Buying a Sun Tracker Pontoon, any helpful tips?

[ed1976]

Hello
I am about to purchase a 2005 Suntracker Regency 25' Party Barge I/O. Wondering if anyone had any pointers on what to look for as far as problems with these boats. I've been in and out of pontoons for years, but they have all been outboards and not Sun Trackers.
Thanks

[chill'nthemost]

Far from an expert myself. We've owned a '98 25ft Tracker Signature since 2004. It was always been garaged, so all the vinyl was in excellent condition. I'd have a compression check done and if that checks out change all the fluids and the impeller. Does the former owner have any records? Would be nice to know about oil changes, service work and how it was winterized each year. The only mechanical problem we've ever had (really not mechanical) a bracket holding the reservoir for the trim pump broke. Had it reinforced when it was tigged welded back on. It has a 3.0 Chevy I/O

[lakerunner696]

I have a 04 Regency and love it, my dislikes are the flimsy side panels that bend if you fart on them. I have the aluminum floor on mine.

[chill'nthemost]

I have a 04 Regency and love it, my dislikes are the flimsy side panels that bend if you fart on them. I have the aluminum floor on mine.

until I read the info here I thought all toons had aluminum decks

[Thin Ice]

Regency is Suntrackers most "Plush". Mines only 2 years old, so no real issues to warn you about. I agree with LR, panels leave alot to be desired, but hard to find a nicer seat than the Regency's, IMO.

I have OB motor, so cant help ya there.

Id like the Regency to be lighter, (bit on the heavy side in comparison). But hard to deduct weight without quality I guess.

[hyper]

I have never liked the gas tank being in the water, I bought a smokercraft just because of that. The gas tank is sitting in water all the time. Why would they do that?

[lakerunner696]

I have never liked the gas tank being in the water, I bought a smokercraft just because of that. The gas tank is sitting in water all the time. Why would they do that?

I totally agree, nothing but problems to come. At least mine is under the tanning pad by the changing area

[jafo9]

i had an 04 regency 22ft with the i/o. i felt it was under powered and noisy with the "iron maiden" 3.0L. there was also a real problem with the tubing coming from above the starboard toon into the the motor pod. i was real flimsy and tore and leaked lots of water at speed into the motor pod. cost me a pretty penny to have it replaced. somewhere around 05-07, they fixed the design. take a hard look where the cables (steering/throttle) come into the starboard side of the motor pod. make sure its a hard hose and not a little plastic wrap.

on the plus side, i really liked how the sofa's slid out to make more of a bed. i also liked the storage built into the back of the sofas. i also really like the "clean" look of the I/O, however, it makes adding a ski tow bar a challenge.

[Bamaman]

The Regency is an especially nice boat, however there are many other boats out there in the same class. Have you shopped around for comparable Harris', Premiers and Manitou's?

Pros: SunTracker has an established dealer base--almost a rarity in the present economic climate.
They have a full line of pontoons of different prices.

Cons: One price sales policy. I like dealers to compete for my business with lower prices.
They'll never be the cheapest boat on the lake--or anywhere close.
When they're outboard powered, Tracker has a tendency to underpower their boats --for price competition.

What I would like is a pontoon that is a little less plush, but that has tri-toons with lifting strakes. I'd rather spend $ on performance and have a plenty nice boat than a boat with furniture that nicer than my house. (Most high performance pontoons seem to be overly plush--and overly expensive.)

[wed]

gas tank sitting in the water?

Saves space and gives some temperature control over the gas. Keep it cool(er) in summer and maybe keep it from freezing in winter depending on where you are located. Most such fuel tanks are actually fuel cells made from non-corrosive materials.

Also, manufacturers go to a lot of trouble to prevent engines from detonating under load .... two things greatly affect this. One is prop selection vs. load. That is why we want to run close to max RPM at WOT for a given load so as to not lug the motor. The second item is to keep the fuel and air charge as cool as possible. The computer controls on modern engines allow the motor to give the best performance under a given set of operating conditions. My Mercury has a fuel temperature control assembly on the engine that uses circulated water to keep the fuel at a constant temperature.

Maybe it is not such a bad thing?

[badmoonrising]

Both of my boats are Merc 3.0s..love them, although maintenance is cramped (but requiring simple tools). No trouble other than an occasional carb rebuild (although one was caused by ethanol fuel).

[hyper]

I just thought that a gas tank sitting in the water will cause problems later down the road., What happens to your glass of drink when sitting on the table. It sweats and water is the by product. I just dont see why you would do that. It leaves to much room for trouble. Ever seen a boat running with water in the gas tank..It is not pretty. It may work for reasons you listed. But I was just concerned about it. I aske why and they said they didnt know. Even the dealer didnt think it was the best Idea. Told me I could always put it inside the boat....Just sayin.

[hyper]

gas tank sitting in the water?

Saves space and gives some temperature control over the gas. Keep it cool(er) in summer and maybe keep it from freezing in winter depending on where you are located. Most such fuel tanks are actually fuel cells made from non-corrosive materials.

Also, manufacturers go to a lot of trouble to prevent engines from detonating under load .... two things greatly affect this. One is prop selection vs. load. That is why we want to run close to max RPM at WOT for a given load so as to not lug the motor. The second item is to keep the fuel and air charge as cool as possible. The computer controls on modern engines allow the motor to give the best performance under a given set of operating conditions. My Mercury has a fuel temperature control assembly on the engine that uses circulated water to keep the fuel at a constant temperature.

Maybe it is not such a bad thing?

could you post a picture of your gas tank? I just want to make sure theone I am taliking about is the same way. And is it mounted tightly or can you move it around. The new boat we looked at I grabbed the tank and it slid backwards. This was a brand new boat.

thanks

[wed]

Hyper.... Don't have access to a picture now but I looked at the pictures of the new tracker signature series and I see that the deck and transom layout is different from mine. My tank is completely enclosed by the transom pod and cannot move very much at all in any direction. My filler is accessed through the rear deck just in front of the motor. The 2011 seems to be resting inside the pod and is not captive. The basic location is the same. When stopped with the rear end down at least a third of my tank is in the water ... basically in the same location.

I may be able to find some pictures later if you are still interested.

[ed1976]

Thank you all very much for the insight. I had an appointment to see the boat today at 6pm, called to get a little information and was told he sold it to his friend. Really considerate people are everywhere these days.....

So I'll keep looking and hopefully find something soon.