How are Sun Tracker boats?
 

I am interested in purchasing a new 18ft Sun Tracker pontoon boat. I will be using it to leisurely cruise and pull a tube occasionally. Most of the time I will be on Waukewan but may spend a day or 2 on Winnipesaukee. Does anyone have experience with Sun Tracker? Thank you.

Definitely a price-point mass produced boat. Having owned two they are ok but certainly not the quaility of my Manitou.

I got frustrated with them when I tried to get replacement parts for a 4 year old boat and was told that they only carry and produce parts for boats up to 3 years old!!! :eek: Not impressed... I also ordered a half enclosure to put on my 02 from Dowco, who produces the canvas products for Suntracker. The fit was awful and the customer service was even worse. I ended up trading the boat in as I was so unimpressed.

If you want to pull a tuber I like the tow bar setup on the Manitou boats, very sturdy.

I have a 1985 24ft, we use it as a personal barge now. The interior has long rotted away and the floor was replaced 5 years ago. The pontoons and the framing are all fine and has held together well after being way overloaded more than once. My advise would be to keep things covered when not in use, the sun and weather are interior killers.

my brother owns one and doesn't take care of it.other that as stated interior issues from lack of care pretty solid overall

Be careful of buoyancy
 

A 18 foot boat may be too small. I had a 20 foot Aqua Patio pontoon boat with 24 inch dia pontoons and it was OK for 2 or 3 people but marginal for more. We had to be very careful about who sat where and slow down for all but the smallest wakes to avoid getting soaked. We subsequently had a 24 foot Harris, also with 24" pontoons and it was an extraordinary difference in capacity, speed and comfort. My advice is to try it before you buy it.

Quality, durability and reliability of both brands was very very good.

Good luck.

18' Starcraft
 

I have a 2005 18' Starcraft w/25 hp 4-stroke. I love it! Seats are mounted atop of plastic (no maintainence) buckets, looks great and no worries. No gauges either, simple is better for me. Sometimes less is more.
I have a CD player, built in cooler/livewell, removable table (aft) lot's of storage and a rail mount gas grill.

Also.... something to think about in a smaller pontoon boat. My battery and gas tank mounts on a platform outboard of the strearn, motor is on a bracket.
Adavntage, lot's of storage under the rear seat, disadvantage, it places to much weight aft. Four adults can not sit in the aft (at the table), it too much weight back there and puts the motor UNDER!

Low cost = low quality materials
 

Checked them out when first buying in 2001 and it was clear that it was an entry-level pontoon. Vinyl materials were thin and not likely to last. Log diameters were on the small side (critical as others have said for a good size lake). If you want something that will last, I'd recommend brands like Manitou, Bennington, Starcraft, or HarrisKayot

Good advice from Fishy Cover
 

We have a 20' Smoker Craft w/ 50HP and 24" tubes. Moves along well... but groups over 4 or 5 require some serious "balancing" of the weight. Nice ride and feel on a calm evening.. but we have learned to avoid parts of the big lake on weekends. We have given more than a few "foot baths" to our guests. :rolleye1:

I also agree w/ Fishy Cover on "Try it before you buy it"

I'm thinking about a slightly larger "trade up".... maybe a tri-hull...
(yes darlin... I know it's only two years old... :) )