Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Well we have been looking and looking and have adjusted our sites and raised our money limit. We are looking at a brand new Suntracker 22 DLX fishing barge with 60 horse Merc for about $26,500 or a used 2008 21' Premier Cast Away with 115 horse Suzuki for right around $25,000. Both have dual axle trailers and a lot of the same stuff on them. The used one I would imagine comes with added items that have been put on over the years and hopefully other goodies

Your thoughts? I have read some and the Premier sounds like a good boat but I have not seen one in person but will this Saturday as we are going to check it out.

The Suntracker does have one advantage and that is Warranties that will come with it.

The Premier is skinned if that means anything lol we are new at this.

Thanks for any replies.

I would put the Premier in the High end category and the Sun Tracker in the mid range catagory. I haven't heard a single complaint from a Premier owner and most of their lineup is built like a brick s-house except for the very bottom "value" toons. For the 25k they are asking you could probibly come close to getting a new one for a few grand more if you found a dealer with left over stock. Local dealer up here had a left over castaway 23' with 3rd toon and 150 suzuki for 32k

Later posting is being addressed by others.

Thanks for your reply and it would be nice to shop with more cash yet but I am a working stiff and these boats are at our limit for price as we can go to $27,000. So of the two I mentioned any input of which would be the better value being one is used and 6 years older?

Thanks

evilstepdad wrote:Well we have been looking and looking and have adjusted our sites and raised our money limit. We are looking at a brand new Suntracker 22 DLX fishing barge with 60 horse Merc for about $26,500 or a used 2008 21' Premier Cast Away with 115 horse Suzuki for right around $25,000. Both have dual axle trailers and a lot of the same stuff on them. The used one I would imagine comes with added items that have been put on over the years and hopefully other goodies

Your thoughts? I have read some and the Premier sounds like a good boat but I have not seen one in person but will this Saturday as we are going to check it out.

The Suntracker does have one advantage and that is Warranties that will come with it.

The Premier is skinned if that means anything lol we are new at this.

Thanks for any replies.

Take the advice of a tracker owner. The warranties are not what they are cracked up to be. Everything I've had go wrong with my tracker has not been covered by the warranty, including 3 bad ignition switches, broken railing parts and poor decking. I've had my tracker for three years now and when I meet with other tooners, it's very easy to see how much better most other brands are built than my tracker. Take the priemier in my opinion. Make notice of the max engine size rating on the tracker compared to other brands and it will tell you the difference in structural integrity. I wish I had bought another brand. Hope this helps.

I would have the Premier checked out by a mechanic or just plan on replacing the water pump, Pressure test lower unit, Tune up motor, and check and/or replace fuel lines. This unit should be a nice unit for you.

With the 115 h.p. it will run a little faster and be more forgiving on running wide open all day with the SunTracker.

115 would be a better fit for that size boat. I think you would be disappointed in a 60hp on a 22'

But...... Check out the seats of the used boat. That is your biggest expense, besides the motor, that can be wrong. Make sure it hasn't sat out in the sun it's whole life.

I'll agree with the others here, and say to go with the Premier. I have never owened either one, and don't know anyone personally who has, so I don't have a dog in the fight, so to speak. However, I'd take the one that sold for more originally, and ALWAYS take the bigger engine. How many hours are on the Premier???

Oh, and I don't think anyone else has answered your "skinned" question.

Skinned means that the bottom side of the floor joist (below the deck, and above where the pontoons are actually mounted) are skinned with a thin layer of usually, aluminum sheeting. This is done between the two toons (or 3 if a tri-toon) and it keeps the water from hitting the bottom side of the floor joist. This both keeps the floor more dry, and prevents a wave from hitting the joist, and slowing you down. I think some on here that have done this to their boat themselves, have noticed a measurable speed gain by "skinning" the bottom of the boat.


Good Luck.

I've owned 2 Trackers and haven't had any issues with either of them. In this case though, I'd go with the Premier with the bigger motor. 60 HP vs 115. I've heard a lot of people wish they had gone with a bigger motor, none wishing they bought smaller

Pontoons in general are all made about equal as far as build quality and components go. Most of the hardware are all made by the same vendors. Spme brands are more plush and cost more, but generally that's the only difference.

Lots of Tracker owners in here and haven't seen many that wouldn't buy one again. Tracker is a huge company that has remained stable in a poor economy while other smaller manufactures have gone out of business, gotten sold, liquidated, etc. There is no equal to a Tracker with aluminum Duradeck.

If you do go Tracker, it's best to buy from a private dealer and stay far away from Bass Pro Shops.

Thanks for the input we appreciate it. Yes I have been told by a couple of dealers that when getting a boat size does matter the more hp the better.

Lol don't worry to much about the vasoline zipper thing as my boss would get jealous. Do you think you stole your premier or is that an average kind of buy on these in that area? I hear pretty Good buys can be had in the Midwest and especially the south but not so much here in the west.

We went and looked at it and it is a very nice boat and we probably made a mistake as we now see the difference as far as build etc in the boats.

Anybody know where a one year old premier is sitting with 5 hours on it on the west coast for $22,900 we might be interested if things don't work out here.

Thanks for the reply

I know it aint on the west coast, but these guys do ship, and you can usually talk em down on the price, or get em to add in extras, to sweeten the deal.

2011 25ft. PREMIER Sunsation LTD/Performance Pkg. Mercury 90 Optimax. No trailer, new one available for $3,750. Beige/Red. Rates a 8.5 Cosmetically. 2 forward chaise loungers. “L” shape couch in the rear with easy one step pop-up changing room/storage. Performance Package has lifting strakes & underwater performance sheeting. This allows the pontoons to be lifted out of the water to decrease drag which increase speed and turn capabilities. Great set-up for entertaining large parties or tubing/wakeboarding/waterskiing. Full 3 year Mercury factory engine warranty. Rental #15. $26,995

http://www.winnisquammarine.com/?page_id=2253

Thanks for the link. I guess I should have mentioned that it needs to be the fishing model of whatever we buy...my bad...

Lots of Tracker owners on this forum haven't had any problems with theirs, just saying....actually users owning Tracker boats are the majority here, haven't been many make specific complaints since I've been here.