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| Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] Walleye Fishing -> Walleye Boats and Motors -> Stratos 326XF Review |
| Message Subject: Stratos 326XF Review | |||
Johnnie Candle |
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 Member Posts: 120 Location: Devils Lake, ND | Finally had time after my first full season in this boat to write up a review. I hope it helps anyone looking for a new 20 foot glass fishing machine this winter. Stratos 326 XF 250 HP Mercury Verado Pro Four Stroke The Edge Hydrofoil was installed mid-season 9.9 HP Mercury Pro Kicker 8 inch Manual Jack Plate 21 Pitch Tempest Plus Propeller 5 Batteries, 3 Trolling Motor, 2 Starting Humminbird 1199 and Onix 10 SI at the console Shoot through the hull 2 D transducer and Onix SI/DI on the transom. Humminbird 1199 at the bow 112 Pound MinnKota I pilot link Top Speed: 63.4 GPS Average High End: 60.8 GPS The Stratos 326 XF is presented as a family fishing boat. It is equipped for both water sports (Skiing, tubing, etc) and fishing. I did not use the boat for any watersports this year so I cannot comment on its abilities to perform those tasks. The boat’s performance is much more than satisfactory. Top speeds were more than I expected from a 20 foot boat with a 250 HP motor. While I never timed the time to plane, it was more than adequate. With two guys in the boat it hops out of the water. Obviously it is slower with more weight. My set up has a bit of weight toward the stern and with 3 clients, myself, full tank of gas and a limit of fish in the live well, it still got on plane in a manner that felt comfortable. The boat cruised at approximately 30 mph with no problem. I found the sweet spot for fuel economy to be near 35 mph. That was a very comfortable ride. The boat is smooth and incredibly dry. Coming from an aluminum boat, I was very surprised at what I have been missing for the past several years. I now only wear raingear when it is raining. When adding a third passenger or when a party of four were in the boat, I did have to pay attention to weight distribution. At higher speeds, it was not an issue, but at mid to slower cruising speeds, the boat was weight sensitive. On calm waters, not a big deal, but when the waves were a bit bigger, it helped immensely to keep the boat level. I can honestly say that I did not spend a lot of time dialing this rig in. I am sure that there are other props that would work well and the jack plate should have been toyed with to be sure it is really in the SWEET SPOT. All in all, I was satisfied enough that I did not see a reason to work that hard. At fishing speeds the boat performs very well. It is a large, wide boat that is very stable side to side. It was very easy to control with the bow mount trolling motor. The bow is a bit higher than some other glass fishing boats, and the bow seems a bit light compared to other glass boats as well. That being said, coming from tin, the boat was much easier to keep in one spot than previous boats I have fished in. The front deck is a bit higher than comparative fishing boats. Being an angler that spends a lot of time in the bow of the boat, I love the higher deck. When casting cranks or pitching jigs, it really lets me see my targets much better. It also provides much more storage under the front deck. I will speak to that later. Trolling with the kicker motor worked well too. I use my Terrova as well as the kicker and had no problems keep the boat right where I wanted it. The boat tracks well, however as I said before the bow is a little lighter than other glass boats. The Terrova compensates for this. When trolling with just the kicker, I did have to pay attention to cross winds. Again, coming from tin, it was better than I was used to. When it comes to floor plan, I could not ask for anything better. The bow platform is huge. Plenty of room for two anglers to cast or jig. The cockpit behind the consoles is maybe the most spacious I have ever seen. Being able to walk gunnel to gunnel is a god send. The rear jump seats are a guides best friend, not chairs in the way ever. The rod storage is massive. I had of 25 rods in there many times this season. It could be a bit higher above the floor, but then you would lose some of the volume. Very small inconvenience getting on one knee to get rods from the bottom of the rod storage. I did add some cargo netting in the bow on each side for life jackets and in the cock pit gunnel storage just to help hold things in place. The live well is monstrous. Held 20 fish limits on Devils Lake all summer long. It is actually larger than a 620 live well. It has auto and recirc as well as manual and timed settings. The bow has a cooler that is more than large enough for lunch for 4 and some bait. It held ice all day even in the hottest weather of the summer. The bow bait well did not get used much, but shares all the features of the live well. The bow storage is massive. I fit more stuff in this boat than I have in any other I have owned. Plano boxes, planer boards, extra reels, soft sided bags, first aid kit, tools, It was incredible that I never had to worry about what to take out. The only thing about big space is that it is not always user friendly. If it was just plastic boxes, there was never an issue. If it was misc stuff with no dividers, I did have to dig around a bit. Again, a very small inconvenience. The boat has held up very well to the year of fishing. I have yet to see one stress fracture anywhere on the boat. The transom shows no sign of anything. Carpet has help up very well. Everything is in working order with absolutely no extra work by me. While the boat is fairly simple, you can tell that it is made by a very reputable company. The lids all shut tight and line up well, the plumbing all worked from the start, things were all rigger correctly. It is not a Ranger, but it is closer than you would think. All in all I am very satisfied with the boat. I am very glad that I am in a glass boat again and pleased with the fact it is a Stratos. The performance, features, and quality make this an incredible value. The price tag comes in a big amount less than other 20 foot fiberglass fishing boats, plus it has all the capabilities of a family fun boat as well. It deserves a look. | ||
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| PSAGuy |
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Member Posts: 6 Location: Lake Elmo, MN | Good positive review but I did not see one thing you did not like. A review should have the good AND the "not-so-good". Every boat has something an owner wishes was a bit different. I'd be interested in that side of the story. You make a comment that "It's not a Ranger but it's closer than you think". I own a Ranger 620 and there are certainly things I wish were done better on that boat. If I was writing a review on the 620, I'd point those out as well. EVERY boat has it's goods and bads. Congrats on the new boat though !! Nothing like a new rig. ENJOY !! Edited by PSAGuy 4/5/2015 10:46 AM | ||
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| sworrall |
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Location: Rhinelander | I spent a couple days in the boat with Johnnie last Fall shooting images and video at a Ranger/Stratos pro staff meeting. He likes it exactly as well as he says, and I don't blame him. That last statement...do you know who Johnnie is? Just curious. | ||
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| huntgamefish |
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Member Posts: 35 | Maybe it's not a ranger because they fixed the problems that the 620's have. Newer model boats always seem to fix the mistakes or problems that older models have. None the less, all boats are better than mine! I can think of a 10 page essay of reasons why my boat needs improvements. Good luck on the water! | ||
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