Quinte Fishing

Hi guys just wanted to share my Tracker/Nitro boat experience,

Bought a 2010 Nitro Z7 in 2013 with a 150 merc. At first before buying it I had done a bunch of research as I always do before making a big purchase which doesn't always work as some times by the time I am ready to buy something big it's sold! However I did lots of research on these boats to findout what it seemed Nitro with having lots of problems wit their Bass boats had fixed the problems in 2009. Well I'm here to day to tell u to stay the hell away with their bass boats and here's why.
As in my other post earlier today( as long as it may have been had mentioned I am still going through legal proceedings with Tracker/Nitro) I made mention of the insurance company putting the screws to me but in the end it's really both of them screwing me. Even though I am the 3rd owner of this boat there is no warranty on this boat for me as with most boat makes they won't transfer warranty to third owner so I have to take another route by showing how poorly their boat are built according to the America coast guard regulations as well as 2 other governing bodies!
On all Bass boats in particular( fibreglass) the allowable limit of gel coat that can be applied to these boats is only 30 thousands of an inch and with the help of a marine surveyor out of Kingston who after doing some more research has the best name in the business brought with him a portable unit that measures the thickness of many things on a boat but was set to measure the thickness of the gel coat on my boat!
After about an hour of enlightening with multiple pictures and documentation it was very clear to me the problem is in spots the gel coat is over 60 thousands thick and many many spots is between 40-60 and in some spots only 20. If the gel coat is too thick the boat will not flex and as such causes the boat to CRACK!!!
This may very well take another yr of my time but I really want to make sure more people are aware of these issues with these boats in particular but not likely limited to just the Z7. I would say stay away from all Nitro boats until they can prove they have fixed thier problems.
Another glaring issue with the boat is that where the boat cracked the fibreglass showing itself is dry and according to the marine surveyor it should look wet. This is just another example of the poor workmanship on these boats!
If anyone would like this marina surveyors email address I will get it for u and if u have any questions u can also contact me directly at 613-243-5863

Paul

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Walleye 1oo% Club

its good you provide your experience so others can at least consider it before making their purchases.

we all know trackers are the worst aluminum boats out there....but i've read from folks that justify their purchase that the trouble "has gone away"....Much like your story....trackers and nitro's are built by the same company....

yes they both are dirt cheap....so these stories need to be out there for the buyer beware...

after knowing what a consumer can find out about either brands, if they still make the purchase (for money savings) at least they know they made the decisions while understanding the risks.

Well I thought I did my home work and as I said before from what I found it would seem as tho they had corrected the problem in 2009 and read good reports about the 2010.
I didn't spend $20,000 plus on a boat to have to turn around and go through all this after using it for 2 or so months. It fishes really well but after having the marine surveyor show me all the problems with it and the insurance company along with the surveyor from Orilia basically robbing me I end up having a boat that I can still fish out of it but won't run it in a Tourny!
I'm not sure who would spend $1,000 I a boat to use it for a month or two and have the problems I have along with all the I told u sooooo!
It's really too bad they haven't stepped up to the plate yet to do something about it and so I will put my experience out there for all to read and hopefully if I only help one person to not go through this *** it will be all worth it to me.

Paul

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Walleye 1oo% Club

I 100% agree your insurance company is NOT there to help you, nor is the broker. They were just as bad as the SOB's that stole my ATV out of my garage when I lived in Stockdale. I fought with mine for four months to get them to pay up to close of what it was worth. Too bad about your experience, that's a lot of money to pay for a lot of heart ache. Good luck with your fight, I hope it pays off.

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So just to make it clear the insurance company sent this man down (Buchanan) from Orilia for one purpose! His whole reason for coming was to put something in his report to save the insurance company from having to pay this claim out. This insurance company is I believe strictly for marine. He as the other marine surveyor stated "stole from me" by pitting that in his report that" in my opinion the cracks were there before the claim was submitted".
Total horse poop!!

Paul

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Walleye 1oo% Club

i just read your post about the cracks in your boat how could you file a claim before damage could happen , wouldn't the damage have to happen before you can turn in the claim to the insurance company? is he saying the damage was there before you bought it ? if so ask him when he saw it happen .

you might want to have the person that you purchased the boat from make a written statement that none of the damage was there when you bought the boat. if he is not willing to maybe the damage was there and you may have missed it your inspection of the boat. than i would send his statement in along with your inspection report to the insurance company. the insurance company could not say that everyone is lying.

These adjusters make their money on what they save the insurance company. If you get enough evidence together that proves you right, the insurance company will give in but they will fight back tooth and nail, I had yelling matches with the adjuster on the phone and once I got what I needed they said "OK, the check is in the mail". I like the idea of the letter from the previous owner, I think that would help a lot to have a third party witness in your favour.

