176XT?

I was wondering what you thought of this boat? Anyone have one? I looked at dealership today and they had one with a 75Etec and priced at $16,298.

I have heard nothing but great things about that boat.. it is one of stratos best sellers for people in that market.. It is priced to compete with the top end aluminum boats but you get all the benefits of a nice fiberglass boat and quality of a stratos.. this is priced to compete with the aluminums but performance and quality wise they are in two seperate classes...
I have not heard of any problems with the 176 or 186xt and dont know anyone who has not been happy with their purchase. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/smile.gif

These boats have been very popular. They're basic fishing boats for the fisherman who doesn't want a large boat, who doesn't need or want to blow down the lake at 70 mph, who wants a Stratos, and who simply wants to get out on the water without a lot of flash & frills. They don't have a deep V hull like a bass boat, more of a skiff type hull. They are much more stable than a V hull boat because of the hull design.

The hull on both the 176XT and 186XT handles the smaller engines very well. The 176XT does well with the 12v trolling motor too. They are priced right and they've been selling pretty well. I think the 176XT has been one of the best selling Stratos boats the last two years. They are very popular at the boat shows. Stratos rolled out the 186XT because the 176XT was so popular. Hope this helps. http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif

That's under what they're required to advertise it at.....it's a good deal! Buy with confidence.....you'll love the boat on the water.

I bet she runs pretty strong with that 75 ETEC too! http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/glasses.gif

They also had a 186 with a 115etc foe around23,000,I think I will go take another look.

I bought the 176XT last fall. Have a 60 E-Tec on it. I did upgrade the trolling motor to a 55Lb. thrust Minn kota. I will upgrade later to a 24 volt system. The fish finder that came with the boat I re-mounted up front. I installed a HummingBird where the Lowrance was.
I love the boat, it's all I need. I had a 17'6"' Lowe (metal) what a difference.
With the 60E-Tec I get 35 mph based on GPS, that's loaded with all my gear and a full tank of gas. I don't need to go any faster especially given the gas mileage I get with the E-Tec.
You won't be sorry....

One of the problems I am seeing with the 176 is a rod locker under 7ft,is it really that small? It has room for another battery?

I can get three 71/2 foot rods in the rod locker. The tubes that are the upper middle three. If you remove the plate where the front trim switch is located you'll see the additional room in the bow area..