Stratos HP rating

[tnsportsman86]

I had a 1993 285 proxl Stratos for 8 years and recently sold it. The plate near the gear shifter said it was rated for a 175 even though I had a 150 intruder on it. I purchased a 2004 stratos 285 pro xl with a 150. I was going to invest in a 175, but the plate near the shifter on this one says 150 max. Why would the older hull be rated for 175 and the newer hull only be rated for a 150?

[Darksiede]

With 11 years difference between those boats, there was 1 if not 2 model redesigns in there, and they switched over to full composite in 97/98. It's simply not rated the same as the older model was due to those changes.

[Nightmare]

The earlier 285s were rated for 175. Later, Stratos came out with a 285 and 285 Magnum - the 285 rated at 150 and the Magnum at 175.... Some folks say it was a marketing strategy to sell the Magnum for a jacked up price with no difference in the hulls. Not saying one way or another myself but I could picture that since if hulls measured out same, coast guard formula don't care what name is slapped on it.

Just sayin'.

[Les Young]

I'm sure somebody will come along & tell me i'm wrong like they have before, but Stratos its self told me the magnum series was 1/2" wider in the rubrail which let it be rated for 175. I know i had a 2003 Javelin series 185 with 150 rating & an 04 285 magnum with 175 rating & according to stratos there was 12 lbs. difference in hull weight too. Both boats came rigged identically with basic lowrance x 51s at console & trolling motor & a two bank dual pro charger & that was it other then color for the ones that i had.

[JR19]

Do a search here in the archives of this forum for a post that is a few years old. I will try to recall the information from memory so hopefully I get it correct. The formula from the coast guard on how marine manufactures rate HP on a boats under 20 ft long is...Length X Width X 2 then subtract 90 and round UP to the nearest number in an increment of 5.

IF am manufacture wants to they can choose to rate for less HP than the formula allows but they can not exceed the max number formula allows. This is what causes a lot of confusion. Every 285 that has been in production has the length and width to have a 175 HP rating, however there is times when Stratos chose to rate them at 150. This is primarily a marketing thing. 150 HP is a very common motor and it has a better price point than a 175. I will use the current price point of a Mercury 150 verses 175 as an example. To upgrade 25 more HP the 175 sells for around $1300 more. When selling a new boat $1300 can make or break a deal. Yes you get 25 more HP and yes there is a very small gain in performance but to a lot of consumers the extra cost added on a new boat is not worth the minimal performance gain. Most consumers want max HP. There is people out there that think if a boat is rated for 175 HP and it has a 150 that it is underpowered. To resolve this issue manufactures use their right to rate the hull at 150 even though the coast guard says its okay for 175 HP.

This is not a Stratos 285 thing nor is it a Stratos thing. There is other manufactures that have done the exact same thing in the past. It's all about marketing a boat at the best price point they can offer with the consumer not thinking he bought something underpowered. So for the ones that want max power they will offer something called a "magnum" package...well guess what...that sticker that says magnum package is simply just a sticker. There is zero difference in the hull features. There might be extra accessories/bells and whistle options but its the EXACT same hull that has the 150 rating but now with the magnum sticker its suddenly rated for 175. There was a few years when they did not call it a different name and they just applied the 175 sticker to the boat that was rigged with a 175 and applied a 150 sticker to boats that was rigged with a 150...this just made things more confusing for some people.

So using the coast guard formula I will use my boat as an example...

L=18 ft 9"
W=89"

18 can stay a whole number but 9" needs to be converted in a decimal version of a foot...so 9/12=.75....add the 18 and you get a width of 18.75 ft.
Now the width of 89" needs to be converted in a whole number...89/12= 7.41 is the width number for the formula.

L X W X 2 -90 round up to nearest increment of 5

18.75 X 7.41 = 139.06
139.06 X 2 = 278.125
278.125 - 90 = 188.125....round up to the nearest increment of 5....190 Horsepower

So my boat can be rated for 190 HP but Javelin chose to rate it for 175 HP BUT they hung a 150 on it at the assembly line. I owned my boat for 19 years and at no point in time have I felt underpowered with 150 HP. Now the strange thing is if you crunch my numbers and my boat was 1" longer OR 1" wider I could have a 200 HP rating.

[JR19]

I'm sure somebody will come along & tell me i'm wrong like they have before, but Stratos its self told me the magnum series was 1/2" wider in the rubrail which let it be rated for 175. I know i had a 2003 Javelin series 185 with 150 rating & an 04 285 magnum with 175 rating & according to stratos there was 12 lbs. difference in hull weight too. Both boats came rigged identically with basic lowrance x 51s at console & trolling motor & a two bank dual pro charger & that was it other then color for the ones that i had.

Les I think you're referring to me and some of our past discussions. Again I have zero doubt someone at Stratos told you what you said you heard. We have had this discussion in past so please don't feel like I am telling you that you are wrong because that is not my intent. I can show you the link to the coast guard formula if you have any doubts on my part. I have looked up the specifications to a non magnum 285 hull and it can be rated for 175 HP but Stratos chose to sometimes rate it for 150 HP.

I will use the most narrow number I found for a 285...85"

18ft 6" = 18.5
85" /12= 7.08

18.5 X 7.08 = 131.04 X 2= 262.08 -90 = 172.08...round up to the nearest increment of 5 and its 175 HP

Again I have zero doubts what you were told but it is possible they told you incorrect information. Everything I have posted thus far may be incorrect and if it is I will take ownership for it being incorrect because I done my research and I feel confident in the numbers and information I found. So as long as the numbers I researched are correct the math works out. The most narrow 285 I could find was 85" and the length was 18-1/2 ft. The formula states round up to the nearest increment of 5 so technically the most narrow 285 I could find could be rated for 175HP.

[tnsportsman86]

Do a search here in the archives of this forum for a post that is a few years old. I will try to recall the information from memory so hopefully I get it correct. The formula from the coast guard on how marine manufactures rate HP on a boats under 20 ft long is...Length X Width X 2 then subtract 90 and round UP to the nearest number in an increment of 5.

IF am manufacture wants to they can choose to rate for less HP than the formula allows but they can not exceed the max number formula allows. This is what causes a lot of confusion. Every 285 that has been in production has the length and width to have a 175 HP rating, however there is times when Stratos chose to rate them at 150. This is primarily a marketing thing. 150 HP is a very common motor and it has a better price point than a 175. I will use the current price point of a Mercury 150 verses 175 as an example. To upgrade 25 more HP the 175 sells for around $1300 more. When selling a new boat $1300 can make or break a deal. Yes you get 25 more HP and yes there is a very small gain in performance but to a lot of consumers the extra cost added on a new boat is not worth the minimal performance gain. Most consumers want max HP. There is people out there that think if a boat is rated for 175 HP and it has a 150 that it is underpowered. To resolve this issue manufactures use their right to rate the hull at 150 even though the coast guard says its okay for 175 HP.

This is not a Stratos 285 thing nor is it a Stratos thing. There is other manufactures that have done the exact same thing in the past. It's all about marketing a boat at the best price point they can offer with the consumer not thinking he bought something underpowered. So for the ones that want max power they will offer something called a "magnum" package...well guess what...that sticker that says magnum package is simply just a sticker. There is zero difference in the hull features. There might be extra accessories/bells and whistle options but its the EXACT same hull that has the 150 rating but now with the magnum sticker its suddenly rated for 175. There was a few years when they did not call it a different name and they just applied the 175 sticker to the boat that was rigged with a 175 and applied a 150 sticker to boats that was rigged with a 150...this just made things more confusing for some people.

So using the coast guard formula I will use my boat as an example...

L=18 ft 9"
W=89"

18 can stay a whole number but 9" needs to be converted in a decimal version of a foot...so 9/12=.75....add the 18 and you get a width of 18.75 ft.
Now the width of 89" needs to be converted in a whole number...89/12= 7.41 is the width number for the formula.

L X W X 2 -90 round up to nearest increment of 5

18.75 X 7.41 = 139.06
139.06 X 2 = 278.125
278.125 - 90 = 188.125....round up to the nearest increment of 5....190 Horsepower

So my boat can be rated for 190 HP but Javelin chose to rate it for 175 HP BUT they hung a 150 on it at the assembly line. I owned my boat for 19 years and at no point in time have I felt underpowered with 150 HP. Now the strange thing is if you crunch my numbers and my boat was 1" longer OR 1" wider I could have a 200 HP rating.

Awesome reply. Thank you for all the info. Makes sense. I will be happy with my 150 and if/when if goes I'll just put another 150 on it or upgrade boats. Once again thank you

[Les Young]

Les I think you're referring to me and some of our past discussions. Again I have zero doubt someone at Stratos told you what you said you heard. We have had this discussion in past so please don't feel like I am telling you that you are wrong because that is not my intent. I can show you the link to the coast guard formula if you have any doubts on my part. I have looked up the specifications to a non magnum 285 hull and it can be rated for 175 HP but Stratos chose to sometimes rate it for 150 HP.

I will use the most narrow number I found for a 285...85"

18ft 6" = 18.5
85" /12= 7.08

18.5 X 7.08 = 131.04 X 2= 262.08 -90 = 172.08...round up to the nearest increment of 5 and its 175 HP

Again I have zero doubts what you were told but it is possible they told you incorrect information. Everything I have posted thus far may be incorrect and if it is I will take ownership for it being incorrect because I done my research and I feel confident in the numbers and information I found. So as long as the numbers I researched are correct the math works out. The most narrow 285 I could find was 85" and the length was 18-1/2 ft. The formula states round up to the nearest increment of 5 so technically the most narrow 285 I could find could be rated for 175HP.

Gene, I wasn't talking about you at all. Heck when you've posted something i've found it to be right. While we're at it though the ones i had were suppose to be a 90" beam.

[JR19]

Gene, I wasn't talking about you at all. Heck when you've posted something i've found it to be right. While we're at it though the ones i had were suppose to be a 90" beam.

Yeah I found different beam lengths when doing my research, hence the reason I used the most narrow and it still comes up to 172.08 and it rounds up to the nearest increment of 5 making the most narrow beam eligible for 175 HP

[Les Young]

Yeah I found different beam lengths when doing my research, hence the reason I used the most narrow and it still comes up to 172.08 and it rounds up to the nearest increment of 5 making the most narrow beam eligible for 175 HP

[Musky Mike]

I seem to remember when I bought my 2004 285 Pro XL the 285 Magnum was the same hull, but had blinker trim, hot foot, Hyd steering and 6" jack plate as standard. Dealer told me if I wanted to get a 175 engine to get the 285 Magnum, but if I wanted a 150 engine to get the standard 285 Pro XL and option it with the same equipment and it was a lot cheaper. I wanted the Yamaha F150, so I got the standard 285 Pro XL, and got all those options and the 150 rating. I think the 285 Magnum and 175 rating was to make a few more bucks, hulls were the same.

[tnsportsman86]

I seem to remember when I bought my 2004 285 Pro XL the 285 Magnum was the same hull, but had blinker trim, hot foot, Hyd steering and 6" jack plate as standard. Dealer told me if I wanted to get a 175 engine to get the 285 Magnum, but if I wanted a 150 engine to get the standard 285 Pro XL and option it with the same equipment and it was a lot cheaper. I wanted the Yamaha F150, so I got the standard 285 Pro XL, and got all those options and the 150 rating. I think the 285 Magnum and 175 rating was to make a few more bucks, hulls were the same.

I agree. my buddies had a 2004 magnum and it had the exact same motor as mine just a 175. I would love a 175 on mine but I heard that you won't see much difference from a 150 to a 175, but 150 to a 200 you would.

[Les Young]

I agree. my buddies had a 2004 magnum and it had the exact same motor as mine just a 175. I would love a 175 on mine but I heard that you won't see much difference from a 150 to a 175, but 150 to a 200 you would.

The 03 185 with 150 johnson & 8" plate i had would run 63 & the 2004 285 magnum would run 66.8. I had way to much gear in both. When i sold the 185 i got 5 of the big green trash bags of plastics & odds & ends out of it.