Tracker Targa V-18 WT (2014-)

Brief Summary

If ever there was an aluminum boat that crosses over from tournament-level fishing to just being used to enjoy a day on the water with the family, the Tracker Targa V-18 WT is it. She comes completely rigged for wetting a line right down to the fishfinder and trolling motor. Her relatively high freeboard translates to a deep cockpit to keep the kids more secure. The result is a relatively inexpensive boat that has lots of utility. We tested her with a 150-hp Mercury 4-stroke and reached a top speed of 45.5 mph.

Key Features

• Diamond coat finish with industry-exclusive acrylic powder coat paint and clear coat
• 2-piece, all-welded Deep V aluminum hull with 20-degree deadrise
• Minn Kota 24V, 70-lb. thrust PowerDrive trolling motor with foot pedal storage
• Lowrance Mark-5x fishfinder with 320 pixels and surface temperature
• 2 side rod and gear boxes hold rods up to 7' and bow/aft/in-floor storage
• Bow 19-gal. aerated livewell and aft 55-gal. aerated livewell
• Aft boarding platform with ladder
• 4 high-style upholstered seats/7 seat locations
• Custom factory-matched trailer with EZ lube hubs and swing-away tongue

Test Results

Specifications

Length Overall	19' 1'' / 5.82 m
Beam	102'' 2.59 m
Dry Weight	1,730 lbs. 785 kg
Tested Weight	2,845 lbs. 1,290 kg
Draft	N/A
Deadrise/Transom	20-deg.
Max Headroom	open
Bridge Clearance	N/A
Weight Capacity	1,650 lbs. 748 kg
Person Capacity	6
Fuel Capacity	40 gal. 151 L
Water Capacity	N/A
Total Weight	2,845 lbs. 1,290 kg

Acceleration Times & Conditions

Time to Plane	2.8 sec.
0 to 30	7.2 sec.
Ratio	N/A
Props	14 1/4 x 18 Enertia
Load	2 persons, full fuel, no water, 50 lbs. of fuel
Climate	82 deg., 73 humid.; wind: 5-10 mph; seas: light chop

Engine Options

Tested Engine	1 x 150-hp Mercury FourStroke
Std. Power	Not Available
Opt. Power	1 x 115-hp Mercury EXLPT 4-stroke EFI 1 x 150-hp Mercury XL 4-stroke 1 x 150-hp Mercury Verado XL

Warranty

Deck Warranty Extended	Limited Lifetime

Captain's Report Learn More
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Mission Statement

The Tracker Targa V-18 WT was designed to be a tournament-class fishing machine that could perform double duty as a family day boat for watersports. She has versatile seating that can be used for fishing from two casting decks or for watersports and spotting a person being towed. Her 44% beam to length ratio and reverse chines makes her stable and it is possible for an adult to stand on the boat's wide gunwales without much horizontal deflection. This is an important attribute for both fishing and family boating.

Major Features

• Padded backrests for bow seating
• Diamond Coat powder-coat with clearcoat finish
• Dual fiberglass-reinforced molded consoles
• Lowrance Mark-5X fishfinder
• Stereo with Bluetooth capability
• Top loading rod lockers for rods up to 8’ (2.4 m)
• 11" (27.94 cm) wide gunwales
• Five pedestal seat base locations
• 19-gallon (71.92 L) bow livewell with bait bucket
• 48-gallon (181.7 L) stern livewell
• Minn Kota 70 lbs. (32 kg) thrust trolling motor with foot pedal storage
• Factory-matched single-axle trailer

Fishing Features

The Tracker Targa V-18 WT is billed as having everything needed for fishing, short of rods and bait, when she rolls off the showroom floor. Let's take a look at exactly what that entails.

Comfort Features

Safety Features

The Targa V-18 WT is also built with safety in mind. Aside from her deep cockpit depth these features also add to her family friendly characteristics.

Helm

Tracker created an attractive helm fabricated from fiberglass-reinforced molded plastic. It includes full instrumentation with a GPS-driven speedometer and direction indicator. A Lowrance Mark 5X fishfinder is included as standard equipment. The steering wheel is mounted to a tilt base connected to hydraulic steering.

Performance

The Tracker Targa V-18 WT has a length overall of 19'1" (5.82 m) and a beam of 102” (259.1 cm). With an empty weight of 1,730 lbs. (785 kg), full fuel, two people and test power we had a test weight of 2,845 lbs. (1,290 kg). With a 150-hp Mercury 4-stroke turning a 14.25 x 18 Enertia prop, we reached a top speed of 45.5 mph at 5500 rpm. At that speed, we were burning 13.9 gph giving us a range of 118 miles. Best cruise came in at 3000 rpm and 21 mph. That reduced the fuel burn to only 3.8 gph which translates to a range of 199 miles and an endurance of 9 hours and 30 minutes while still maintaining a 10% reserve.

Handling

Upon accelerating the bow comes up 11-degrees, and comes right back down immediately because she has such a quick time to plane. She turns quite well thanks to her reverse chines and leaned only 10-degrees into the turns. She does tend to bleed off a bit of speed in the turns, so don't hesitate to add power once the turn is initiated. However, if desired, go ahead and let the speed bleed off, and at a certain point she'll spin out in the turn, then you can accelerate off in the next direction. When taking power off she settles back into the water stern first.

Warranty

• The following items are part of the Tracker Warranty —
• 5-year bow-to-stern warranty
• 3-year warranty on powder coat finish adhesion
• 3-year warranty on factory-installed trolling motor and fishfinder
• Limited Lifetime structural and deck warranty
• Provisions for transfer to second owner
• One-stop factory warranty solution
• Full coverage throughout the warranty period — no pro-rating

Observations

There’s certainly a lot to like with the Tracker Targa V-18 WT. She does live up to her billing as being completely ready to fish right off the showroom floor and as a family day boat, well… all that's missing is the cooler.