1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

[oohsparkly]

hi all,

been lurking here for a while and have gotten lots of inspiration and ideas regarding a project. i wanted a fishing boat but couldnt afford anything new, which meant i had to be creative. i saw lots of horror stories regarding glass/wood or all wood boats and knew to look for something sound, so my membership here paid off before i even owned a boat. ha.

i came across this 1988 stratos with a 1979 (!!!!!!!) evinrude. in the ad the original owner said it wouldnt win any beauty contests and he was right. this is how i first saw it:

it was rough but the price was right and there were no soft spots, no cracks in the transom, and the motor fired right away, even on a surprise visit. after a test run in the james i took it home.

very tight fit... had less than 4" on either side of the trailer fenders backing it in.

lookin right at home

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

the main things im looking for out of this are:

1. to have a fishing boat so i will have a ride during tournament season if the other guys cant come out
2. to update and restore it so it will sell when i graduate to a nicer boat.

NOTHING electrical worked other than the trim, remote, and volt meter. im pretty handy with the practical aspect of DC circuits so that is not at all scary.

here's a glimpse of the horror i encountered. this is the hatch with the batteries removed and a bunch of junk rolling around.

i figure the main bus will go back here, with a secondary bus for everything in the dash, then dedicated trolling and fishfinder circuits.

stereo is gone, not sure what its purpose was in any case. he powered it with speaker wire gently wrapped around the screw terminals. cant make this stuff up.

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

the dash actually looks better with everything ripped out. somebody in the past made switch panels out of painted masonite (see the second photo i posted) , those went right in the trash. i found the original stratos plates but they had enormous holes for gauges. i can at least give them to my plastic guy to use as templates.

out with the old

in with the new

 

[kjdunne]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

Looks like a diamond in the rough, I'm sure you'll make it shine! Don't fear that older Johnson, they're nearly bulletproof with a little care.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

Welcome to the forum! That looks like a real nice find. Should fix up nicely. I agree, that's a great motor so I wouldn't fear its age.

(P.S. - your wife called, she wants you to get your toys out of the garage, she wants to put her car in )

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

Looks like a diamond in the rough, I'm sure you'll make it shine! Don't fear that older Johnson, they're nearly bulletproof with a little care.

yeah it runs surprisingly well. it has new plugs and had the carbs cleaned recently but no reason not to go over her with a fine tooth comb.

as for the shine part, that is another story altogether. i actually have a funny story about that, i hope to illustrate it today.

Welcome to the forum! That looks like a real nice find. Should fix up nicely. I agree, that's a great motor so I wouldn't fear its age.

(P.S. - your wife called, she wants you to get your toys out of the garage, she wants to put her car in )

ha, thanks. glad there seems to be a consensus on the motor.

my fiancee has the attached garage for her car. this one is all mine :]

should be able to get some more progress pics today, mostly old wiring.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

If all she needs is some cosmetic work and wiring you have a much easier road ahead than most. Nice looking rig.

BTW wiring is a breeze.

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

If all she needs is some cosmetic work and wiring you have a much easier road ahead than most. Nice looking rig.

BTW wiring is a breeze.

yes, that appears to be the case. its a solid boat all over. i have an inquiry into stratos as to just how much wood is in the boat... i know the "pro" models got a lot less than the XL and DC series. my boat has a glass deck and compartments at least. i think the stringers are wood.

anyway, on to the progress.

here's the shop vac after vacuuming under the deck, console, in the compartments, etc. mostly leaves, but also some crickets and even a small syringe, hopefully the previous owner was a diabetic

the old harness and what i assume is a breaker/fuse panel. i was hoping they were relays but alas. ive never encountered so many weak poles and just plain dead switches in my life, not even an ounce of continuity in them

one problem with this boat is all the leftover holes from old installations of god knows what. that means i had to make some beauty plates.

this is a great example, the gunwale next to the pilot's console

voila, unsightly holes are gone forever, a mere memory when you use the power of 6061 ALUMINUM!!!!

this one will cover the old speaker holes

front console area, also note the slightly polished bow! more on that later.

the new panels will be either hard or deco anodized black. that should cut down on glare, prohibit corrosion, and flow with the original color scheme of blue/silver/red/black.

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

this is one place where an aluminum plate will not work. i made a damn good copy but it does nothing to imitate the slight compound curves that are molded into the console. oh well, gotta give the plastic guy some business. hopefully he has something UV resistant.

quick snap of one of my compartments... in surprisingly good condition. not even any stains.

new electronics, eagle 480 elite with GPS. this will be the dash unit. i think ill use a swivel mount on the gunwale because its too wide with the factory mount, and i dont want to put it in front of the wind screen.

and the front console will get either this old eagle or an old lowrance x80 that i got from a friend. trolling motor xducer.

here's the old blue menace. for this i plan to shave the emblems and have the cowl professionally shot in some kind of evinrude style blue flake. after that ill add current decals, maybe the american flag style you find on ebay as a nod to its previous look. the lower unit i will just have to respray myself.

