I am looking at an Xpress X18, Xpress H56, Tracker Proteam 185, or the Tournament V-18.

Any suggestions or comments?

Iv'e got a 01 Tournament TV-18. The only thing I don't like about it is the fuel tank. It's never really accurate. It sites in the center of the boat and its' longer than it is wide. So when it's sitting in the water all the gas runs to the back of the tank. The sending unit for the tank is in the center.

I had an XPress last year. It was a great boat. The only reason I sold it was I wanted a bigger boat and bought a Sea Pro.

My cousin had a Tracker once. He said that will never happen again.

you might want to check out the Triton alum. boats as well, saw one at the Ft Worth boat show and until then, I had always been sold on Xpress..now I'm going to have to look a little deeper before I dive off the deep end

Does anyone own an X17 or H56, 51.

Thanks

Those Triton alum. boats are sharp. You might want to consider Alumacraft and G3 as well.

Alumcraft has a wood deck and transom, G3 is riveted...Triton is in it's first yr of aluminum production..I would buy the xpress, it is the original, and they know what they are doing..Tracker is **** ...ask anybody who ownes one..and your looking at one, and I am about to buy a xpress 21bay..

Alumacraft Bass boats "do" not have wood decks. The transom has a wood "Dampner" in it. Wood takes alot of vibration out. We have 5 kicker braces on the transom in our 17'5" boat. That is the same number that Express puts in their 22' boat? The "Transom"
itself is Aluminum.
The Alumacraft Deep V's have wood decks. These decks come with a 20 year warranty as well as the transom and hull. This is treated Marine Plywood.

I would buy an Express over a Tracker anyday!

Jerry www.Alumacraft.com

The G3 HP and Mod-V series bass boats are welded, not riveted.


Triton has been building aluminum boats since 2001.


Tracker may not be the best boat, but I guess it's better than no boat at all.

Duracraft also builds high quality
aluminum, all weld boats. They
custom configure every boat to your
specification.
http://www.duracraftboats.com/products/default.html

dxr

I have an X19 - great boat. The Tritons are finished out a little better - don't know if the handling is as good but it looks like they copied Xpress so it should be. I've heard the G3s do not have the performance characteristics but might be a more stable fishing platform (which is what seems important).

I bought a new 2003 Triton V186 Magnum last September and am truly impressed by this boat. So far, I don't think I could have made a better choice. Only time tells for sure, but it really appears built to last.

Get demo rides from dealers before you decide anything, Popper. Jump from side to side in the front deck to check stability, and do all the other tire kicking....

------------------
Bud Baker

I have a 2003 Tracker TV-18, 115 Merc. I really like the boat. The deep-V really handles the rough water well, but it still gets me in the shallows no problem. Even though its rated for a 150, the 115 pulls it well. It jumps on plane, and tops out near 50. I traded a '92 Tracker TX-17 in on this boat and have had good luck with both Trackers. However, the TV-18 is a lot smoother, drier, and solidly constructed.

As ehlersad says, the tank guage is inaccurate. But that is common for a lot of boats. With a 40+ gallon tank its not much of an issue for me.

Feel free to ask me any questions you have on it.

Tracker all the way.

Yep, I had my TX-17 for 11 years. Have had my TV-18 for 1 year. Take care of them and they will take care of you. I heard all kinds of negatives about the wood decks, but after 11 years my TX-17 transom and decks were as solid as the day I bought it. The TX-17 rivits did leak, but that was expected. The TV-18 is all-welded so that won't be a problem now. Also, the 2004 Trackers now have "no-wood" aluminum transoms.

All boats have some bad apples. Tracker being the top seller may have a few more out there than others. However, I have had good luck with 2 of them.