2000 Nitro 185 Sport Questions?(Long)

Last October I bought a 2000 Nitro 185 Sport or fish and ski. The guy I bought it from had hardly used the boat, and it was in great shape. I have taken it out maybe a dozen times since I bought it, trying to get a feel for how it works, but I have an issue.

Has a 125 Merc with a Laser II 24 that runs good, but when I am running either trimmed or not, I get a serious slant to the left or passenger side of the boat. Been talking with someone at Tracker in MO, and they have told me that it could be several things. I inspected the bottom of the boat and it looks fine. No damage, bumps, or gouges that would cause a drag or push. Noticed that the motor is mounted slightly off center, but not sure what the specs are on this. Guy at Tracker told me to have BassPro check it out. Adjusted the trim tab, but this only affects the torque on the steering wheel. Told me to jerk the wheel about 5 inches to the right and see if it helps. I have raised the motor up two holes, but it still does it. Actually runs better now, but still leans to the left. Not sure at this point what the deal is? Any ideas?

Thanks,
Bud

I have this problem on my Champion when first getting on plane.. I keep telling my fishing partner to lose a little weight but he insist it isnt him..... Any mine levels out once I get it trimmed out good...

You have something out of balance from the centerline of the boat.
Raising the engine did not have anything to do with the left & right balance, that only affected your trim and planing aspect.
Depending on how far out of center the engine is mounted ...that could be the answer since the engine is the second heaviest thing about the rig. The reason all of the heavy components are centered is this balance... fuel tank, batteries....and so on. Worst case scenario is that you have warped hull or the hull itself is too heavy from excess glass on one side and if that is the case there is nothing you can do to correct it.... with the exception of adding Saltwater styled hydraulic trim tabs that allow you to adjust the boat's planing up & down on one side or the other independently. My boat, a 21'6" CenterConsole came with them to allow for running in a side wind or to raise the stern and force my bow down to run really rough water or get on plane really quick in super skinny water etc.

Does the hull float level from side to side at rest using a bubble level of 4' or even better 6' in length? If it does then the boat is balanced and you have a planing problem and need to inspect the lifting strakes and planing surfaces. If it does not float level then you have a hull problem but I would suspect the issue is in the lifting strakes and exaggerated by the engine being offcenter. Engines are never off center from a reputable manufacturer as most of the time the motor mounts are drilled at the factory and covered by a factory warranty. If the factory did not drill the mounts then you are going to have a problem getting a dealer to acknowledge the mistake 'cause the repair is to put a new transom in the boat and re drill the motor mount holes. If the hull has ANY warranty left I'd beat feet back to factory and let them sort it out regardless of cost of transportation.
Ron

Luckily, the boat still has a hull warranty until 2006. Just spoke to Kevin out at BassPro and he said to bring it in and they will look at it. Guess I will see what they say?

Unless your bass luggage is out of balance then, i would say the slant to one side is something most of us deal with at ceratin speeds. I only have this issue when i'm the only one in the boat. Even at full throttle the boat leans a slightly to the drivers side...... I also now that my nItro is one big 50 gallon tank. When it leans to one side so does the Gas. I dunno... Maybe i need to loose weight? 24p prop seems kind of a high pitch for a 125 Fish and Ski boat. That's my Nickel

Could be a weight issue, but I don't think it would do it that bad. When Me and my Brother in law sit on the drivers side, it will even out. That would be close to 475 lbs. Problem is that it will do it at all speeds and trim angles. Dropped it off at BassPro and the guy said it was not supposed to lean, but would torque. Not sure what he meant? I have adjusted the trim tab both ways and it only affects the wheel. Who knows, matbe this is common, just not used to it? Oh yeah, I also run a Laser II 26 and it seems to lift better and stay right around 5200 RPM at 50 MPH. Suprised me that a 125 would pull it that good.

Bud

Just a quick update. Kevin Martin from BassPro just called me back and verified that there is a problem. He told me that he was now speaking with Tracker in MO to figure out what to do about it. Said I should find out something today.

Friend of mine won a Nitro and ended up having to have it replaced, seems the stringer system was bad. Boat was also a 2000 model and was having problems similiar to what you described.

