stratos 180 vt in ga

[CUDA]

Glad we could help you out!

I could not drive anything nice thru salt covered streets , just got back from NY , friends and family use winter cars for days when the roads are covered,

unless you trade up all the time , but for keepers no.

The only reason I've been so negative on the VT 20 is because I've heard many others try to make them GO and no one tried as hard as Fly $$$$$ and all failed .

Did I have fun with my VT 20 yes but I wasted much time and never got past 80 something, no GPS back then.

I really am sorry for hurting any feelings , they are a pretty boat , have fun enjoy .

Your boat looks beautiful.

PS please don't tell anyone but years ago when I was a landlord I sprayed many ceilings with popcorn , I must have been good because a local drywall company use to call

me , gets to be a bitch holding than hopper over your head

[Scott Tharpe]

This hull 18', was my very for go fast/speed boat(don't laugh) but sold it and bought a V-21(big jump). Mine was waterlogged and I removed the deck and all of the saturated flotation in the gunnels. I rigged my V-21 with the 200 MERC that was on the Stratos and put a JohnRude 225 on the Stratos to sell. I can honestly say the boat was not that heavy after all the work and would actually air out pretty good. There were a few time it felt like it was gunna blow over. I only ran it a couple of times and never full out wide open because I was trying to sell and didn't want to blow motor up. It does have good lines and the 20 looks even better than the 18.
With all this being said, I think with a lot of work, someone could make these run decent. Not like a liteweight Allison or STV but would still move pretty good. And hey, we all have to start somewhere and everyone can't run out and buy a 20-30K rig as their intro to this hobby. my .02

Scott

[stokernick]

Glad we could help you out!

I could not drive anything nice thru salt covered streets , just got back from NY , friends and family use winter cars for days when the roads are covered,

unless you trade up all the time , but for keepers no.

The only reason I've been so negative on the VT 20 is because I've heard many others try to make them GO and no one tried as hard as Fly $$$$$ and all failed .

Did I have fun with my VT 20 yes but I wasted much time and never got past 80 something, no GPS back then.

I really am sorry for hurting any feelings , they are a pretty boat , have fun enjoy .

Your boat looks beautiful.

PS please don't tell anyone but years ago when I was a landlord I sprayed many ceilings with popcorn , I must have been good because a local drywall company use to call

me , gets to be a bitch holding than hopper over your head

I wouldn't say Fly failed, I think he learned a lot about set up and lightening up a waterlogged foam hull, plus took a 70mph suzucki powered hull to 99mph with engine upgrades!

[CUDA]

If you say so Dad.
Happy New Yeah

[58Evinrude]

This hull 18', was my very for go fast/speed boat(don't laugh) but sold it and bought a V-21(big jump). Mine was waterlogged and I removed the deck and all of the saturated flotation in the gunnels. I rigged my V-21 with the 200 MERC that was on the Stratos and put a JohnRude 225 on the Stratos to sell. I can honestly say the boat was not that heavy after all the work and would actually air out pretty good. There were a few time it felt like it was gunna blow over. I only ran it a couple of times and never full out wide open because I was trying to sell and didn't want to blow motor up. It does have good lines and the 20 looks even better than the 18.
With all this being said, I think with a lot of work, someone could make these run decent. Not like a liteweight Allison or STV but would still move pretty good. And hey, we all have to start somewhere and everyone can't run out and buy a 20-30K rig as their intro to this hobby. my .02

Scott

I wish mine would air out, it runs stuck to the water. When I built the new transom I made it so I could bolt the V8 on the transom with the propshaft even with the keel. That didn't work, so I added a 6" setback. I've only tried 2 props so far, a 30 ET and a 28 Raker. The 28 works better, I get a bit of bow lift with it. The 30 ET slips like mad, no matter where I set engine height. My thought now is that the V8 is just too heavy, so I'm gonna try a 225 Rude next.

[Scott Tharpe]

I wish mine would air out, it runs stuck to the water. When I built the new transom I made it so I could bolt the V8 on the transom with the propshaft even with the keel. That didn't work, so I added a 6" setback. I've only tried 2 props so far, a 30 ET and a 28 Raker. The 28 works better, I get a bit of bow lift with it. The 30 ET slips like mad, no matter where I set engine height. My thought now is that the V8 is just too heavy, so I'm gonna try a 225 Rude next.

Have you gutted the boat and removed all flotation?

[half fast]

Scott , did that stratos come from milledgeville ? Did it have a gt 150 on it ?

[Scott Tharpe]

Nah, Mine was from around here(AUGUSTA). It was Doo Doo Brown and Gold in Color. It was rigged for Merc but I re rigged it and sold it with a JohnRude. Believe it or not, Stratos replaced the transom under warranty that only had a month left in a their 5 year warranty. Came down and picked it up and brought it back. It could have been painted after it left me.

