Tracker 1448 14' Foot All Weld Performance

[Mic_Hanley]

Being new to this site, I was wondering if anyone has experience with Tracker's 1448 14' Foot All Weld Grizzly boat? I just picked it up from a guy who was selling it. I love the boat (size, length, capacity) but I'm having problems powering it. It's only rated for a 25hp and I do mostly river running.

Mercury's new 25hp EFI jet drive looks like a good idea, but the more I read, the more I see the pros and cons of jet drives.

Mercury's 25 jet is a true 25/25 from what I read and hear from Bass Pro sales. Any idead?

Thanks,

M

[Gavin]

I've been looking at that motor too...Truth is, nobody is sure if its really 25hp at the jet. Its made on the same block as the 30, so its probably at least 21hp at the foot (30x.7=21). They may have done something with the fuel system and cam though... It also weighs in at 186lbs....Dont know what your hull weighs, but I'd keep it as light as possible and move as much weight as you can forward for better performance.

A friend runs a 1448 Blazer SS with a Merc two stroke 25/20 and it runs pretty well. Its slow & loud, but it planes and gets him where he wants to go. Truth is, its a brand new motor and nobody seems to have had a chance to compare them to the old 25/20 jets. There seems to be a lot of interest in that motor, so I dont think it will be long before we have some user feedback. Cheers.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I was under the assumption that the second number on a jet drive was only a comparison. It was to compare the performance of the unit, after taking into account the greater slip of the jet.

Maybe the industry is dropping the comparison.

The big jets that use multiple stage pumps don't suffer the slip that single units do and don't use double figures.

[Arkie Farmer]

I've got a 20 Merc Jet (25hp power head). I don't think this motor would push your boat very well with much of a load. If you are dead-set on a jet I truly believe you're going to need a unit built off a 40 horse power head (30 jet power). I've been there, jets are slow, loud, drink fuel... but get you to the fish