Not sure when they actually did this but I bought a new 1436 tracker topper jon, modded it and after some serious cracking on the transom (had a 8 hp merc on it which was less than the max recommended), I had to seriously reinforce the transom. When i traded it in, the fellas were impressed at how solid it was.

I was in BPS this weekend and looked at the jons, they actually are reinforced now by Tracker. All I had to say was ABOUT TIME.  For a cheap piece of aluminum I can tell you, the transom looks significantly better.

I was surprised though that the transoms were so poorly suited for the motor I selected from their web site. In fact, after I traded it in, was told by the sale guy that those were horrible with anything above 4 hp. Seems that is something they would have known when I bought it and maybe, just maybe let me know that when I chose that option from their website.

Anyway, no real point here, just an observation. I am glad they did it, and really, I would rate that jon over the one I had bought. So it is a step in the right direction for the boats.

Don't they still use rivets in their boats.  Trackers are like from the stone age compared to alumaweld, express, and other sim. boats.  So to hear about transom cracking probs. yeah, I believe it.  

Don't they still use rivets in their boats. Trackers are like from the stone age compared to alumaweld, express, and other sim. boats. So to hear about transom cracking probs. yeah, I believe it.

Yeah the toppers are all riveted. Basically, they are a bargain jon. I got mine because I wanted a cheap jon that would get me in the water and get me some good experience on some of the various aspects of boat fishing. I put some serious miles on that little jon. Went from one end of Wylie to the other. The rivets held up well to some serious punishment from Lake Wylie wake. I also took it out every season and on some REALLY cold days.

The only problem I had with it was that transom. Considering how cheap it would have been for them to reinforce the transom I was surprised they did not do it before. To me, if you are going to sell a brand new package deal even with a cheap boat, it should be able to be operated with that motor package without compromising the transom. The reinforcements I added cost maybe a total of $20 in aluminum and 1 hour time and significantly enhanced the strength so it no longer budged.

It all worked out for the best though. I learned alot about the forces exerted on a boat, learned more on how to best reinforce those parts (it is easy to reinforce one part and cause a failure in another if you do not consider how your reinforcements move the stress around the boat), learned how to braze an aluminum hull properly, and better yet got more than a years worth of fishing out of that jon. It was a good little boat when the mods were all done. Whoever they sell it to, I hope it serves them well.

Now I got a bigger boat, and the construction I did on the jon helped me really evaluate this one before buying it. I scared the salesguy a bit with some of the questions I threw at him on the design of the boat.

While it's just a john boat,  it's indicative of Tracker marines history of boat building and that includes their Nitro line of bass boats.  It's the reason why I'd never touch one.  It's the structural stuff under the surface that you can't see that's as important as the fluff on the outside.  I've seen and heard of too many problems due to poor design or shoddy workmanship to cause me to steer clear of anything with the name Tracker, Nitro or Tahoe on the boats side.  

While it's just a john boat,  it's indicative of Tracker marines history of boat building and that includes their Nitro line of bass boats.  It's the reason why I'd never touch one.  It's the structural stuff under the surface that you can't see that's as important as the fluff on the outside.  I've seen and heard of too many problems due to poor design or shoddy workmanship to cause me to steer clear of anything with the name Tracker, Nitro or Tahoe on the boats side.  

I will take your word for it and not consider these brands when I purchase my bought next summer when I settle into my new home. Which brand would you recommended looking at?

While it's just a john boat, it's indicative of Tracker marines history of boat building and that includes their Nitro line of bass boats. It's the reason why I'd never touch one. It's the structural stuff under the surface that you can't see that's as important as the fluff on the outside. I've seen and heard of too many problems due to poor design or shoddy workmanship to cause me to steer clear of anything with the name Tracker, Nitro or Tahoe on the boats side.

I will take your word for it and not consider these brands when I purchase my bought next summer when I settle into my new home. Which brand would you recommended looking at?

I'll put it another way.

