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  1. #1
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85

    1988 Stratos rebuild

    Hey guys, just starting a full rebuild/restoration of my 1988 16ft stratos bass boat. So far have almost finished gutting it. Gonna be replacing the stringers and transom over the corse of next week. Found a ton of really good information on this page so far.
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    Last edited by cooper.bohner; 01-15-2023 at 08:27 PM. Reason: more accurate title

  2. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85
    #2
    Finally got the old transom removed. I am assuming it had been redone in the past because the old transom was about 2-3" longer on one side then the other. After searching far and wide was finally able to get marine grade plywood. Have a 2" gap so picked up a sheet of 3/4" and 1/2" and will sandwich one piece of half between the two 3/4 pieces. Plan is to laminate with a thick layer of PL and gonna make sure to evenly spread it then glass it with 1700 biax and west systems. Then on to the stringers...
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  3. Member
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    May 2007
    Location
    Colonial Heights Virginia
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    5,103
    #3
    It will be a lot of work but a soild result when finished,

  4. Member
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    Feb 2014
    Location
    Central FL
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    761
    #4
    Keep us posted.

  5. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85
    #5

    Transom is in! + build overview

    Finally almost finished glassing the transom in. Gonna be a couple more small pieces of glass here and they're for support but a majority of the glass is on. Plan is for tomorrow to be able to get all of the supports cut for the transom and in place along with finishing removing the stringers. Just ordered 4g of 2lb pour foam which should cover 16ft^2 giving me 600lbs of reserved buoyancy. with the motor, battery, and gas the boat will most likely come up negative but not by much at all. Mostly just using the pour foam for some added structural integrity between the stringers. Right now I can easily lift up the boat pivoting it on the trailer so I know it is fairly light. A big plan with this build is to keep the weight to a minimum. Once I get the sub floor in the plan is to frame out the upper and rear decks out of aluminum angle iron which will cut a TON of weight. Oh and I forgot to mention the top deck was 1 1/2 of plywood! Then line the top of the deck with plywood and glass that plywood into the cap. Originally (or at least when I got the boat) it had a very strange lay out with all of the weight of the console, driver, and batteries all in the bow of the boat. Additionally I found about 10g of water trapped in the hull and a couple 100lbs of water logged pour foam which caused the boat, even on a plane, to want to keep the bow planted at all costs but non the less I was able to hit 39mph consistently... but I guzzled gas. Which I always contributed to the 1988 115 mercy just running WOT. But after my findings I'm starting to hope that some pretty crazy performance gains can be made. Non the less moving the consoles back will leave much more fishing room on the bow and allow me to run a massive rod locker (something I have really wanted/needed). In addition to the weight reduction Im hopping the aluminum gives a good bit of added longevity to the build as its one less thing to rot. And will frame out the custom hatch lids with aluminum square tube and affix plywood either right on top or reassessed into it somehow but I'm quite a bit aways from having to figure that out. ps. a handful of the hatch contents on the original drawing has been changed since but only in my head so far not on paper.

    Here is a link to some pictures. I have been trying my best to document the steps so I can possibly make some sort of informational video at the end but here is a couple quick pictures and videos so you guys can get a quick overview...

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fpw5Ps1rqsqNgNBt7

  6. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85
    #6
    Another highly productive day today. Finished a overwhelming majority of the transom fiberglass or at least all of the structural stuff, some slight cosmetic work may need to be done on the outside in addition to the fearing. And got all the old stringers removed, also got the transom supports cut. There is only 2 showing in the picture but also big pieces that fit in the corners along with a cross in the middle of the transom. Gonna hit the lumber yard in the morning to get one more sheet of marine plywood and then get all of the stringers cut to size tomorrow along with the transom supports all glued into place. Friday is the last crazy warm day here in NY so the plan is to then get everything that has to do with the transom glassed in.
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  7. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85
    #7

    The stringers are in! well sort of...

    Well the order of operations may have changed slightly but all of the main stringers are in place, and the back transom supports are all cut. Tomorrow some serious grinding and sanding needs to happen first but gonna get everything permanently in place with PL and ready for glass once that drys, super excited to be so close to the sub floor going in! I'm also running some tests on possible ways to treat a subfloor with epoxy and sub floor material but will post results tomorrow.

