Ok, so I’ve read the reviews. I’ve heard that the Hurricane Tracer is a slow boat and a Lightning fast boat. My wife has a Hurricane Tampico and I’ve been impressed by the cost, weight, speed, and responsiveness of this boat. Does anyone have any new comments or gps data on the Tracer? I currently paddle a WS Tsunami 125, which is great on our local rivers, but I’d like to add a big water boat to my fleet.
Make SURE it has a skeg.
Some of the early ones didn’t and they were terrible downwind.
Speed is realitive
to what you are currently paddling. I went from a Carolina 14.5 to a Tracer and it seems really fast. Go from a high end racing boat to a Tracer and it will seem slow. It also depends on your skill level and strenght. Just demo one and see how it compare with what you want.
I like mine. But be sure to get a skeg or rudder.
Or you will have problems downwind. They seem to have made several improvement in the 07 boats. I would make sure to demo an 07 model
To clarify my skeg comment…
It seems that the early Tracer that didn’t come with a skeg had a different hull shape that was more squirrelly than the later boats that came with a skeg. Now if you add a skeg to one of those early ones you have a really fun boat.
Tracer
I have one of the earlier Tracers without a skeg, but it came with a rudder mount so I installed one with “toe control” foot pegs. The rudder addresses the tracking issues. Without the rudder down it is very, very manueverable!
Hurrican will sell you a skeg and skeg box along with installation instructions if you want.
As far as speed, I’d say it’s about average for you 16 -17 foot seakayak.
Scupperfrank
added a skeg to his wife’s Tracer. He said it mad all the difference.
Tracer Pro
The Tracer Pro – same dimensions as the Tracer but with a deeper v hull and more rocker – was also being manufactured along with the standard Tracer. The Pro model, which is now discontinued, is really a great boat. Just adding this because some of those reporting in on the “early Tracer” may in fact be talking about the Pro model.
On account of it’s hull, the Pro is noticeably twitchier but also tracks better without a skeg than the standard model.
I have a “Pro”.
It is twitchy. If it tracks better that the standard I would hate to paddle a standard.
I did not know there were 2 different configurations. I know the current models have a larger and stronger skeg than my 04 boat. They have also added thigh braces.
Tracer Pro or Tracer?
water walker would the decals on the hull say “Tracer Pro” as opposed to “Tracer”, or would you have to look for a more subtle way to distinguish between the two?
Tracer Pro
My Tracer Pro decal reads Tracer in large letters and “Pro” in smaller letters.
I HAD ONE ADDED TO SALLY’S TRACER…
…by one of the folks at Florida Bay Outfitters -I didn’t do it myself. Was scared to screw up a pretty good boat if I made a mistake.
But sans skeg, Sally’s early model Tracer (a Pro? I dunno -donm’t say so) would turn on a dime and give you not 9 but 19 -cents change, as the saying goes. Friend of ours who drove a pretty (straight-line) fast 18’ Heritage Expedition SOT took it out and exclaimed “it’s fast but I’m going in circles!”. And Grayhawk took it out an -well, you heard what HE had to say…
As far as speed goes, it’s faster than many and slower than some, and it’s the engine as well as the hull…
So we got a skeg on a REALLY “maneuverable” (vs. squirrelly) boat and it behaved much better. Now Sally can far more easily and enjoyably and at decent speed get from Point A to Point B when she takes the Tracer out to
PADDLE ON!
Frank in Miami