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That all sounds great but when I brought these scenarious up last summer to the surveyor I had enlisted services from when I was going after the insurance company he told me straight up u r wasting ur time trying to get them to pay after the other surveyor made the comments in his report about the crack already being there.
This is part and parcel to what I am telling u guys on this forum to one if u purchase a boat and need to insure it take the time and have a surveyor give it a clean bill of health and submit a copy to insurance company and that should alleviate this sort of problem from happening to u and secondly and more importantly stay the hell away from TRACKER boats.
I paid a lot of money for a boat I riought was a good boat maybe with fewer bells and whistles but ended up not only with a dud but a company not wanting to stand behind its product!
Plain and simple!

Paul

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Walleye 1oo% Club

I wonder just how long this post will go on unanswered by anyone from Tracker/Nitro having their name bashed before someone wants to step up to the plate and at least attempt to make things right. At least come to the defence of their boats or maybe they think this post will just die and sink into the forgotten!! I know if it were my name being booted around I would attempt to do something.
To me this just means they know they have a lot of problems with their boats and don't want to exploit them any further then the people who have had the problems to date!
I will go on record to say this and that is while I was speaking to the marine surveyor for kingston he did recommend if I was going to buy another boat that the best by far is the Lund but in no way shape or forum am I going to pump Lunds tires as I have had my own issues with the Local Lund dealer myself but just wanted to put that out there also!

Paul

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Walleye 1oo% Club

They obviously don't really care. I bet they sold a bunch of boats today, but they will never sell you another one and you likely scared off a couple others as well but that's not enough to hurt their bottom line or convince them to make a better quality boat. Cheaply made and mass produced like most things now days, not worth what you pay for them.

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Well I'm not sure if I totally agree with that statement or not, I've fished out of quite a few rangers and I gotta say they r quite a boat with a big price tag too boot but great machines and a company I have only heard good things about and they stand behind their products.
Myself being a small business owner believe 100% in standing behind your product but if something does go wrong making it right where possible. If I or an employee have screwed something up and it's clearly our fault I believe in doing right. At some point and it may not be today and it may not be tomorrow these sorts of issues always come around to bite company's in the ass and in today's competitive markets where new company's r cropping up all over the place company's who don't stand behind their products normally don't survive.
Not that I know a lot of people but I happen to know a few in the fishing world know I don't bullshit and have a habit of speaking out sometimes out of place but always tell it like it is and these boats people need to stay away from until they fix their issues or at least fix the problems with owners boats when they happen instead of shying away from the ugly.
What's that old saying a happy customer tells 2 people and an unhappy tells 20! Something like that well that's what I am doing telling 20!

Paul

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Walleye 1oo% Club

I am a 2008 Nitro owner and I am totally happy with my boat, I have driven it hard at times and have had no problems what so ever. You said you investigated the boats before you bought so you must have know that the warranty was not transferable to the third owner so why did you buy it or why are you bashing their name now, You could have went and spent you money on a Ranger or bought a new boat of your choice. The problem with buying used is you don't know how it has been maintained or driven. Of course the seller is going to say he never drove over XXX mph or RPM's and never drove in rough water. So stop your whining and go after your insurance. If it happened like you said then they are the ones that have to step up. I am no way connected with Nitro at all, I am a Nitro owner and proud of it.

I've owned a Nitro for years and loved the boat. It ran beautifully, had amazing storage and was very stable in all water types.

I sold it and bought a Ranger last year. Had it on the water for opening of walleye, had minor electrical issues so took it in for rewiring and when I brought it home, realized the motor was about to fall off. The transom broke and had to get it replaced. It wasn't new but the boat I've always wanted and Ranger did nothing for me. I was very fortunate though to have my insurance cover the cost. Still don't know what happened but do know I was without it all last year and it spent more time in shop than with me. I hadn't bonded with it yet so this is the year.

It sure made me miss my Nitro even more though...

Walleye 100%....have you posted this sort of thing on Bass Boat Central? They have a great section for Nitro owners.

Cheers

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The fishing was so good........I thought I was here yesterday!

Sorry to hear, but I've owned a Tracker for years and it's been a great boat as well. Thrown everything at it from trolling trout on Lake O in rough waters to pulling my son on a wakeboard and everything inbetween. Never had a problem with the boat and it is still completely original 26 years later. Maybe they don't build them like they used to or maybe you got a lemon. But apparently it's not every Tracker\Nitro out there.
Hope you get it sorted out properly.

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE