Bass club member is looking into a different boat for himself. I only have experience /w nitros and my current ranger and Z-E-R-O /w stratus so hopefully somebody here does.I have just as much info so far as the ad says. No idea (yet) on motor hours or maintenance. thoughts?

ive been on a ton of boats and I own stratos... I love them... I have a 295 pro xl. with a 175 hp. though its rated for a 200 but I fly. rangers are nice but theyre sleds and too slow for me. fishing as a co angler ive been in a lot of boats. honestly theres not much difference. one boat I was very impressed with tho are phoenix. they fly and are super comfortable to ride in. and on the opposite side of the spectrum are basscat. in my opinion these boats are awful. very rough ride and the layout and setup of them are dumb in my opinion. theyre not a very well engineered boat... but for the money stratos is unbeatable. theyre light and fly. well though out and  simple.. I got more than enough storage in mine along. its not the greatest in rough water due to its light weight. but I fish lake erie a lot and the boat holds up great and I fly in rough water cuz im so confident in the boat. while bigger more expensive boats are just taking their time scared of the lake. a lot of the guys in my club run stratos and we all agree that livewell system are unbelievable. the guys that run stratos in our club, well theres a noticeable difference at the weight in about how much more lively our fish are. ive been fishing out of stratos for 5 years and only ever weight in one dead fish and that was because the fish swallowed a jerkbait and I killed the fish digging it out of its gills.... im 24 and for my style of fishing I truly think stratos is perfect for me. maybe once im older and wont run wide open everywhere I go my opinions my change but everyone is different and has theyre own preferences.

We own a 1999 stratos 273 vindicator and absolutely love it!!! We had a 1989 bumble bee before and although the bee was a tad faster I love the stratos good storage and the ride is awesome you just need to learn how to drive it

Tight lines

Andrew

A bit more info would have been helpful but as a hole, Stratos are very nice boats.  The newer models are probably a bit better in the fact, they a all composite hulls, and are lighter than the earlier models.  I've had about five of them, still have two, a 169V and a 285 Pro, plus I have a Javelin Renegade DC20 built by Stratos.  Have no complaints with any of them.   The early models, 80's - early 90s had open cell foam in them and if they were stored outside and rained on, the foam was very apt to get water logged, adding several hundred pounds to the boat and about the only way to get it out was to remove the floor.