Stratos ASX motor off center on transom

[bhinkle]

Hey guys, is there anyone out there besides me that has a Stratos ASX with the holes drilled off center on the transom? I purchased my asx used, and noticed that the motor was sitting on the boat at an angle. I did some "riggin" and placed a 1/8" ss bracket under the motor mounts where it sits on the jk plate. It lined up the engine like it should be, or as close as i could get it. I measured the transom holes and they are 100% off. The holes in the back trough or back splash is the easiest way to measure. i called stratos and they said that they would make it right, but i would have to pull the boat to TN and leave it with them for a while. Who has time for that? Maybe this October once my new baby is born i will take it up there bc i know my wife isnt going to let me doing any fishing once he gets here. mixed feelings... sad i cant fish, happy to have a boy!
If anyone else out there has a crooked motor on the transom, i would love to here if you took it to stratos or if you corrected the issue your self.

[Javelin389]

I seem to remember Todd saying they could be off slightly, like within a 1/4" or so and be fine. I know mine is slightly off to.

[bhinkle]

Do you have an ASX?

[bhinkle]

My was off so bad that when i put the boat on the trailer, and trim down the motor on the motor toater, i had to push the motor toater to the right just so the motor would fit in the toat. Running down the lake, it was flat out scary until i straightened up the motor. my engine 225 ho has so much torque, then the motor not being lined up on the pad, I couldnt turn the boat left with out jumping everywhere. it was horrible.

[F150owner]

I have had that before on other boats.

A trick I would do would be to put the jackplate in a bind to line up the engine. Usually this was to correct the engine being 1/4 off center. I would get the motor height right, then tighten down one side of the jackplate tight. Then, I would use the big nut and turn the bolt to raise the plate where I needed it. Then, I would tighten it down and release the tension on the centerline bolt (if you don't, the plate could pop on you). Sometimes it worked, sometimes didn't.

The danger is that if your motor is too much off center, this trick will not be good for your jackplate. Also, hitting a big wake could flex the jackplate and make it pop back to where it wants to be naturally.

Use this tip at your own risk and I don't recommend you try this if your engine is way off.

[Javelin389]

200ProXL, but it's not off by much. If you look at it just right you can see.

[Stratos Luver]

I have had 3 Stratos 201s and one of the older ones had holes off center 1/2inch. I love my Stratos and regard every thing about the boat highly beyond the competition, but that type of thing really looks bad as far as craftsmanship goes. I really don't think it should make a difference in preformance. I would definately take them up on their offer to fix it.

[21XDC]

Thats pretty sad for boats this expensive... My wife won't even allow me to hang a picture crooked let alone a 10-15K motor on a 20K dollar boat.

[bhinkle]

i have owned 5 stratos boats in my life, matter of fact i have owned no other brand. this ASX is the only boat that i have had any issue with pertaining to the hull. I think the reason the holes being off has effected my ASX bc the ASX is a lighter and has a smaller pad than other hulls. Stratos said that it shouldnt make that big of a difference either, but on that ASX it makes a HUGE difference. Before i "rigged" it up and straightened it myself, i could be running down the lake just cruising at around 74-75mph GPS and let off the throttle a bit, or just trim down a bit, and the boat wanted to catch the left side really bad and start bouncing so bad you could bearly hold it. Of course now with my "riggin", it doesnt do it anymore and i feel safer running at higher speeds knowing that if i let off the gas the boat isnt going to flip on me.
Like i said, Stratos said that they was going to fix it, so as long as they correct the issue, I have no beef with them and will continue to buy their boats... if they dont, then they will lose a good customer.

[Justin T - CT]

Thats freakin scary......im checkin mine now

[bhinkle]

i got a friend in dawsonville who has almost identical yellow ASX as mine but he has a 250 yamaha hpdi. He brought his over to the house one day and thats when we both noticed that his motor was perfectly aligned. we went back and looked at mine, and you could see it with the naked eye how bad mine was off. I took pictures of it just in case no one believed me... Also, when i looked at the bottom of the boat (pad), looking from the front to the transom, the scag or propshaft was aligned with the left side corner pad, almost 4 inches off from the center pad. I really couldnt believe it how could this get past stratos's QA. Honestly, it is still not dead center, but it is close enough to where i can hold it. The guy i bought it from sold it most likely bc he couldnt drive it. Heck, i couldnt hardly drive it myself with the motor like that. Now that it is "rigged", i love driving it, it is definately an speed rush. The person in the passenger seat may not like it so much though.. my brother said he couldnt breath and couldnt move the wind resistance was so strong.

I'd sell my house before i would get rid of my Stratos ASX!

[F150owner]

Bryan,

My opinion is that the ASX has a really good ride. It has the triple step pad and, if one knows how to drive the animal, it handles quite well. When I test drove an ASX a couple years ago, I didn't get a chance to open it up all the way, but the ride surprised me. Don't blame you for wanting to hang on to it.

[Darth VMAX]

I think it is one of the best lookin bassers ever made. I just wish they had made a DC. The seats and yellow windshield ROCKED!

[vafishing]

MY Champion, same factory as Stratos, had the motor mis-mounted when I got it. Champion paid to have a local shop have the holes filled, re-gelleed, and then reset correctly. Ask Stratos if their is a local shop that they are comfortable with doing this repair for them.

[gotmy5]

my 201 was the same way but since my boat went back to stratos for 2 other things it was cheaper for me to have my local glass shop do it than drive the boat back to stratos but i have to take the boat back this winter again so who knows

[bhinkle]

lucky for me, i am only a 3 hour drive to Murphyborro, TN. But still an inconvience.

[MD 20i]

the question is, when will stratos get to it to fix it. Been waiting a month on my boat to see when they wont me to bring it. BTW 6.5 hours for me.

[bhinkle]

heck, i'm waiting until fall, i use my boat too much now.

[bhinkle]

update on the motor off center. i used a spacer and stuck it under the port side transom mount to off set it... it works like a charm now. that really helped out my issues. the boat handles much better now!

[genemelow]