably continue to be the best seller. One hellofa package for the money....and that's what really counts. Happy customers(even with a few bumps in the road to get there).....I would like to see a painted mod-v package...or continue the stretch form technololgy to the mod-v's....now THAT would be cool...I guess we can agree to disagree?

TEE

Rob....we all have preferences on boats but, can agree...WE ALL LOVE FISHIN' AND BOATIN'.....

 

[Bill McElroy]

Next time you watch Apocolypse Now,...keep in mind that the RPB's (River Patrol Boats) in there are 'glass!! LOL...powered with Twin Cummin's 454 Diesels!!.ARR..ARRR!!

Twin 50's mounted on the bow and stern,...capable of running 50mph in 1.5 - 2 ft of water...manned by SEALS and various other Special Ops units,....olive drab,...runs on diesel fuel and testosterone....that's a BASS BOAT!! Baby!!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Ahhhhh, I love the smell of 2 cycle oil in the morning!!



TOXIC

 

[Bill McElroy]

"It was a TIGER man!!...A F@#$@@ TIGER!!!,....Never leave the boat!!,...NEVER leave the boat!!"...LOL





Chef

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I loved the water-skiing scene....I can 't get no Satisfaction....nonono...heyheyhey. I was waitin' for em' to break out those 50's and do a little down home fishin'...

TEE

 

[Bill McElroy]

"Charlie don't Surf!!!...If I say it's safe to surf,...it's SAFE to Surf!!"....



That movie's a classic!!!..LOL

 

[Rich Stern]

"You're an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill."

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

We always play the music.....it drives charley crazy!!





TOXIC