I owned a Tracker as my first boat and then purchased a Triton 186 after paying off the first. Tracker does have a lot of wood and that could be a problem later on as it rots. Not the most stable of watercraft as previously mentioned and I would rather not be on a lake with anything less than 90 hp. The Triton is a tank compared to the Tracker; very stable and all-aluminum weld.

I don't think I'll ever let go of the Triton even if I buy a glass boat. I'll probably turn the Triton into a duck boat later on.

Just my thoughts.

I just purchased my 4th XPRESS,19 footer, 150 YAMAHA,-nuf said

Where did you buy it? My dealer in mesquite died and his wife closed down the shop. I need a new cable for my live well switch and would rather pick it up than have it ups to me.

Nat, I had a VX188 with 150hp, it was a great boat, not the fastest, but very stable fishing platform. I was never in a 177, but there couldn't be that much difference, I believe you would like the Ranger. The fiberglass boat would be heavier and the wind would not blow you as much across the water.

Buy the Ranger, I sure love mine.

My Tracker is deep V windy days no prob.

I bought a 2011 Pro Angler Bass Tracker last year new. It has been a great boat so far. It has a 30hp merc. It runs out with just me in it at 34mph. I was quite surprised about that. It does have a wood floor but all the wood is lifetime garunteed if it ever rots they will replace it. I mainly fish Lake Bonham wich is a small lake so it works out great for me. The boat is light enough to pull behind my travel trailer. It just works for me. If I fished bigger water then I would want something else. I mainly crappie and catfish out of mine wich includes running jugs and trot lines.
Pros:
Great on gas
It's light and easy to haul
It can fish up to three adults or two adults and two kids( my family)
Has plenty of power for me
The four stroke is super quite
Tilt and trim
It will catch fish
Cons:
Not enough storage
Live well sucks(used as a cooler mainly)
Ride is kinda rough
Passenger will get wet if there is a rough chop on the water

I have a 16' Alumacraft deep v-bottom and live well with a 50hp Honda 4 stroke that rides well in rough water and is easy on gas.

Check out the Alumn. G3 boats!

Phillcat,
I din't know Butch had died, knew he was sick a long time.
Beth left long before, sad to say, they were good folks.
Bought my 2010 H17SS there, I guess best service is Plano Marine ,now.
Good luck

There is a Alumacraft that was posted today in the TFF Classified that for about $1k more youd get a LOT more boat than the Tracker or possibly the Ranger.

I think Ernest Paty was listing it for a friend.

Aluminum boats big advantage is that they are lightweight, thus using less fuel than a comparably sized fiberglass boat.

Aluminum boats big disadvantage is that they are lightweight, thus getting tossed about by wind & waves much more than a comparably sized fiberglass boat.

do your best to find a boat with 0.100 thickness or better. it takes nothing to put dents in the bottom of most boats mentioned. Mine is .125 am is still beat to $%^! on the bottom.
For fishing I will always use aluminum in some way or another but on a big lake with lots of run room and open water glass is superior over all.

Fishing docks, stumps,rivers etc alum.

I know you said you wanted a boat no more than 2 years old, but I'd seriously consider taking that $14,000 and finding a well taken care of glass boat. There are tons of them out there, you just need to look around. I fish out of my dads 19 ft aluminum express, and the slightest wind blows us all over the lake.

If you want to fish conroe, take that 14k and find the newest cleanest 20' fiberglass bassboat you can find.

COnroe will beat you to absolute death in anything smaller, and still not be all that pleasant at times.

I have nothing against ALum boats, they have their place and Conroe is not it.

If you were fishing smaller lakes, rivers and bayous' i'd be all over a alum boat, but not on a big rough lake like Conroe...