Direct experience with friends who have owned products made by Tracker marine (a Nitro Bass boat and a Tahoe deck boat) have made me realize that when you buy one of those brands you don't know what you're going to get. There are many happy Nitro and tracker owners, unfortunately there are also many unhappy ones as well. In fact, Tracker boats is the only manufacturer I know of that had a website devoted to customers unhappy with their tracker, Nitro, tahoe, etc boat. It would seem like some days the boats go down the assembly line and everything is OK. Other days and the end result is a night mare. To make matters worse, lots of boat companies have boats that have issues and problems that happen during assembly. Those boats are normally caught by QC and then sold as blems through their dealerships at greatly reduced prices, some are destroyed because the defects are such that their is safety issues.

Tracker marine is the only boat manufacturer that I know of that will let a poor product not only go off the assembly line and onto the transport truck, but will also turn that poorly built boat over to the buyer as a new boat, without repairing even obvious defects let alone hidden ones.

If you're looking for a fiberglass or aluminum rig, most any of the name brands right now are well built. Ride and decide which is best for you.

BTW, if your heart is still set on a bass tracker boat or a Nitro I can't emphasis this more.  

Buy from an authorized Tracker/Nitro dealer NOT from BPS direct.  BPS has no service department other than in Springfield Missouri.  Anyplace else and you'll be stuck having to use 3rd party service.  Those guys operate on their schedule, not yours or BPS's.  When you buy from a authorized Nitro/Tracker dealer those guys have their own service and will handle your problems a whole lot faster than using BPS direct.

While it's just a john boat,  it's indicative of Tracker marines history of boat building and that includes their Nitro line of bass boats.  It's the reason why I'd never touch one.  It's the structural stuff under the surface that you can't see that's as important as the fluff on the outside.  I've seen and heard of too many problems due to poor design or shoddy workmanship to cause me to steer clear of anything with the name Tracker, Nitro or Tahoe on the boats side.  

I will take your word for it and not consider these brands when I purchase my bought next summer when I settle into my new home. Which brand would you recommended looking at?

I'll put it another way.

Direct experience with friends who have owned products made by Tracker marine (a Nitro Bass boat and a Tahoe deck boat) have made me realize that when you buy one of those brands you don't know what you're going to get.  There are many happy Nitro and tracker owners, unfortunately there are also many unhappy ones as well.  In fact, Tracker boats is the only manufacturer I know of that had a website devoted to customers unhappy with their tracker, Nitro, tahoe, etc boat.  It would seem like some days the boats go down the assembly line and everything is OK.  Other days and the end result is a night mare.  To make matters worse,  lots of boat companies have boats that have issues and problems that happen during assembly.  Those boats are normally caught by QC and then sold as blems through their dealerships at greatly reduced prices, some are destroyed because the defects are such that their is safety issues.

Tracker marine is the only boat manufacturer that I know of that will let a poor product not only go off the assembly line and onto the transport truck, but will also turn that poorly built boat over to the buyer as a new boat, without repairing even obvious defects let alone hidden ones.

If you're looking for a fiberglass or aluminum rig,  most any of the name brands right now are well built.  Ride and decide which is best for you.  

BTW, if your heart is still set on a bass tracker boat or a Nitro I can't emphasis this more.  

Buy from an authorized Tracker/Nitro dealer NOT from BPS direct.  BPS has no service department other than in Springfield Missouri.  Anyplace else and you'll be stuck having to use 3rd party service.  Those guys operate on their schedule, not yours or BPS's.  When you buy from a authorized Nitro/Tracker dealer those guys have their own service and will handle your problems a whole lot faster than using BPS direct.

Very well explained and helpful indeed. I realized I made a typo when I said bought instead of boat. I plan on buying a boat within the next 2 summers, but I have absolutely no experience nor do I have friends who own a boat. With that being said, any information I can gather is going to be taken into consideration.

This will be my first boat and I hope I don't fall under that category of "happiest time is buying and selling a boat". I doubt I am going to buy a bass boat for my first. I need to learn the simple things because I have no knowledge what so ever at the moment.

