Boat Opinions?

I recently sold my older Lund and am looking to upgrade. I’ve been through various makes and models ranging from Lund Impacts, Alumacraft Dominators and Competitors, to Crestliner Fishhawks. 95% of my fishing takes place on Pool 4. I predominantly troll for walleyes, cast rip rap shorelines, and occasionally pitch jigs to wing dams.

I recently stumbled across 2 different Stratos 1760DV boats. I’ve never been in a Stratos, but the immediate appeal is the price point.

My main questions/concerns:

-The max hp rating on these rigs is only 115hp. Will a 115hp be a dog on a ~1350lb rig? I’m not looking for a speed demon, but I’d like to hit 40mph with 2 people and average fishing gear.

-Would it be possible to troll with a 115hp Optimax on one of these rigs? Will trolling with a 2012 Optimax be extremely loud, or even scare the fish? I predominantly run crankbaits on lead at 2-3mph. I don’t want to add the weight of a kicker to this boat.

-The boat only has a 20″ transom (see pictures below). Would this be a major issue on Pool 4 as it can be rough with the wrong wind direction.

-What are the odds that this would tow a relatively light skier (less than 130lbs) at a decent clip without major issues? It would only happen a few times a year, but the supposed “dual purpose” would be what helps sell the lady on the rig!

Thanks for any help you can give!

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Trolling isn’t going to be a problem. It’s louder then 4 strokes of course but it can be done. I trolled 10 years with a 135 hp Opti. As far as selling the boat to your wife….sell the safety features. If you have kids safety will be what she cares about.

I wouldn’t worry about a 80lb kicker motor a big battery would weigh 70 LBs, Trolling with a kicker will save on the big outboard.

huskerdu wrote:

I wouldn’t worry about a 80lb kicker motor a big battery would weigh 70 LBs, Trolling with a kicker will save on the big outboard.

Would I need a 9.9hp kicker? They weigh in at around 80-90lbs. I’ve seen smaller 4 strokes that go as light as 45lbs.

I have a stratos 385xf. It seems to be a well built boat. It rides much smoother than the pro v’s I have had. Even the 2025. I wouldn’t run less than a 8hp kicker on it. As far as the noise for scaring fish both a 4 stroke and a 2 stroke exhaust goes into the water and I can’t imagine there is a big difference sound wise underwater. In the boat for sure an opti is going to be much louder at idle than the 4 stroke. I would add I think a 115 on that boat will be just fine and will hit 40 if it is propped correctly. If you want to go for a ride in my boat let me know.

I can pull my 621 with the 36v trolling motor over 3 mph , I don’t know how many hrs it will last? You can purchase smaller kickers, the 9.9 merc was made for the job. I am sure Yamaha has the same features.
With that said a smaller kicker with a remote electric trolling would work.