Tracker Pro 16

[HEAVY CHEVY]

Hey guys. First post so be easy on me. I grew up water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, etc behind an 85 Ski Nautique. Anyway, as I got older, in to college and away from being able to afford gas for the ski boat, I took up fishing and fell in love immediately. for the past couple years, we have been fishing out of a 15 ft john boat with a trolling motor and one battery. Long story short, I'm about a month away from being able to buy my first fishing boat. Right now I'm leaning heavily towards the Tracker Pro 16. Its right in my price range, I'm not a pro but I love being out on the water and having my buddies with me. Does anyone have any info that the website, and dealer arent giving me? I have a few dumb/rookie quesitons.

It says a 6 gallon fuel capacity. Is that going to last a day? It should come with a 25hp 4stroke mercury.

Trolling motor battery. From what I understand it has just 1 battery for trolling and cranking. The boat we use now loses battery after a little more than an hour of constant use. Is this going to be the same way? Is there an alternator on outboard boats?

Any other info, suggestions are more than welcomed. Thanks a lot.

[Nitro 640]

Let's see if I can help.

6 gallon fuel tank should last you a full day. Of course this will also depend on how you us it. Running long distance and trolling with it could make you run out. Never really looked but should have a fuel gauge on the console.

For the trolling with one battery and starting, I would just see how much to put a second one in. Can get a battery for $100 anywhere but would really want a second one
to make sure it starts. But one battery for a trolling motor shoud last 6-8 hours or more depending on conditons.

Hope this helps.

Nitro is correct, unless running wide open all day, six gallons will be plenty for the 25, and you should likely get several hours on the trolling motor, depending on the size of the battery.

That 25 has a 15 amp alternator and also has merc's batteryless EFI start system, so even if you run the battery dead with the trolling motor, you can pull start the 25. Haven't needed it yet, but a nice feature.

http://www.mercurymarine.com/engines...nesetthree.php

obsessed

[BigBassin144]

Hey, the 6 gals should be plenty on he 25 four stroke. we've got a 16' Tracker w/ a 15hp on it and an 11 gal tank. At the KY Lake even, we used about 5-5.5 gallons in the four days we were there. Obviously, the 25 will be less fuel efficient, but you'll be fine.

I think you'll really love that tracker, it's a great boat. you looking at a new one or a used one? The new ones a great, but the all welded hull is heavier than the riveted one like on ours (boat is a 2001).

BB

[Jigger]

Welcome here. I have a 15 ft jon boat with a 25 hp merc electric start motor. I use one battery for the outboard and the trolling motor and so long as the battery is in good shape, I can fish all day without a problem. If your battery is running down after an hours use on your other boat, you probably need a new battery.

As far as the 25 hp motor on the 16 ft Tracker goes, I would upgrade to the biggest motor the boat is rated for if you can afford it. I would also upgrade the trolling motor, whatever it is. Especially the TM. My moto on trolling motors is you can never have too much power. Just wait until you try to fish into a big wind, you'll be glad you have the power. Tracker and the other "package" boats are notorious for putting minimum power on outboards and minimum thrust on trolling motors to hold price down, which is OK but I think you'll be happier in the long run if you upgrade. I'm not knocking Tracker, they're great boats, I've got one of them too.

Also, on the TM, get the power selection roller that let's you select an unlimited # of settings (can't think of what it's called) rather than the roller or power wheel that only lets you select 1 through 5. I have both types and I would not own the 1 through 5 type again. I can't tell you the number of times that a 4 setting wasn't enough and 5 was too much, for example.