I did get mine at a BPS in Charlotte, they have a service center right onsite. I know they have a certified aluminum welder and do Tracker and Merc warranty work right there onsite.

I have no idea what the wait would be though.

To be honest, I have had my Pro team <3 weeks so talk to me in 12 months and we will see if I am still singing their praise.

I was impressed they actually did upgrade (a well needed upgrade) their jon design though.

To be fair i am on my second tracker and couldnt be happier.

Well they are great sellers. I just grabbed a Pro Team 175 txw and so far I like it a lot. Time will tell how it holds up but it does have a pretty good warranty on the hull. I do like aluminum hulls though. I really prefer them.

I do find it interesting though be it boats, cars, etc how you can have folks who will swear to the brand as the best thing since sliced bread and another who will bury them as the worst on the market. Both can have very good reasons for their feelings and good data to back them up. I have heard the same on tracker boats.

Glen, with all due respect I have to disagree with your assessment of Tracker boats.  I am referring specifically to the Trackers, not the Nitros or Tahoes.  In my opinion, your opinion of Trackers stems from the old riveted boats.  As you well know, I had a 1989 Tracker Pro 17.  I loved that old boat, but many of the rivets leaked and it was too small in the event of bad weather.  You will have to admit though, it was a pretty good old boat.

Tracker finally learned their lesson and started selling all welded hulls.  I'm pretty sure that move took care of about 98% of their QC problems.  Their hulls now have a lifetime, transferable warranty against defects.

Nowadays, I'm fishing from a 2004 Tournament V-18.  It's welded hull is completely water tight.  It has a 150hp Mercury hanging off the transom, which doesn't flex in the slightest.  All of the gauges work perfectly.  The trailer is fully galvanized.  I could go on and on, but you get my point.

Also, my local BPS has a Tracker dealership located on premises, complete with repair shop.  

Mike, my friend had an experience buying a Tahoe deck boat from BPS HQ in Springfield.

Whether it was a tracker or a nitro or a tahoe or suntracker the issue he had and I was shocked at was what Bass Pro Shops considered a Deliverable, NEW boat.

First off, my friend was.... to put it mildly....an idiot for taking delivery of the boat in the condition it was in.  I'm talking about VISIBLE construction flaws so bad that had I been along with him,  I'd have advised him to tell BPS to take that thing out back, pour gas on it and burn it and in the meantime, build him another boat ASAP!

The fact a boat builder would allow something so badly put together be representative of what they're capable of, opened my eyes.

I'm not saying every boat they build is a POS.  What I am saying is there are enough horror stories of Tracker marine boats having serious issues and a less than stellar Tracker customer service department resolving said issues, that anyone buying one needs to know that ahead of time.  

BTW, his dealings with the BPS service department the first summer he had the boat were a nightmare. Yes, it took more than the entire summer to resolve the serious problems he had with the boat along with new problems Tracker service introduced (how do you punch a hole in the bottom of the hull when all you're fixing are all the leaking plumbing fixtures inside the boat?)

I have a Tracker Topper 1436 that I bought 3-4 years ago for pond/canal fishing.  I have a 9.9 HP Evinrude on it and can attest to the fact that its transom flexes like a piece of cardboard under throttle. For the price point though, it is what it is.  If I wanted something sturdy I would have bought a Grizzly.  My last "cheap" jon boat lasted over 10 years before the rivets started leaking bad.  So total cost of ownership over the long haul has been worth it.  

cart that sounds like a failure all around. Pretty much any manufacturer will screw up product, and sooner or later have it get through QC to the dealership (some more than others). If that damage was as obvious as you say, they dealership should have stopped the deal and told him he needed to wait for them to get another boat. To be honest, had I been through the same ordeal you are talking about, there would be no way I would ever go near another Tracker product either but especially the dealer and I would do everything in my power to make sure everyone knew about my experience (so thanks for sharing).

