Re: decision help
Ahoy, Pete.
Welcome to iboats.
Don't "cheap" yourselves into a boat you will hate very quickly.
Tracker boat/outboard packages are always offered underpowered and under-equipped. Then they jack up the price to properly power and equip them. Further, it is the opinion of this fisherman that there are several brands of panfishermen's (and fisherwomen's) boats that are better quality and better equipped than Trackers. They, too, can be financed.
Shop around. The Pro Crappie 175 is about the right size, but equip a better quality boat with an outboard of about 70% of it's rated power and quality troller and electronics. Evinrude's ETEC is a better value than other clean, economical 60HP outboards
You might be surprized that you will not be spending much more than for an "upgraded" Tracker.