Tracker 1542 with side console?

[mattb91193]

I see a lot of 15 ft alumacrafts that people have put side consoles on, and I was wondering if anybody has done that with the Tracker 1542? I am seriously looking at purchasing one real soon, but I would like the option of putting a remote steered motor on it.

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks.

 

[gillhunter]

It's all personal preference of course. I've had both side console and tiller boats. A side console is great if you are running a lot of HP for control, but they take up a lot o real estate in a 15' boat.

 

[mattb91193]

what i am trying to figure out is if there is enough room in the tracker compared to the alumacrafts?

 

[gillhunter]

New Alumacraft and Tracker 1542s are 42" on the bottom with a beam of 60". So they are the same size.

A 1448 is 48" on the bottom with a 70" beam. If you budget can stand it I would always choose width over length, but that's just my opinion. :LOL2:

 

[tnriverluver]

I had considered it with mine because of having a bad left arm and a bad back. A steering wheel and comfortable sitting position are a big positive in my case for making a longer run. I ended up going against it just because the 16 inch sides make mounting most consoles require some mods to be able to work. There are some nice Lowe aluminum consoles available that will work at around $100 new but need to be shortened a few inches.

 

[mattb91193]

How much does a 1448 alumacraft run? for the grizzly I know it costs around $2,600 which is a bit more than I am looking to spend on just the boat portion.

 

[gillhunter]

My 2011 Alumacraft 1648 MV cost $1875 and the EZ Loader trailer was $775. As I recall the 1448 was a couple of hundred less.

 

[mattb91193]

Alright I put in a quote request on a price to a local dealership for the alumacraft. I imagine being wider it would be much easier to put a side console on that one compared to the tracker?

 

[tnriverluver]

Owning a 2011 1542 Tracker I can tell you the Alumicraft is a MUCH better boat in every way. I bought mine because of pinching pennies at the time and needing as light weight as possible due to back problems. But with the $1250 price (it is a very nice trailer)for the tracker trailer it would have come out about the same in the end. The Tracker boat not having the side ribs just makes it very flimsy in comparison to most other boats. You really notice it when running with the floor bouncing nearly an inch up and down in rough water. I am actually pretty pleased with the Tracker for fishing the lakes I bought it for however and have other boats for fishing bigger waters. You won't go wrong with either choice in the end.