Tracker 2018 Heritage/2019 Classic edition boat

[the reel ess]

I think I'd rather have an 18' Grizzly or other comparable bare bones aluminum boat that's fully equipped the way I want it. The less stuff you have on a boat, the less stuff will look like crap in a few years. And I would only want the stuff I want, not a preassembled package with things I don't want or things I might have chosen differently.

[boostr]

31 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

I think I'd rather have an 18' Grizzly or other comparable bare bones aluminum boat that's fully equipped the way I want it. The less stuff you have on a boat, the less stuff will look like crap in a few years. And I would only want the stuff I want, not a preassembled package with things I don't want or things I might have chosen differently.

Same here, when I was looking for used boat I wanted it to have stuff I wanted on it, and eventually I found it. But the Heritage was great for the price, and folks with that nostalgic feeling, and first time boat owners ate it up.  It's a great beginners boat that's beginner decked out. I might of jumped on it if it came out when I was looking for my boat.

[jaimeastin]

20 hours ago, grizzy said:

Anyone know if these boats get shipped from Tracker with the trolling motor and fish finder installed/mounted, or does the selling dealer actually install these items?

I asked my dealer well before I received my boat.  I wanted to install the items myself, but yes, they come shipped like this. 

[grizzy]

Quote

Thanks for responding Jaime, I was looking at other options for a trolling motor and didnt know if they were shipped already mounted to the boat..at this point I dont have a boat, and it just might be a project to think about when winter returns!

 

 

[FISHAMAAN]

Finally got mine a week ago Thursday.  Had it out twice over the weekend.  Runs smooth, steering is stiff but I'd rather that then loose.  Wife and 2 year old cruised along and loved it.  Taking her out this weekend alone to get that first fish on board.  Adding the dual onboard charger tomorrow and the bimini on Friday. Still have both my hubcaps as well!

[ratman]

Taillight works,just bad connection in plug.Saved me $35.

["D"]

Here my  prototype "jump seat/storage" addition for the Tracker. Will be trying it out this weekend, but I can already tell it will help keep the boat more organised and make getting up on the back casting deck easier. It will also give me a good spot for my grandson to ride.

 

Has anyone had problems with fish dying in the live well? It's hot down here in Texas and the underside of the live well cover gets too hot to touch. It will actually burn your hand. Splashing water on the carpet helps, but I'm thinking about trying the pink foam panel insulation that they use on houses to try and keep the heat out of the live well and save the fish.

[Pappy3]

22 hours ago, FISHAMAAN said:

Runs smooth, steering is stiff but I'd rather that then loose.

You can adjust the steering tension. This suggestion came from Steve Clark over at the Tracker Heritage Owners Facebook group: "Back at your motor you will see a rod that slips through a large hex nut when you turn the steering wheel. Back that nut off a few threads and you will immediately notice the ease in steering."

 

Here's a picture of the nut.

 

It worked for me. Before it would take two hands to turn and after backing off the nut by 1/4 turn I can now steer with one hand on the wheel and the other on the throttle.

 

Another steering adjustment you can make is the trim tab. Once you loosen up the steering you may notice turning left takes more effort than turning right (this was my case). By turning the trailing edge towards the easier side, the opposite side will be easier to turn. For me the trim tab was centered from the factory. I have adjusted it to be almost all the way to the right to make the force required to turn left and right to be about the same amount. Page 37 in the Mercury manual explains all of this.

 

[ratman]

1 hour ago, Pappy3 said:

You can adjust the steering tension. This suggestion came from Steve Clark over at the Tracker Heritage Owners Facebook group: "Back at your motor you will see a rod that slips through a large hex nut when you turn the steering wheel. Back that nut off a few threads and you will immediately notice the ease in steering."

 

Here's a picture of the nut.

 

It worked for me. Before it would take two hands to turn and after backing off the nut by 1/4 turn I can now steer with one hand on the wheel and the other on the throttle.

 

Another steering adjustment you can make is the trim tab. Once you loosen up the steering you may notice turning left takes more effort than turning right (this was my case). By turning the trailing edge towards the easier side, the opposite side will be easier to turn. For me the trim tab was centered from the factory. I have adjusted it to be almost all the way to the right to make the force required to turn left and right to be about the same amount. Page 37 in the Mercury manual explains all of this.

 

bolt for motor in pic looks to have 2 washers,a big and small.Mine only has smaller washer on upper bolts?

[Fuzz]

6 hours ago, "D" said:

Here my  prototype "jump seat/storage" addition for the Tracker. Will be trying it out this weekend, but I can already tell it will help keep the boat more organised and make getting up on the back casting deck easier. It will also give me a good spot for my grandson to ride.

 

Has anyone had problems with fish dying in the live well? It's hot down here in Texas and the underside of the live well cover gets too hot to touch. It will actually burn your hand. Splashing water on the carpet helps, but I'm thinking about trying the pink foam panel insulation that they use on houses to try and keep the heat out of the live well and save the fish.

When it’s hot I put ice in the live well to keep the water cool. I check it about every 30 min and add some if needed also run the aerator every 10 min for a couple of min. That’s what I do and it’s working for me.

[Mindspread]

Has anyone looked at adjusting the throttle travel, seems to me you have to move it a long way till it starts to move forward and reverse.

[Bolar]

3 hours ago, Mindspread said:

Has anyone looked at adjusting the throttle travel, seems to me you have to move it a long way till it starts to move forward and reverse.