Just got a call back from BPS. Asked me if I had raised the motor up a couple of holes and changed the prop. I have done that, but it was in response to trying to fix the problem. Said the factory claims they have not heard of any other problems concerning these boats, mine must be the first! Actually, it leans to the left worse when setup from the factory.

Bud

evcomp,
Obviously,from the post above by bgibson...your boat is NOT the first case...don't let them lead you down that path!

Received a call back from BPS today from Kevin Martin! Told me that they put the motor all the way back down and replaced the prop to the original Laser II 24 and then tried it out. Said it ran great, no leaning to the left at all. Told the guy that he must be crazy, that they had to of done something else. When I first got the boat back in Oct it was set up the same and still leaned to the left. He said the only other thing they did was tighten up the steering some. Now, he wants to charge me 150 bucks for labor! Said whoa buddy, Tracker was the one that told me to bring it in for you guys to LOOK at! You did not say anything about charging labor! Said they had to lower the motor and had to pay guys to do it. Then he had the guts to say "when you raise the motor and put a different prop on the boat, you can't expect the baot to perform correctly". BULL!! So now, I am not only fighting them about a problem with the boat, they want to pop me for an extra 150 bucks! I am calling Tracker HQ in the morning to complain! So far, BPS has not been very knowledgable or forthcoming about what they did. Any ideas??

Bud

Spoke with Tracker Marine on Friday, told me that they were unable to help unless it was a warranty issue. Said the dealer can charge whatever they want for service. Told me that it was between BassPro and me to figure it out. Got the name of Kevin's boss, Brett and gave him a call. Explained the situation and he took care of it. Seemed like a good guy. Went to pick it up yesterday and they had raised the motor back up to the same place it was when I brought it in? Mechanic was sloppy though, got rtv all over the back of my boat. Took me a few hours to clean it off. Grease everywhere! Buyer beware on service at BPS!

Bud

Sounds like they are lacking something. They were trying to charge you labor for lowering your motor. You got the charged waived, so they turned arourd and spent more time to raise it back up to where you had it. Boy, they have it figured out.LOL. So,whats your plans now ?

Keep Reel'n
Vance

Not sure? I guess I will take it out and make sure that it still has a problem. If so, I will lower it back down. Still does not make sense. It was rigged all the way down when I got it and it leaned left? Maybe they did something else, but I have no idea what?
Bud

I Think I figured it out. Upon closer inspection, the left side is 3/16 of an inch higher than the right. The motor was mounted crooked! If that is the case, I am not sure tracker will fix? I am going to call them Monday and see what they say. That explains quite a bit!

Bud

UPDATE: I took my boat to a very reputable Marine dealer and fiberglass shop on Texoma and he has verified that Tracker mounted the motor incorrectly! The holes were drilled wrong. BassPro attempted to pull the motor over in the current holes as far as they could and then say there was nothing wrong. They even went so far as to say I would get unexpected results when modifying the height of the motor. BP service is engaged in deceiving repair practices. I am not very happy with Tracker or BP right now. Have two calls into Tracker, but no response so far. Will let you know what happens!

Bud

That is a shame - I'd be curious as to how you know BP tried to move the motor? I can't imagine there is much room in the originally drilled holes. I'm not taking sides, I'm just curious. Keep us posted.

Tracker Marine is just a sorry bunch of people. Drove 70 miles to take the boat to Fin & Feather in Ft. Worth. Guy takes a tape measure and measures from the mounting bolt diagonally to the first crease in the boat on both sides and determines that the motor is only off 1/16 of an inch. Based on the accuracy of a tape measure, they say there are no problems with the boat. Any cost to research and find the listing problem will have to be paid by me. I have given Tracker every opportunity to make good on the issue before going off on them, but they deserve it. They also said, since the last owner did not report any problems, none exist. Pretty confident if you ask me. The fact still remains that the boat leans left while under power all the way trimmed and up to 3/4 power. Full power seems to level off some, but not as expected. All I can say is BUYER BEWARE! I will never buy another Tracker Marine boat! Any other Nitro boaters out there lean left? Too many issues for the high price tag. Any suggestions about a decent maker of boat to replace the heap? I want a fish/ski type model.

Thanks,

Bud