Stratos 189V carpet job/pics

[chillywillie]

Posted this over in the restoration forum as well, but thought I'd add it to the Stratos forum as well.....

Just finishing up the carpet job on the Stratos I recently picked up. Just a few more things to install on the main floor (hot foot, cup holder, drain covers, etc) and the interior is done:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/...hotos

Thanks to bassboatcarpets.com for the carpet kit itself and for the service/advice afterwards!

The side pics of the boat really don't do it justice as the outside is as clean as the inside is. Also, as you can see I'm working on the trailer as well - it had some pretty bad rusted areas from sitting for 20 years. So I've been sanding/priming/painting as well. I've got to redo the surge brake system, replace a couple of hubs, and replace the wood on the inside of the wheel wells.

All in all, I got to say I'm pretty happy of this 1986 Stratos - hard to believe it's 20 years old!

[Kbass]

chilly, nice looking job on the carpet. I'm thinking about redoing mine next year over the winter.

[chillywillie]

Thanks! It's not actually too bad of a job. I did it all myself (no help) so I can really see where having a helper would make it an easier job. I think I've got somewhere around 35-40 hours into it, but I really took my time.

I forgot to mention the overall cost I have in this boat:
boat: $2495 (bought from BBC sponsor Pro's Choice Marine, new powerhead a few years ago, and a new lower power pack installed at time of pickup)
taxes/title/reg: @ $200 in IL
carpet: $175 from bassboatcarpets.com
carpet supplies: $50 (glue, etc)
tires: $120 (although I do have some Marathons and new rims on order)
other supplies: @ $100

So I'm about $3140 into this boat right now, figure by the time I fix the brakes and then have my buddy (Bullet/Mercury dealer) once over the engine and fix the leaky trim seal I'll hopefully be at @ $3500. Based on other Strat's I've seen for sale from the 1986 time frame, I'll be sitting pretty with a super clean boat at a very reasonable investment.

[Kbass]

You cant beat $3500, everything trimmed out and ready to go. Sounds like you'll have plenty to spend on actually fishing while alot of us are paying for our boats.

Kbass

[chillywillie]

Price is really important to me right now for a few reasons:
1) Getting married this Sept. Lot of money disappears between the wedding, honeymoon, etc.
2) We just bought our first house last Sept.
3) Other than the house, I am debt free as of the beginning of this month, and it is a wonderful feeling. First time in years I haven't had a car payment, or credit card payments, or a boat payment, etc.

Funny thing is that the house is what sold me on getting another boat. We're on a 450 acre private lake that supposedly has really good fishing. I can literally be on the water for at least a couple of hours every day if I want (boat ramp is less than 1/2 mile from my house). They've got a weekly Sunday bass tourney spring-fall, and I've been told by quite a few people that a few 5-6 lbers are brought in each time. Now while 5-6 lbs for you southern guys might be a baby, here in IL that's a good solid fish. It's been a few years since I've even fished (really since 2001 when I had to sell the Skeeter), but I was good fisherman back in those days, so I'm hoping that it's like riding a bike. Crappie fishing is supposed to be good too and I do love to catch and clean some crappie.

The wife-to-be wanted a pontoon boat (ugh!). She tried to convince me that "you can still fish out of a pontoon boat". Thankfully, I won out on that argument and got the bass boat. I am thinking about having either the back of the boat or the trailer lettered up with something like "Her pontoon boat" or "She wanted a pontoon" or something like that. Wonder if she'll find that funny.....probably not LOL!

[chillywillie]

Just finished up the Stratos and pulled her out of the garage. Just wanted to post a link to some pics of the final turnout:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/...rc=ph

Willie

[ChadASX]

Man Willie, your boat turned out awesome. Its hard to believe its 20 years old. You must have put in some serious time getting that rig to look that good. You should be very proud of the way it turned out, it looks great. Excellent work.