 

That got me my first outing.  It seems like there is no power until 2/3rds throttle.  I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't go.

 

 

[Pappy3]

15 hours ago, ratman said:

bolt for motor in pic looks to have 2 washers,a big and small.Mine only has smaller washer on upper bolts?

It's the hex nut attached to the Teleflex steering cable.

[ratman]

8 hours ago, Pappy3 said:

It's the hex nut attached to the Teleflex steering cable.

I was talking about bolt through the transom that holds motor on.Just noticed mine was different.

[Bolar]

 

So last week when I was washing my boat out I noticed my bilge pump flopping around in the back.  It had broken off at the base where the red part meets the black.  I called about it and since they have a 4-6 wait on boat repairs right now, I was able to bring in the aluminum base that it attaches to, the pump and the rest of the broken pieces for a replacement without bringing in the whole boat . 

 

I don't want to say they were suspicious, but they seemed suspicious of the broken pump.  There is nothing around the pump that even touches it, I had not even used it at this point.  Anyhow, they didn't have one in stock, but pulled one off the floor.  They drilled out the base so they could submit all the parts for a claim.  I took everything home and installed it almost with out a hitch . 

 

I get everything back together and I could not get the aluminum base back into position.  The hose is short.  What I think the issue was with the short hose pulling on the pump, after a time it just cracked at the base until it pulled free.  I pulled the barbed hose connection out of the hose about halfway and hose clamped it down.  It reaches, but there still is a bit of a strain on the pump . 

 

If it breaks again I'll get something else, something with a little more GPH.  I was out yesterday and it rained.  Yes you do need a bilge pump for these boats!  With some rain and a little time, the boat will fill up with a lot of water . 

 

Just a little SNAFU I ran into.

 

[Mindspread]

Bolar, if the issue with your bildge is the hose length you could get a longer connector probably at any Hardware store or get a double ended connector and add a little bit of hose to take the strain off the pump.

 

I had my boat in the garage yesterday to add my boats name. it's bad luck not to have a name on your boat ya know.

I was looking at the linkage for the throttle and gearbox  and the relationship between them, to see if it is possible to shorten the throttle linkage to engage sooner.it does not look advisable to me since one lever controls both .you want to be sure you are fully  engaged in Gear before appling throttle.

The throw for the gear box is to long to change the throttle engagement. The only way would be as stated before would be to add a hot foot.

 

While I was adjusting steering tension and trim tab I noticed the plastic cap on the other end of the steering rod was loose. It had backed off quite a way I tightened it by hand.

[Bolar]

17 minutes ago, Mindspread said:

Bolar, if the issue with your bildge is the hose length you could get a longer connector probably at any Hardware store or get a double ended connector and add a little bit of hose to take the strain off the pump.

 

 

 

Yep,  that's on the list. 

 

[The1Fist]

How long did it take for everyone to get their gift card? Tracker keeps referring me back to my dealer, which literally has one useful person in the place. It has been exactly one month since I accepted delivery of my boat.

[Bolar]

3 hours ago, The1Fist said:

How long did it take for everyone to get their gift card? Tracker keeps referring me back to my dealer, which literally has one useful person in the place. It has been exactly one month since I accepted delivery of my boat.

 

I never got the gift card.   I flash the email I got about the rebate and they scan that. 

 

The rewards card took a few weeks. 

 

[Mindspread]

I got the email with the link from tracker you have to fill out a registration they send you.it asks for hull numbers it may look like spam but it is not. You may be able to go to the tracker website to find a link.

 

Got my card the same week I got my boat.

[Zigkx]

My discount card came in a few days after signing for my boat. I got the email to fill out my hull number two weeks after signing for my boat. I never got the gift card after filling out the info, so I called tracker and she said they would just mail me a plastic card. For laughs I typed my hull number in a again and 24 hours later I had my e gift card. 

[HolyBass]

I got my gift card 1 week after i picked up the boat and the vip card same day i finished paper work. I used my card on the motorguide xi3 pinpoint. Its the 52 lb thrust 12v. Works amazing and feels great to have the anchor mode and heading lock. Also connected to both 9ti 

[Pappy3]

BPS issued a VIP # to me on the same day I purchased the boat. 6 days later the  $400 gift card # was issued to me via email after I entered the hull # from the link in a "promotional" email. The later is the important part. It's easy to miss as this email doesn't say anything about applying for the gift card. This is the "promotional" email sent to me:

Subject Promotional Incentive Notification

Message body: Congratulations on your new TRACKER Boat! Your recent purchase has qualified you to receive special promotional offers. 

Please click the link below to register for your offers.

From all of us at TRACKER Boats, we welcome you to the family.

Sincerely,
Your Friends at TRACKER Boats

[Jrt]

I got the vip # when I picked up the boat. Dealer said call him if I didn’t get the email within 10 days, I didn’t so gave him a call. Two days after got actual card in the mail, got to say dealer was great all the way through the buying process. Cincinnati Bass Pro Shop. Hey HolyBass does your boat cover still fit with the trolling motor you have? I upgraded to a Minnkota powerdrive with Ipilot and no way will the cover will fit. Guess I will sell it, if anyone needs another cover will make you a great deal...

[Jrt]

To make it clear I called dealer about the gift card, got the 400 dollar gift card in the mail two days after I called him. Sorry I read my post and wasn’t even clear to me.....