The one thing with this one I greatly appreciated, the Tracker dealer at BPS walked the boat with me before any paperwork was signed. He insisted nothing be signed before the walk was done and we went over everything and every inch of the hull.

I am not sure if he was extra careful because he saw with the amount of work I had done on the boat i traded in and figured I would do it anyways, or if they are that anal every time.

This one though looks very well put together (talk to me in a year to confirm that).

Now, all that being said, my toppers issues were disappointing. It was a cheap boat though, I did not expect a top notch craft for the price I paid. However, because they sold me the boat, with the motor, and without a single mention of the potential issues with the transom, I was not too happy about that.

SouthFla, one thing I will say, watch the corners around the transom for cracks and the bottom of the transom right underneath the plug. You can significantly strengthen it with 4 Aluminum "L" beams riveted to the top of the transom and the back bench seat. You will get that transom to sit pretty still then.

cart that sounds like a failure all around. Pretty much any manufacturer will screw up product, and sooner or later have it get through QC to the dealership (some more than others). If that damage was as obvious as you say, they dealership should have stopped the deal and told him he needed to wait for them to get another boat. To be honest, had I been through the same ordeal you are talking about, there would be no way I would ever go near another Tracker product either but especially the dealer and I would do everything in my power to make sure everyone knew about my experience (so thanks for sharing).

.

I'll give you a couple examples on that boat that just absolutely floored me. These were intentional. These were right at the starting point of the construction of the hull in the mold.

Suppose you ordered a boat that had a nice accent pin stripe that ran from the transom to bow. Suppose the day came on the assembly line that the boat was to be built. Suppose they noticed as they began the building process in the mold that there wasn't an entire roll of that accent pin striping in stock. 99.9% of builders would obviously not proceed with the build and would instead, wait till that pin striping arrived.

Not Tracker.

They used remnant scrap pieces of striping and created an dashed line from stern to bow. A piece a couple feet long, a space, another short piece, a space, etc. etc. I can barely comprehend that. They didn't even try and make the spacing between stripes nor the scrap pieces the same size to create uniformity (not that it even matters).

Upon further examination, there were a series of dimples in the hull about 12" below the rubrail, 3 feet apart all along the hull side. Looking closely, each dimple had a tiny star crack in it. The only thing I could think of was the dimples were created by whatever they used to pop the hull out of the mold. They were so obvious it was beyond belief that at this point in the build that particular hull wasn't just sent to the shredder.

Nope, not at a Tracker marine builder.

Looking down the starboard side of the boat, I noticed the right rear corner looked funny. As I examined, it was clear that the right rear corner of this boat had been crushed, somebody had attempted to fix the damage with a build up and a poor attempt at color matching.

Amazing. :

It didn't stop there, the boarding ladder pulled out and was loose and difficult to deploy. Why? Just looking and the hardware used to put it together, the nuts and bolts weren't what were supposed to be used. They looked like something they picked up at ACE hardware in an emergency and weren't even SS hardware. They didn't fit correctly nor flush.

Scary enough for you?

To think this would pass QC at the factory is amazing. To think the boat got to Springfield and then passed the new boat checklist the riggers go through is beyond comprehension.

What worries me most is the shoddy construction that was allowed to pass through the system. This was blatantly obvious stuff. What about the stuff you can't see, the important stuff internal to the hull and structural. What if a screw up happens there? will they take shortcuts like they did with this boat? If nobody can see the errors how would you know? I have no reason to believe this wouldn't happen.

Wow! That definitely should not have gotten through QC. It would be interesting to see the sequence of events that let that get out. That a dealer would stake their reputation on such a flawed craft is even more surprising.

I did go through mine pretty good. Obviously there are parts under the deck that I cannot check. After each one of these shakedown cruises I have inspected the welds on the hull and such to make sure stuff was alright.

I guess one thought I would have is that with the recent mods made to their topper jon line, maybe they have started to get the message.

It is good info to know though. I guess one of the biggest takeaways you can get is one of your suggestions, inspect your new boat bow to stern before signing anything. If you see even one thing wrong refuse to take delivery and demand a different boat.

