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Starcraft Fishmaster 196 or Starweld 20 pro?

BocceNation

BocceNation
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  • 2 weeks later...
outback kennels

outback kennels

Posted
Posted
Crestliner commander 2050 . I love mine so far . I looked at all three. There is not a bit of plastic on a commander. Everything is all metal Ended up going with the commander. I feel it was built better. And have more fishing room with the forward windshield.20180929_135643.thumb.jpeg.2316c3e1ace9c31d0e832d130c251399.jpeg20180929_143335.thumb.jpeg.9a062a34cdc7974672fcb4d8c02aaf78.jpeg20190407_121801.thumb.jpeg.0dc2cfcb6636518abb5a4b9015703bee.jpeg20180929_135610.thumb.jpeg.86d89bab591a5a9959930d64580ea15c.jpeg20180929_143429.thumb.jpeg.5042af1de3a8f54dc0084c225f494d31.jpeg20180929_135835(0).thumb.jpeg.deadbe7d8d7cfac89f383531df74a8f1.jpeg

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great boat i fish on my buddys for 2 yrs now just awesome boat


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  • 2 weeks later...
Rookie Fisherman

Rookie Fisherman

Posted
Posted
On 2/21/2020 at 6:53 AM, bandrus1 said:

hewescraft alaskan:muscle:

Now thats a boat!

Would really like to see one of these West Coast companies build a wider beam 25'-27' 

jimski2

jimski2

Posted
Posted

At the Buffalo boat show last week, a lot of boats for fishing, not the shiny gloss and chrome yachts, were welded aluminum. Tracker, the new guy in the area has all welded aluminum boats in the mix now. You have a lot of choices out there now.

BocceNation

BocceNation

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  • Author
Posted
At the Buffalo boat show last week, a lot of boats for fishing, not the shiny gloss and chrome yachts, were welded aluminum. Tracker, the new guy in the area has all welded aluminum boats in the mix now. You have a lot of choices out there now.

I’ve heard nothing good about tracker boats. I love the idea of a welded boat, but I’ve heard that the metal they use is weak, the welds are garbage and it doesn’t drive straight. Not great for trolling.



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Rookie Fisherman

Rookie Fisherman

Posted
Posted
50 minutes ago, BocceNation said:


I’ve heard nothing good about tracker boats. I love the idea of a welded boat, but I’ve heard that the metal they use is weak, the welds are garbage and it doesn’t drive straight. Not great for trolling.



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I think that the majority of these issues that Tracker had are behind them. 

Something to keep in mind is that Tracker sells more aluminum fishing boats across the country than any other manufacture every year. 

This has nothing to do with quality but exposure, sell more boats have more issues. = More people talking about their issues.

 

Info below is my experience with the 18 WT Targa. Bought it new in fall 2012 and never had any real issues to speak of. Have since upgraded to a West Coast style boat. But currently still have the Tracker as well.

 

First the good.

8'6" Beam

20° Dead rise

Deep sides

More sea worthy than one would expect.

Versatile for multi species

Lots of storage

Many standard features that cost additional on other manufactures.

The newer Trackers are a much better boat than most give it credit for. 

When you compare actual size & construction the Tracker Targa's are tough to beat for the $

 

The Bad

Black boat. Top of gunwales are black too....hot hot hot on a sunny day.

Seat stitching/upholstery is fair at best.

If the trailer is a single axle it needs a double axle. Tracker now sells this boat package with a double axle but for years it was a single.

For trolling in Lake O the back platform makes it a bit tougher when using down riggers. The top access rod lockers eat up space for mounting riggers and you are forced to mount them past where you can reach them without having to kneel on the back platform.... a challenge in rough water.

I'l attach a pic below so you see what I am saying.

Accessing the bilge & live well pumps is a little tough.

When I ran wires for MFDs & Fish hawk I unscrewed the entire rear platform and removed it....made the work much easier.

 

Overall a very good boat for the $.

I have a 150 on mine and wouldn't want anything less.

I put a 9.9 pro kicker with a troll master for throttle control.......sweet set up, trolls great!

 

 When fishing Lake O if you are mainly using this for spring browns in close to shore it will do the trick just fine. If you want to go offshore you will need to pick your days carefully. I got caught in 4-5 footers one day (not forecasted) boat handled it as well as I could have expected. It was a long slow run back to the dock but I never had any doubt.

 

IMG_0795.thumb.JPG.9e0fd55d9b7a3d05813b9cee190badce.JPG

Puck5760

Puck5760

Posted
Posted (edited)
41 minutes ago, Rookie Fisherman said:

 

I think that the majority of these issues that Tracker had are behind them. 

Something to keep in mind is that Tracker sells more aluminum fishing boats across the country than any other manufacture every year. 

This has nothing to do with quality but exposure, sell more boats have more issues. = More people talking about their issues.

 

 

 

There is a reason they have the nickname "Cracker".  They sell more because they are cheap.  The number of warranty claims on cracked welds is ridiculous.  I had to get something welded on my boat and they guy I used was the warranty guy for Bass Pro shops (Tracker dealer).  When I went to his yard there was at least 8 boats waiting to get welded.  There is a reason why you don't see welded airplane wings.  Yes Rivets leak, but they are much cheaper to fix than a cracked hull.  True craftsmanship in welded boats cost top $$$.   Look at Kingfisher if you are set on a welded hull.   Crestliner is not anywhere close to top dog in this category.

Edited by Puck5760
Rookie Fisherman

Rookie Fisherman

Posted
Posted

Funny never heard them called that before, fitting I suppose. Tracker has made significant strides in the last 10 years with their issues. If you Google "Tracker cracked hulls" the majority of stories are from older boats. Although there are some more recent ones but not like it was 12-15 years ago. Takes a while to get the stink off.

 

Yes Kingfisher is a decent boat as are most of the Northwest Heavy gauge aluminum built boats. Yup more money than average but not that much more than comparable sized Lunds/Alumacrafts/Crestliners etc. 

 

 

To the original poster "Starcraft or Starweld" Although the Starweld is in the Starcraft family my understanding is that the Starwelds are a step or two down. In the last year there has been a couple of guys on here with Starweld issues, Both I can remember had to be returned to the factory for repair. The owners on here with newer Starcraft's all seam to be happy haven't read otherwise. Starcraft, Starweld, Sylvan & Smokercraft are all under the Smokercraft umbrella.

 

To Fishinfreak....that Commander is a cool looking rig, good luck with it!

 

 

 

jimski2

jimski2

Posted
Posted (edited)

Mounting our down rigger on the far stern of your boat makes using it unsafe and difficult to hook up. It is better to move it more forward for convenience in setting your lines.

Edited by jimski2
Rookie Fisherman

Rookie Fisherman

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, jimski2 said:

Mounting our down rigger on the far stern of your boat makes using it unsafe and difficult to hook up. It is better to move it more forward for convenience in setting your lines.

Agreed! That was kind of my point thats why I mentioned it , just on that specific boat its not so easy do to as the rod locker door is the top of the gunwale. Cant mount the DR plate on that. The Versa track mounts are another option on those boats.

Hap

Hap

Posted
Posted

I was looking at Starcraft and Crestliner. Then I went to the Hewescraft forum and found a Hewescraft locally in MA that I could look at. I was sold! One look at the welds, down rigger mounts, ladder, etc, and thicker aluminum was all it took to convince me to drive from NH to Erie Marine dealer in Ohio to pick up a Sportsman. It was even cheaper! Love it- works great in ocean for in shore fishing as well. Any water over the bow goes right out the scupper holes!

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