[CUDA]

OMC owned Stratos , Pat Eves was a factory service rep , He told me the factory crushed the molds because of law suits from the Hooking problem .

When I was selling my boat some guy paid me $500.00 to bring the boat to the east coast for a test ride / deliver , while on the test ride he said now turn hard...

He paid me 500.00 and I drove back to Naples with the boat, someone told him about the OTHER problem.

[58Evinrude]

Have you gutted the boat and removed all flotation?

Yup, I pulled the deck off, and gutted the hull. Pulled out close to 500 pounds of waterlogged foam and rotten floor. Put in a new 3/8" floor, 3/4" knees, and a 2" transom. I only put in 2 front buckets, no back seat, no carpet. I raised the transom about 5" so I could get the motor higher without a jackplate, figuring I wouldn't need one with the weight of the V8. That didn't work, so I added a 6" manual jack.

The boat drives nice, handles rough water well, but it won't pick up the nose! I even switched to a Fastrak clamp on the V8 to give me more trim angle. I've tried engine heights from 2" below to 2" above the center sponson with not a lot of difference.

It's got a 20 gallon gas tank centered in the stern, as far back as I can get it. The battery is on the port side at the back, and the oil tank is centered in front of the gas tank. I'll be looking for lighter seats this year, the one in it are out of a V-King and are pretty heavy. And I only weigh about 150 pounds, so I don't need to get lighter.

[58Evinrude]

OMC owned Stratos , Pat Eves was a factory service rep , He told me the factory crushed the molds because of law suits from the Hooking problem .

When I was selling my boat some guy paid me $500.00 to bring the boat to the east coast for a test ride / deliver , while on the test ride he said now turn hard...

He paid me 500.00 and I drove back to Naples with the boat, someone told him about the OTHER problem.

I'm guessing the OTHER problem is the soaked foam?

[CUDA]

Yup, I pulled the deck off, and gutted the hull. Pulled out close to 500 pounds of waterlogged foam and rotten floor. Put in a new 3/8" floor, 3/4" knees, and a 2" transom. I only put in 2 front buckets, no back seat, no carpet. I raised the transom about 5" so I could get the motor higher without a jackplate, figuring I wouldn't need one with the weight of the V8. That didn't work, so I added a 6" manual jack.

The boat drives nice, handles rough water well, but it won't pick up the nose! I even switched to a Fastrak clamp on the V8 to give me more trim angle. I've tried engine heights from 2" below to 2" above the center sponson with not a lot of difference.

It's got a 20 gallon gas tank centered in the stern, as far back as I can get it. The battery is on the port side at the back, and the oil tank is centered in front of the gas tank. I'll be looking for lighter seats this year, the one in it are out of a V-King and are pretty heavy. And I only weigh about 150 pounds, so I don't need to get lighter.

OMG you worked you A$$ OFF , I would say move the motor back a little more .

Back in about 1983 ish I was racing MVP and they came out with that design , we were racing on the Ohio river and Chris Bush the factory driver blew over right in front of

me, another race up in NY was windy , rough as could be and Summerford? would not even put his boats in the water, He redesigned the hull to the one that we now know as

the

STV the BEST hull design EVER for HP boating , on calm water.

[58Evinrude]

OMG you worked you A$$ OFF , I would say move the motor back a little more .

Back in about 1983 ish I was racing MVP and they came out with that design , we were racing on the Ohio river and Chris Bush the factory driver blew over right in front of

me, another race up in NY was windy , rough as could be and Summerford? would not even put his boats in the water, He redesigned the hull to the one that we now know as

the

STV the BEST hull design EVER for HP boating , on calm water.

I did! I also learned a lot about doing glass and epoxy work from a buddy that does it for a living. He got me pointed in the right direction, and was always there to help me out and teach me. I got a great deal on the package, and by doing it myself the dollars spent weren't that many.

I've thought about more setback, but that 500 pound motor has the a$$ end of the boat almost underwater now when it's sitting. If I set it back anymore I'm worried it's gonna sink at my dock! Do you know what kind of a set back these had from the factory? They had to have something, cause with the stock transom you can't bolt a motor directly to the boat.

[WillySteve]

IMO too much weight on the rear! Grab a stout 2.5 and 10" setback and it will wake up!
Just my 2CTS!!!!

[CUDA]

Yeah those V8s are ... heavy, I would find another motor , if going fast is really your goal, a Optimax would get twice the gas mileage , a good 2.5 is hard to beat also.

The question is How much money do you want to spend?