# Bass Tracker Pro 170 Questions



## Certified106 (Mar 17, 2014)

I confess I am a newbie when it comes to boats and have never owned one before but I am going to look at a 1989 Bass Tracker Pro170 tomorrow or Sunday and wanted to get some opinions on whether it would be a good starter boat. I am also curious if there are any specific issues that I should be looking for? 

In the pictures it looks to be very clean and well kept and has a 40hp Johnson 2 stroke outboard on it, trolling motor and older fish finder. Any help, information or tips on what to look for would be greatly appreciated.


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## jck1961 (Nov 7, 2010)

I have a 89 Tracker TX17 which is the "big brother" of the Pro17. Same hull, just different interior layout. I bought mine new in 1990 as a left-over model. As far as problems go, I have had only had to replace the electronics ( bilge pump, livewell pump, some switches, and of course the trolling motor a few times)

I have the 40hp Evinrude (which is the same as a Johnson) and the only problem I've had with it is the VRO oil injection went bad and fouled the spark plugs. So now I just premix the oil in the gas.

I use my boat a lot and after 24 years it still has no leaks. It's been a great boat for my type of fishing.


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## Certified106 (Mar 17, 2014)

Thanks for the info!

I guess I should have mentioned that the guy told me that the oil pump started malfunctioning years ago and he premixes everything and has had no problems with it since then. if everything is in good shape what would be considered a reasonable price on a boat with this age?


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## jck1961 (Nov 7, 2010)

I looked mine up on Kelly Blue Book a couple of years ago and it said something like $1500 for a private sale. There is no way I would sell mine for that. I would have to have about twice that price for it.


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## Certified106 (Mar 17, 2014)

jck1961 said:


> I looked mine up on Kelly Blue Book a couple of years ago and it said something like $1500 for a private sale. There is no way I would sell mine for that. I would have to have about twice that price for it.


This one I am looking at is $3200 and I thought if it was in good shape that seemed pretty fair. With the motor having some age on it is there anything I need to check?


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## jck1961 (Nov 7, 2010)

That sounds like a reasonable price. As far as checking the engine, a compression test will tell you a lot. I can't remember the exact specs but I think around 100 psi is about where it should be with no more than 10% variance between the 2 cylinders.

If the readings are low you could have worn piston rings, scored cylinders, or a head gasket problem. Too high of a reading could be from carbon build up on top of the piston.

When running there should be a nice steady stream of water coming from the water pump exit tube.

There is also oil in the lower unit gear case. That could be checked for signs of water getting in there.


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## T-180 (Oct 18, 2005)

Good advice from jck1961. Comp check, & water test it, but those are solid boats. Check the bilge area for any water after a test run. If they don't want to put it on the water, walk away, they're hiding something. My son has the 16' version with a 45 hp Merc & it's a great boat. $3200 isn't unreasonable, but I'd feel a lot better around @2700


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## Certified106 (Mar 17, 2014)

Ok so I went and met the guy today to look at it. He hadn't pulled it out of the pole barn since he put it in there last October. Other than a few ding on the top rail from a dock it was in great shape. He put it on muffs and started it up took two tries but fired right up and idled good. Took it down to the water and went out on a 45 minute trip. Ran good and strong idled well and everything seemed to be in great overall shape. Water pump pressure was good and streaming well. It has hydraulic trim on it and the live well bilge lights and everything looked good. Tires were 1.5 years old and In good shape. It was completely dry inside after 45 minutes in the water. The only real negative was that the trolling motor looked like it could use replaced. He wouldn't budge on the price and was saying 3200 was the bottom dollar. I know for a fact he has two more guys coming to look at tomorrow so I need to give him an answer in the morning. What do you think. Living in the middle of nowhere makes my options pretty limited without driving 2+ hours to look at boats.


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## Dovans (Nov 15, 2011)

I bought a 2000 Fischer 17 footer couple years ago for 3500. 40 horse Merc. motor and the oil injection works. For an 89, 3200 is too much. IMHO. Give him your phone number and tell him if he wants to give you a better bottom dollar you'd be interested. Trolling motors and fish finders are not cheap to replace. I've seen alot of nice boats come for sale on OGF Marketplace. Im thinking 2500 top end. Its real nice putting oil in one side, and gas in the other. No mixing, I think you'd really would like that.


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## jck1961 (Nov 7, 2010)

I agree with Dovans. Your trolling motor is one of the most vital components and expensive to replace.


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## fishingmaniac (Apr 3, 2012)

All I can tell you is this time of year people get desperate for a fishing boat. If you drove it like it any its in your budget I'd buy it. Ive bought and sold a few boats in my time. The last 2 I sold the first day for pretty much asking price with a list of people waiting to see it. And I got top dollar for them. Don't wait it'll be gone. 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## bassteaser1 (Apr 13, 2004)

I picked up an 89 tracker tx 17 with a 50 hp Johnson a few weeks ago from a guy that didn't know much about boats.the original owner took care of it because under the 2 years of neglect I cleaned it up,fixed all the little electrical problems (time consuming)and a few bucks,I now have a nice little boat.It is kind of narrow compare to the glass boats i'm used too but not too bad to fish from.This guy wanted 3000 but I offered 1500 due to the work it needed,plus the trolling motor is 24lb thrust and outdated fishfinder.He took it so I jumped on it.I took it out to Buckeye the other day and it ran 34 on gps at 5800 rpms.Also the tongue wait on it is really heavy,maybe the short tongue and small motor on back is the reason.I could pick my old ranger up with one hand pretty easy.Overall good boat for economy,it was nice running around the lake on less than 5 gallons.


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## bassteaser1 (Apr 13, 2004)

The other negative was the rod storage is good for about 6' max,good for the kids poles or a net


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

IMHO...Sure sounds like a perfect starter boat if it ran good when you had it out. No guarantees on a used motor, could run for years or go out tomorrow but a starter boat will allow you to make your mistakes (and you will make mistakes) as a 1st time boat owner on something that can take a little abuse (Tracker aluminum) then when you're ready down the line to buy something new you'll know what to avoid to keep it nice. Good luck and welcome to the boat owners club... get your dollars ready to throw into that black hole in the lake.


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## Certified106 (Mar 17, 2014)

Ok, so you guys kind of talked me out of it lol. No in all honesty I had an unexpected expense come up. I offered $2500 and to the seller and broke down the cost of what really needed corrected/upgraded and he declined. He is going to try to sell it for that price first to see if he has any more takers. I thought long and hard about this one before deciding not to but ultimately a ton of the lakes around here are 10 hp limits which would really limit my ability to fish in them. 

I talked to my best friend who owns 4 boats an he told me don't do it. He offered to let me keep his ranger with a 25hp and 9.9 hp tiller motor for the year if I kept up all the maintenance on it. I currently have it in the garage and have been going over it top to bottom to make sure it's ready to go. I have a couple of electrical issues left to iron out on the bow light and the front fish finder but I already had it out to run the 25 hp outboard and it's running great. 

He has owned this boat for 10+ years and maybe had it in the water a dozen times. I took it out more last year than they have in the last 3 years combined. I figure if I drop $600 in it and use it for a year it was a great way for me to fish one to see what I like/don't like and how much I use it.


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