Now I have always heard that not naming your boat was bad luck. I don't know if that means you have to put the name on the boat but you have to at least name it. I might have to have my wife bust a bottle of champagne on the hull too! (Can't think of any other good use for that stuff) But now I'm in deep. I've started a shopping list of what I'm going to need to outfit her properly.

BCB, Cat'n are spensive!

Wow what a boat Tim! I'm so jealous. Now that that I've started getting serious about blue cat'n, I want a different boat. I want one with deep sides and open all the way to the stern. I love your new boat and you deserve it man! I want to join you one day so I can get a feel for that style of boat. Can't wait to lay eyes on her!

That's a very nice upgrade. Can't wait to see it rigged up and for it to have kitty slime all over it.
What HP motor did you go with? Saw that it can be a 150 HP all the way up to a 225, either way that is one sweet ride.
Congratulations and hope they beat the delivery date by a whole bunch.

Geno, I have a spot for you anytime you want to use it. Say when and we'll get together... No need to wait for the new boat.

I ordered it with the 150 Rabbit. I don't need to scream across the water at 100 MPH like a bass boat. It is rated to do 40 - 43 top speed with the 150 and that's plenty fast for me. My V16 with a 75 tops out at 30 MPH and it gets me where I want to go.

I was talking to my brother about it yesterday and with this new boat, there isn't a place I would be hesitant about going out on in North Texas. My V16 has it's limitations. Twok or Texoma on a windy day are too much for her. But this new boat when rigged weighs about 4,000 pounds and will be much more capable of navigating big water. I am excited about the 47 gallon fuel tank too. Under normal conditions I am expecting to be able to run a good long while between fill ups even with the bigger motor.

I hope they beat the delivery too but I'm not counting on it. The salesman said 4 months minimum. He said they are 6 months out on pontoons. The demand is high and I expect they are having supply chain issues like everyone else is. I asked the guy how they can be so far out when you can drive to Lebanon, Missouri on I-44 and see miles and mile of new boats just sitting there. I wondered if those are just hulls that are not finished on the inside. I don't know but there are thousands of them up there.

I only need one, and this will be a long term relationship. My V16 was the first boat I ever owned. I have only had her for 4 years. Some observations about being a new boat owner...

I made all the usual mistakes that new boat owners make. I about screwed the pooch more than once while putting her in the water. Once at Texoma we were putting in at Cedar Mills and the trailer dropped off the side of the concrete ramp onto the axel in the water. Didn't know it at the time but we were at a bad angle I was in the boat and my daughter was backing the truck. Well, I got out dropped her in 4 low and pulled her up and almost dropped the boat off the trailer when I did it because I didn't reengage the winch clicker. But we came out of that unscathed. Another time we were at Twok putting in at the state park and Again the strap we loose. I was backing down and my son hollers that the boat is sliding off the bunks. I jump out and I know they all say if the winch handle is spinning let it go. Well me being me, I jumped in to save the boat from falling off the trailer and I did save the boat but boy did I pay for it. That fishing trip ended abruptly and I came home and went to the emergency room for x-rays. They were negative but I had a few good welts to help that lesson sink in. I left the plug out once, like we all have. Never yet have I had to swim after it when launching (BCB) never done any damage to her. She took good care of me while I was learning how to manage all types of water and wind. And now I think I have a pretty good idea of my limitations, and hers.

The other thing I'll say is that I am happy to be buying my second Tracker. I know they have a reputation for being sort of the bottom end of the quality spectrum but I strongly disagree with that. My V16 is a tough, quality boat. It may not be the prettiest thing on the water, but she performs without question every time out. I have never in 4 years had a mechanical issue that kept me off the water. I change the oil in the engine and the lower unit once a year and I maintain the batteries and that's it. I will sing the praises of these boats loud and long. My V16, in my opinion, is a great first boat. I think I made a good decision when I bought her. Now I'm a more experienced boater and ready to move up and I'm staying with Tracker. I expect this will be the last boat I ever need.

Congrats Tim!
That will be a nice upgrade!

Ken

Geno, you need to jump on that! You will learn more in a few hours with Tim than a gazillion YouTube videos.

JFDI!!!

Trackers are good boats.

I went to look at a smaller Targa, the v18, and the attention to detail and fish were top notch. Mine is a small deep V thats old, but it runs really well and is holding up just fine. When/if I get another boat the Trackers would be in pole position for sure.

This guy did a one year review on his Targa 19 and he was loving his!



That 150hp motor does over 40mph. Who wants to go faster than that in a boat which will hold 8 people? Nope.

Tim, I will gladly take you up on that offer. Thanks for your generosity! I'll get your number from Bob and text you in a few days. My schedule is pretty flexible so we'll put something together. I want to fish out of the old boat first so I can see how it fishes. I think its got enough slime to attract fish LOL. I've always like Trackers. I have a friend that has one and it's been old faithful for him as well. He fishes it hard and it takes a beating. I think he's had it for 7 years and it's never stranded him. I'm looking forward to learning the finer aspects of planer boards. And, unlike someone we know, I know how to fish circle hooks and how to tie a snell knot! Sorry Bob....couldn't resist!

Tim will also tell you about the importance of reeling down on the non take down bites.

Of course that doesn't mean you have to learn from that. I must have fubarred on that trick at least 67 times now!!

Awesome bud, that's great!! That was the exact boat I was looking at getting up in Springdale, before I went with the Mod V. They had one in stock at Bradford Marine back when I was looking at it, a couple weeks ago . Didn't have the big motor, it had the 150 also. It was the red color though.

I was up in Nashville on Saturday and dropped into the BPS there. I was looking at that exact same boat. Nice rig. You will be happy with it.

watched it last night

Dock Holiday has some competition... Any Star Wars fans in the group. One of my favorite "new" Star Wars movies is Rouge One...

Catfish Tim, sound like you have learned a whole lot in a short time. I have made several of those mistakes myself. Thankfully when my winch strap broke and my boat floated off, there was a favorable wind that blew it back into the dock. Sound like you made a good decision on the little bit bigger motor, you have it if you need it, but don't have to go full throttle. The extra power on big water can come in handy.
Again, hoping they beat the delivery date and we can see some rigged up pictures.