[JohnB]

I have a 89 Tracker/SeaCraft. Some of the rigging was a little cheapened on it (leaky hatch on a Sceptre, etc), but overall, very solid boat. Wiring was a little scary too. I looked at alot of them before and after I bought mine.

The brand has had it's problems more recently, but most everything I have seen made before 1990 has looked good.
Personally, I don't think there was much of a falloff the first couple of years Tracker built them, and if you go to buy one, I haven't seen the price break or rise around those years. Most of these boats have wet transoms in them by the time they get to 10-15 years old. I also don't think the initial design on these was up to snuff for the big/heavy/powerful motors we have now, especially 4 strokes. If you look at alot of the transom rebuilds on this site, they have gone way beyond the original design on the transoms in both materials and construction.

As far as quality/design goes, IMHO, the "Potter Hull" is a myth. Carl Mosley (or C. Moesly as it is on the patent) was the one that designed the the varible deadrise, and really helped revolutionize the mass produced fiberglass boat industry. I have run into some people down here in Florida that worked with/for SeaCraft when he owned the company, and he took a very personal role in the quality of the hulls. All that I could tell that Potter and Tracker did, was make molds off an exiting mold/design and lamination schedule. Potter had a more consistant track record of quality than Tracker has. I think Potter's best claim to fame is the SeaMark bracket, pricey, but sweet...

I don't mean to offend anyones boat, or "beliefs" here [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] in the legendary Potter hull. I would concentrate on the condition of the boat and how it was maintained. I think any of them made before 1990 were sweet.