Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

[Ira C.]

I recently bought a 2006 Tracker Guide V14 Laker with a 2006 15hp Mercury four stroke. When I head down the lake the bottom of the boat flexes like crazy. There is a lot of movement. The aluminum is .063 in thickness.
Is this boat going to fly apart while I am going down the lake?
I gave $2500 for the boat which included a new 50 lbs. Minn Kota and a new Eagle FishMark 480.
I thought I got a good deal but maybe not.
Will it last any amount of time?

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

Aluminum is a FLEXIBLE material- flex but not break- my 1957 LoneStar boat has a 115hp Evinruide on back and yes, it does flex but after 52YEARS of service the hull has not failed once.

If the flex bothers you then cut a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" marine plywood($60) to line your floor to walk on.
dont worry- be happy and FISH!

 

[Ira C.]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

My early 70's Starcraft didn't flex like this but I guess it was a heavier gauge aluminum. I wonder what gauge those Starcrafts were?
Anyway, you are right I should concentrate on fishing so much I would wear it out. Sometimes I have trouble keeping everything in perspective.
Thank you 26aftcab454 for bringing me back around.

 

[Capt'n Chris]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

I recently bought a 2006 Tracker Guide V14 Laker with a 2006 15hp Mercury four stroke. When I head down the lake the bottom of the boat flexes like crazy. There is a lot of movement. The aluminum is .063 in thickness.
Is this boat going to fly apart while I am going down the lake?
I gave $2500 for the boat which included a new 50 lbs. Minn Kota and a new Eagle FishMark 480.
I thought I got a good deal but maybe not.
Will it last any amount of time?

No, your boat is likely not to fly apart. 063 aluminum skin is pretty much the minimum standard for many riveted aluminum boats, so that should not be a problem. Some of the Northwest all welded jet boats can be much heavier. Canoes can be much lighter. Most all of the aluminum boats incorporate ribs running port to starboard which are the stiffeners of the hull. The more ribs a boat has, the stiffer it is. The fewer ribs, the less stiff and more flex. It's all a matter economics and less expense to build. What I would watch out for though, would be the bottom flex strain tugging at the rivets which secure the cross members (ribs). Aluminum will crack, and as you explain what you experience, it would be a good idea to keep an eye open for leaks at the ribs.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

Aluminum is a FLEXIBLE material- flex but not break- my 1957 LoneStar boat has a 115hp Evinruide on back and yes, it does flex but after 52YEARS of service the hull has not failed once.

If the flex bothers you then cut a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" marine plywood($60) to line your floor to walk on.
dont worry- be happy and FISH!

isn't one of the drawbacks of aluminum is that it is fairly inflexible? Take a thin piece of aluminum and bent it in two. it will break long before you can make the ends touch. The same piece of steel would have no trouble making a 180 degree bend. Some goes for small bends. You can break a piece of aluminum stock with only a couple decent bends back and forth.

From years of riding mountain bikes, it has long been that aluminum frame bikes were lighter and rode rougher (stiffer), and when they broke, they failed catastrophically. Steel alloy framed bikes were softer, and tended to bend without failing.

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

isn't one of the drawbacks of aluminum is that it is fairly inflexible? Take a thin piece of aluminum and bent it in two. it will break long before you can make the ends touch. The same piece of steel would have no trouble making a 180 degree bend. Some goes for small bends. You can break a piece of aluminum stock with only a couple decent bends back and forth.

Never the less ...after 52 years of flexing the boat is still floating-what else do you need to know?. true i have lost or loosened a few rivets but replaced them with Stainless steel screws with nuts.

From years of riding mountain bikes, it has long been that aluminum frame bikes were lighter and rode rougher (stiffer), and when they broke, they failed catastrophically. Steel alloy framed bikes were softer, and tended to bend without failing.

and have never heard of an aluminum boat with a catastrophic failure unless when I was a teenager we river rats "took possesion" of a 14ft jon boat that had been run over by a tug boat. it had about a 2ft section folded in and mangled.
We beat back into shape- used silicon caulk to seal a few cracks and put a old electric trolling motor on back- used it for awhile . the fish did not know the difference

 

[Ira C.]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

I'm not so worried about the .063 hull failing now. Some quick research has revealed many 14ft. utility boats of the same or like thickness. G3-.064, Lund-.063, Smokercraft-.060, Alumicraft-.065 Some of these may be of a better quality or design than my Tracker but still... I feel better. This is all about my feelings anyway. Right?

 

[jdsgrog]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

i doubt you'll have a problem with the boat falling apart. I'd guess that if you use the boat regularly, the main thing you have to look out for is loose rivets and even then it's only after a long time. I have a '76 lund s-14. well built boat, but it is over 30 years old (almost as old as i am). i would say maintain the boat, don't do anything stupid, and the boat should last near a lifetime.

 

[SKEETR]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

Don't worry, just find a little chop and blast around in some. Your fear will disapate quickly and you might be supprised at how nimble she is. Just let off the throttle if you catch air

 

[fixb52s]

Re: Will the Tracker Guide V14 fall apart?

Aluminum aircraft wings can flex as much as 15 feet in flight and they don't normally fall off or break.

You should be good.​