    Ps, I will be adding another small vertical support in the center of the transom and the piece that runs across it closer to the bow is temporary just to help keep everything square.
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  8. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85
    #8

    The stringers are set + test results

    Got the main stringers set into place today, started by laying the stringers in place and framing them together, then flipped the frame up used a bed of PL premium and then flipped the stringers down in and calmed some supports to hold everything level. Gonna be making some peanut butter tomorrow out of some west systems 406 and filleting the stringers in as well as using it to glue in those rear transom supports.

    Now onto the test results...
    so my dad has been working on some contracting work and has been putting in a floor and had lots of this 1/2" flooring plywood left over that was on its way to be scrap so I scooped it up, seemed to be really well made and much cheaper then marine grade, so I started wondering how it would hold up as a sub floor being it had a lot of appealing characteristics such as being smooth across the top. So yesterday I cut up one piece into strips, coated one in epoxy and left the other bare and soaked them in a glass of water overnight, then this morning I cut both in half and was very happy with the results, the one to the left was just soaked in water, the middle was a dry sample out of the same material and the far right is the epoxy covered one after being soaked overnight. Being that my sub floor should never be fully submerged this wood should be perfect.

    Also below I attached a plywood weight table I found which definitely encouraged me to use 1/2 for the sub floor being it will shave about 50lbs
    Last edited by cooper.bohner; 01-06-2023 at 03:47 PM.

  9. Member
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    Dec 2022
    Location
    Upstate, South Carolina
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    8
    #9
    I'm really enjoying your rebuild and look forward to seeing every step of this project.
    Thanks for sharing your journey!

  10. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    85
    #10

    Grinding...

    Well today I continued with what seems like a never ending amount of grinding being the fiberglass to the old stringers had delaminated. The whole hull needs ALOT of grinding. But after hours upon hours of grinding I'm finally nearing an end. Tomorrow will be the last day of grinding to prep the stringers for glass. Finished up some new supports today too and will get those all set in with PL to have me glassing by the weekend. I have definitely dragged out the stringer project being I keep trying to make it perfect (even though it will all just be covered in foam). Some plans have been modified after spending hours thinking about and working through the placement of every drain, hatch, wall, etc... So I will be running some PVC under the subfloor that runs to the bilge to give me two drains near your feet at the console when driving and a place for all of the water that hits the deck to drain into and then to the bilge. The plan is for the subfloor to have great drainage so it never has standing water and everything under the subfloor to be fully sealed so hopefully the pour foam should never see water. The general idea is to have a small bilge (behind the back support) were every drain leads to and then the bilge pump can pump it out as it fills. It will be fiberglassed and coated with A epoxy paint so it should have no issue holding water and the back support it raised past the subfloor to prevent water from splashing up and out onto the subfloor. Also have finally figured out my hatch plans and will post a diagram bellow, as long as there is under a 1/2" of water on the deck the hatch's will stay dry and being each hatch will have 4 drains I think I should be good, their will also be a slight seal too when they are closed and the hatch's will have drains in them too incase all else fails.
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  11. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #11

    Subfloor

    Wanted to give the pl a little more time to dry today, so decided to start working on the subfloor today and working through weight distribution ideas. Got the whole sub floor cut and about a half gallon of west system so am gonna glass as much as possible tomorrow on the stringers (more west systems in coming on Sunday). My main draw backs are how far back the seats will sit, because mabye I'm getting greedy with my rod locker but I want to be able to hold 8ft rods if possible, so that pushes the deck pretty far back leaving about 2ft of deck behind the seats but would mean putting the gas tank and batteries in the back corners of the boat and my concern is that it could be too much weight 115hp outboard 120lbs of gas and 180lbs of batteries, now it would probably make the boat plane nicely but I don't want to sink when sitting still. Oh yea and the livewell is back there!
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    Last edited by cooper.bohner; 01-14-2023 at 06:17 PM.

  12. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #12

    Glassing stringers...

