I have an 06 Tracker Avalanche SC with a 115 Optimax. If you decide to buy a tracker I hope you have a better experience than I did.
I shopped for boats for almost 3 monthes before I decided on the Avalanche. I ordered the boat and the dealer said 6-8 weeks. Well it actually took 15 weeks and I am still waiting on the cover. The fit/finish on my 06' compared to the red 04' they had at the dealership is terrible. I should have refused the boat but I wanted to fish and I signed a purchase agreement when I ordered it. There is a 14" long run int he paint, thin spots in the carpet the rub rail looks like it went through a briar field, there are spots on the decking that pop like they are not attached properly to the deck support. THey mounted the Lowrance 125 so close to the console you cant remove or install the cover without gouging the console. The steering wheel is completely upside down and the paint has big dull spots in it.
I know some of the stuff sounds picky but when I spend $20k on a boat I expect it to be perfect.
Now to the boat itself. I would definitely recommend a 135 or 150. The 115 does get it to plane pretty quick but its a tad slow out of the hole. The optimax is very good on gas. I can fish for two days on the river for $15. so far in the month I have ran it I have ZERO issues with the motor. The trolling motor gets the job done but the rubber bushing on the mount sucks. WIth the clamp bottomed out the shaft still walks down and the head on the motor turns. Its really a pain especially in a higher speed. Oh yeah the panel with the trolling motor plug is very very thin and flimsy, i give it another month before it breaks.
The Hull design is wonderfull. Its wide stable and rides like a caddy. Its the driest ride I have had in a boat. We had 2.5' waves and white caps saturday and we stayed perfectly dry. The speedo says it tops out at 55 but they arent accurate, I would guess its really 48-50. I didnt get the speed sensor on the depth finder.
Storage is more than adequate and wiring is tucked & loomed to stay out of your line in the rod boxes. The on board charger is nice and fairly fast. The carpet is showing wear pretty bad after a month of use, probably 15 fishing trips so far. The trailer is nice and makes for very easy loading.
Overall I would give the Avalanche a 6 out of 10. The buying experience was a 2 at best. Honestly I will probably take the hit and sell the thing in a couple of years and buy a glass boat. I had my eye on a Skeeter TZX190. For only a couple grand more I could have had it, but i wanted aluminum for durability.
I looked hard at the TX190 and the Tourny V-18 as well. Both nice boats. I like the width of the avalanche and v18 compared to the 190. Just personal preference.
Take a look at the Fisher pro Hawk 180 and the polar krafts as well. They are in the same price range as the tracker. I looked at g3's and tritions. I think they are the exact same hull. They were more than the skeeter. $25k+ with a 150 yamaha. My friends dad has an xpress and he says its a very nice boat. Closest dealer to me was 5hrs so I didnt check them out.
Good luck with your decision. I will say I will never own another tracker/nitro again.
I can get some pics of my boat and post them next week if your interested. Its the Pewter color, kind of a grey/tan mix. I love the color, it almost matches my silver truck.
