Sun Tracker Party Barge 24 For Sale

The Sun Tracker Party Barge 24 is a triple-tube pontoon boat built for family entertaining, with rated capacity for 12 guests. Sold in 24 DLX and 24 XP3 form, the boat carries a length overall of 26 feet 2 inches and a beam of 8 feet 6 inches, with an empty weight of 3,950 pounds. The third tube in the XP3 performance package adds lift and improves handling, and the molded strakes along the tubes contribute the lift that lets the boat plane quickly. Anyone shopping a 24-foot Sun Tracker party barge for sale is looking at a craft aimed squarely at days of swimming, towing and lounging.

Performance comes from a single outboard, with a standard 150-horsepower engine and an optional 200-horsepower Mercury Verado. Fitted with the supercharged Verado 200 turning a 14¾ x 16 inertia prop, the Sun Tracker Party Barge 24 XP3 reached a top speed of 40.5 mph at 6,200 RPM while burning 19.75 gallons per hour, for a range of 65 miles. Best cruise landed at 3,000 RPM and 15.4 mph, dropping fuel consumption to 3.2 gallons per hour and stretching range to 152 miles with an endurance of 9 hours 48 minutes at a 10 percent reserve. Time to plane was 3.4 seconds, with 20 mph reached in 4.4 seconds and 30 mph in 7.6 seconds. The triple-tube hull comes up on plane from a near-level attitude, stays flat through gentle turns and leans slightly to the outside in harder turns.

The helm pairs a smoked windscreen with two gauges set in a faux-wood panel and switches to either side. The steering wheel mounts to a tilt base, and the boat can be ordered with SeaStar hydraulic steering and digital drive-by-wire throttle control. A Jensen stereo with MP3 jack and Bluetooth streaming feeds four directional speakers, two aft and two in the bow. The bucket helm seat slides, swivels and includes flip-up armrests over multi-density foam. Storage under the helm console fits a cooler and holds a dedicated fire extinguisher mount.

Seating runs the full length of the deck. The stern carries a starboard couch for three to four people with a double-wide aft-facing chaise lounge opposite for sunning, and the bow adds port and starboard couches with an underseat cargo net. An L-shaped sofa across from the helm keeps the captain in the conversation and conceals an aluminum lock box for valuables, addressing the open-layout storage problem common to a pontoon boat. Drink holders attach with Velcro and can be repositioned anywhere, and two table mounts are provided, one in the bow and one amidships. All seats use roto-cast molded bases for no-rot, no-wood construction with UV-resistant marine-grade vinyl upholstery.

Deck detailing separates wet and dry zones, with vinyl non-skid from the cockpit aft transitioning to carpeting forward. A 9-foot color-matched bimini top shades the cockpit and includes lighting for use after dark, complementing the courtesy lighting. The full-width swim platform has a deep four-step reboarding ladder to starboard, and a pop-up changing room with a built-in bench seat deploys from beneath the aft lounge. The battery sits under the lifting aft lounge section, secured with corner braces. When weighing a 24 DLX or XP3 purchase, points to consider include padding under the carpet and cleats mounted higher on the fences to reduce trip hazards.