Me and the wife are in the market for a pontoon, the Sun Tracker def falls into our price range but Ive read some bad reviews on them, anyone here have any experience with them??
Me and the wife are in the market for a pontoon, the Sun Tracker def falls into our price range but Ive read some bad reviews on them, anyone here have any experience with them??
We are in the same boat. Looking at different pontoons is crazy. We like the Sweetwater models but can get bigger boat and motor with the Tracker.
Semper Fi
Tracker Pontoons are nice and are an excellent value. I looked at them and was about to pull the trigger on one until I went a different direction and got an Avalon.
Phoenix 721 - Yamaha SHO 250 - 8' Blades
I have a Tracker XP3 24 ft. that we new bought two years ago. We love it! The question you have to ask yourself is do you want the bells and whistles that come with higher end toons? Ours is a tritoon and is a great ride. We up graded to a 150 four stroke and we get 40 mph which isn't bad with 150. It has plenty of room, storage and seating. There's also a onboard dressing room. We had a Harris before we bought our current pontoon and it did have a heavier gauge aluminum which decreased the mph but of coarse it was more stable . We have plenty of power to pull the grandchildren with eight adults onboard. We paid $34,000 for it in 2017. A comparable Harris with more bells and whistles cost about $65,000.
I have the exact boat as Jay74. My wife really liked the stern rear facing large lounger. The layout of the boat is great and it handles well. We live on a small lake so we dont see rough water but it does handle good size wakes and pulling a tube well. I haven't been disappointed with anything in this boat
2018 Bass Cat Caracal
Yamaha 225 SHO
Rick
I’m also in the market for a room and this is a great thread for me to read. I’m on the lower end of the market not wanting to spend my life savings for a boat. This will be used for a 200 acre lake I live on, the occasional trip to the Mississippi River outside St. Louis, and trips to Mark Twain Lake. I think a Suntracker fits my bill well. I’d love to have one of the new Ranger toons, but it’s more then I need.
1984 Ranger 395V 1998 Mariner 225 Mag EFI
"A bad day of fishing, is always better then a good day at work"
I have had a 2013 Sun Tracker Party Barge 22 for 3 years and not had a single problem with it. It has a 4 stroke 60hp on it and will run 17 with my wife, daughter and son. It does everything we want it to do and we have had a lot of family fun on it.
We see several Suntrackers on the lake, and have a couple of condo owners nearby that own them. I’ve heard no complaints whatsoever from them. The main thing is to find a toon that’s configured (seats, storage, etc.) to fit your needs. And I always recommend purchasing a pontoon that has aluminum skin along the bottom. No bare wood exposed. It makes a world of difference as far longevity of the deck. Another recommendation would be to find one that has grass mat (the best) or vinyl vs. carpet. Carpet is a pain to keep clean and free of lake water staining.
I highly recommend Southbay pontoons. They come in all price ranges. We have 2015 200 series with a 115 Honda. It was rental boat for one of the local marinas. Had 87 hours on the motor. Paid around $24,000.00 for it. It’s been an excellent boat. Not the fastest, but will run up to around 28 MPH lightly loaded. 23-24 with a few folks aboard. It’s a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. Top quality materials all around.
BassCat Sabre FTD
Mercury 150 Optimax
"It's just fishing"
Best fishing pontoon in my opinion is the Angler Qwest. I got the 26 ft catfish model because I Tournament catfish and striper fish as much as I bass fish but I can work the shore line almost as well as I could in my bass boat. But now my wife loves going out too since the boat is much more comfortable for her. And it’s the perfect platform for fun family days too.