I sure like my 25 year old Bass Tracker.  Never had a minute's trouble with it that wasn't my fault.

...that wasn't my fault.

LOL. How true is that? I imagine with my jon and even my dads boat growing up how many self inflicted issues we created.

BTW cart...please do not take any offense to any of my statements, I really do appreciate the feedback. I would rather have an abundance of knowledge then a lack of it.

In trackers defense, the PT 175 is a huge seller and at least on this site, and a few other non-tracker affiliate sites has a pretty high level of positive reviews. There definitely some horror stories though. Seems to be a mess of them with almost all aluminum hull boats I have seen around cracked welds and support in fixing them. I do not see many manufacturers who get high ratings in dealing with cracked hull welds.

Hopefully, that will not be something I deal with. They do have a good warranty on the hull though, which has to be in response to the past complaints they have gotten.

Given my experience with my jon, I will definitely be keeping a close eye on the welds.

I have to laugh, At this point, if there was a hole in the hull I would not notice. I have this nasty habit of stopping WAY too quickly and getting a nice large wave over the transom. Have not gotten back and pulled the plug without some water coming out (getting better at that though).

I wish I had read this before I bought my Tracker Topper 12.  It's done well so far but I was shocked at how flimsy the aluminum is and how unstable the boat is in the water.  I wanted to put 4-6 inch pedestals on the seats and the service manager in Richmond (was a dick about it) basically scolded me for the idea.  Now I see why.   The boat is not very stable and every movement is felt.  I had horrible customer service in Richmond.  It took me 5 hours on a Saturday to piece this thing together and NO ONE that worked there was in a hurry.  I had my twin 12 year olds there and I think they almost turned 13 before we left.   The only good and thorough part was the guy who explained everything at delivery.  So why do I see so many other Jon boats with pedestals?  

I run a 3.5HP Mercury, Minn Kota 40lb Traxxis, Eagle 320 and optima battery.  Don't get me wrong, it works, but I guess I was expecting more and when all was said and done, it came out to about $3500 including trailer.  I thought my next boat might be a 16 or 17 ft tracker but now I'm not sure.  It depends on if I plan on staying in the 9.9hp or less range.  

With that being said, two questions.  What other brands beside Alumaweld might someone recommend?  With all of this Tracker bashing, I'm sure you have an extensive list.     I would love to buy a better 12 ft John boat that I feel like I could stand up on later this year or early next.  

Is there a way to add weight to this boat and stabilize it with welding?

Thank you.  

Note This is just my opinion and not the word of god.  Take it for what you will but I always try to be honest and reasonable.  

Shawn, I added pedestals to my 1436 topper and it was fine. I should qualify that by saying it was fine when it was just me. When there were 2 of us I stayed sitting down.

I had a 8 hp OB on mine, it moved well. I customized the heck out of it. Was a good little boat, it really was. IMO, what you can do is go to Lowes get you some of those thicker Aluminum "L" bars, run 4 of them from the top of the back bench to the top of the transom and rivet them in. That will stop a LOT of the twisting motion that comes from the motor and prevent stress cracks on the top corners from forming.

The other part you will need to watch is the bottom of the transom, near to the drain plug (just underneath). The flex from the transom puts that area under a lot of stress. What I did with mine was hire a welder but I later bought and used HT1000 and brazed stuff myself.

He took a large and thick "L" shaped chunk of aluminum, and welded it in along the length of the bottom (on the inside). It ran maybe 3 inches on the bottom and 4 inches up the back side. That helps protect the bottom welds more for you. He suggested as well that when it came time to replaced the wood, that I use a much larger piece on the inside.

I tell ya though man, I have hundred of hours on that hull in every season, and pulled in hundreds of fish. My 2 oldest daughters caught their first ever fish off that boat and all of us caught our PB's in just about every species that Lake Wylie holds on it. You are gonna have some serious fun with your boys man.