    Started to glass the stringers, isn't perfect but I'm content with how it has been going. Quickly ran out of west systems but have one coat of glass on a stringer and one support. Also got my new riveter and some rivets and its awesome! Started playing around with it today. Still waiting on my resin (coming tomorrow night) so am gonna toss my sub floor back on and start planning and framing for the day tomorrow. Gonna start with my massive rod locker since the boat will be built around that being that's the one thing that's a must and will decide the length of the front deck. Then go from their, really want a step up to the front deck but might have to get rid of it to fit a 7'6 rod but hopefully not, we will find out soon though.
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  13. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #13

    Rod locker

    Got my front deck laid out(ish), and decided on a deck hight, 3.5" higher then the original front deck. Started to frame it out too but quickly ran out of inch and a half inch angle. The middle rod tube will be able to hold rods up to 7'10 which is perfect so I can bring big swimbait and A-rig rods and fit them in the locker without a problem. Gonna have 18 slots for rods! But probably could fit only 12 spinning rods at a time. Also got to feel the stringer that got glassed yesterday and its like a rock. And will be able to keep my step up after all and still have plenty of room on the rear deck for a co-angler.

  14. Member
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    May 2015
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    Kiln Mississippi
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    837
    #14
    You're on a roll Bud! It's a big PITA, these restorations but very satisfying when complete.

  15. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #15

    Stringers are glassed

    Finally finished up glassing the stringers, not completely thrilled with how it went (a lot of small air bubbles) but did my best with what I was working with and if the boat didn't fall apart with the old rotted out stringers, it definitely won't now. Then drilled out holes for my drain tubes for my 4 sub floor drains. The idea is the sub floor will be perfectly sealed, so went with this bullet proof marine hose I've used a lot in the past. Gonna pour foam it all in place tomorrow and get my sub floor all set and screwed down so I can start epoxying and fiberglassing it in place. Then back to the fun stuff... framing the new decks.

    Also through in that quote below because I have had some people outside this forum tell me they are worried about the rivets in the aluminum frame not being able to hold a persons body weight, and well lets just say I'm not to worried about a rivet shearing.
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  16. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #16

    Foam!

    Another successful day working on the boat. Got all the pour foam in for now and the drains for the subfloor ran, sub floor cut, routed, and epoxyed (on the bottom side). Gonna start glassing it all in place over the next two days and then onto the deck. And will be drilling holes in the sub floor to add even more foam.
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  17. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #17

    Interesting find...

    So... I got the boat being told it was a 4 seat bass boat but converted into a two seater, which I always thought was strange. Having a small front deck and huge rear deck. And that was the first thing on the list of stuff to change with this rebuilding project. And I always thought the hull was strangely deep but once again it seemed like a weird boat to begin with so I didn't question it but after doing some research I found out it was originally a Stratos 266FS, which for those of you that don't know the FS stands for "Fish and Ski"... So not really good news I guess but were way to far into this now so I guess its gonna have to do. The good news is most of the spots I fish are fairly deep 10-50ft and normally quite choppy so it may benefit me in the chop, and maybe give me some extra weight capacity? But non the less now back to continuing the build... the transformation of the fish and ski to bass fishing machine.

    If anything it should make the end product even cooler knowing how the hull started off...

    Below are some pictures. The one red and white boat was mine before I started the rebuild and the other one is what the boat looked like from the factory...
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  18. Member
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    May 2017
    Location
    Parry Sound, ON
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    2,382
    #18
    Man…and I thought rewiring my boat for the second time in two years was a lot of work lol. Unreal commitment.
    06 Stratos 294 ProXL

  19. Member
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    Dec 2022
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    Brooklyn NY
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    #19

    Subfloor

    Got the main portion of the sub floor in place and man running those drains was such a PITA but got everything set now and a first coat of epoxy onto the 2 main pieces that are screwed down with ss #12 screws. Still need to get the bow piece in but that is super quick, then make the rear pieces and add a strip of wood along the edges of the center square in the back of the boat so the sub floor can sit on that. Then sealing everything up to the sides of the hull so the stringers will not ever see water.

    For the drains that are in they were siliconed in but I left a gap around them which I will pour a watery epoxy/silica mix into the gap around them to give one extra seal on top of the silicone and so they sit perfectly flush with the deck.

    Oh and the holes in the subfloor for anyone wondering are were I'm gonna pour in a little more pour foam to really lock the drains in place and then seal up the hole after.
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  20. New England Forum Moderator twitch's Avatar
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    Mar 2005
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    New Bedford, MA
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    14,934
    #20
    Great work I like to see the progress keep the pics coming and what is your estimated final day before hitting the water???
    1990 374V Ranger Still kickin' bass after all these years

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