 

[SawDust{RM}]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

6061 for a new dash is a good idea

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

The Aluminum is a good idea, used it several times in restores....I've also taken a really fine sanding wheel (like dremel size) to give the swirled brushed look (practice on some scrap first).

Be sure to use marine grade wiring for your rewire....will be money well spent.

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

The Aluminum is a good idea, used it several times in restores....I've also taken a really fine sanding wheel (like dremel size) to give the swirled brushed look (practice on some scrap first).

Be sure to use marine grade wiring for your rewire....will be money well spent.

i probably would have done that, but we have a timesaver at work... basically like a big planer that you can put the sheet through to give you whatever grain you want.

what distinguishes marine wire? i have corrosive rated lutze silflex cable, we use it at work on washdown (hot pressurized water and solvents) rated machines.

EDIT: is this what you mean?

NAVIGABLE WATERS

CHAPTER I--COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED)

PART 183--BOATS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT--Table of Contents

Subpart I--Electrical Systems

Sec. 183.425 Conductors: General.

(a) Each conductor must be insulated, stranded copper.
(b) Except for intermittent surges each conductor must not carry a
current greater than that specified in Table 5 for the conductor's gauge
and temperature rating.
(c) For conductors in engine spaces, amperages must be corrected by
the appropriate correction factor in note 1 of Table 5.
(d) Each conductor in a multiconductor sheath must be at least a No.
18 AWG conductor.
(e) Each conductor installed separately must be at least a No. 16
AWG conductor.
(f) Each No. 18 AWG conductor in a multiconductor sheath may not
extend out of the sheath more than 30 inches.
(g) This section does not apply to communications systems;
electronic navigation equipment; electronic circuits having a current
flow of less than one ampere; conductors which are totally inside an
equipment housing; resistance conductors that control circuit amperage;
high voltage secondary conductors and terminations that are in ignition
systems; pigtails of less than seven inches of exposed length and
cranking motor conductors.

 

[jonesg]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

Marine wire is tinned throughout its length, untinned wire corrodes inside the insulation.
Its rather pricey so if you have a cheaper alternative ..use it.

Doing boat research here before buying was a very prudent move.

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

Being an electrician by trade I'm very familiar with Lutze cable in controls....I'll have to do some reading on the corrosion reisitantance. It's a very high quaility control cable mostly shielded stuff for interference. If you have access to it at a good price (if you know what I mean) then it may be okay. Like jonesg said marine grade is tinned throughout it's length.

Of course there will always be those to argue the point and with some validity. I've seen regular automotive wiring in boats that's worked well for YEARS. But to me if there is a product made specifically for a given purpose I'm going to go that way...

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

sounds like you are well familiar with what i have then, cadwelder

this stuff isnt shielded but i really cant see a use for shielded wire, except for the fishfinders...

this tin coated thing is weighing heavily on my mind. a bunch of the OEM wire i pulled out was bare copper, but knowing what i know... i want to have the best. well see. the only scraps i have of fully tinned are gonna be strands and i dont plan to spend the rest of my life and several thousand in tie wraps pulling that all over the boat

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

No you don't need the shielded cable for anything on the boat. I just make up a harness of what I need and enclose it in the plastic conduit wrap (the black corregatted stuff that has a split in in). If you don't want to mess with a bunch of colors (different colors are the best way), but you can just use a numbering book and mark the ends of the wire in your harness.

And on your bare copper....you are correct, seen it plenty of times and I think the tinned wiring is more for larger crafts in saltwater envioroments, but I still feel it's best for all marine applications. It's a matter of budget and how long you plan to keep your boat (sounds like the plywood thing)

Bottom line marine grade wiring is the best choice, but there are other options.

http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/wiring/wiring.htm This a good link from Ancor that will help you with sizing of the wire too...

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

this cable is numbered, we have a colorblind guy at work so we get only numbered cable... works fine... especially when we make a pull list

i have a schematic drawn out that takes into account all the field devices... 3 12v circuits and 1 24v, just helps me keep everything organized

heres an interesting problem that you can help with as a professional electrician:
i want to use my foot trim switch under the dash and also mount a switch in the front fishing area in case it gets shallow. my trim motor is an old 3 wire solenoid setup (much to my dismay, fully expected relays) and the DC voltage drop between the front of the boat and the back (where the solenoid is) means i would have to run at least 10 gauge to get full power. i think that would be a little ridiculous, but coming up with a way to do it with automotive relays piggybacking the solenoid is escaping me. any input?

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

Nothing odd about 10 AWG....I use a lot of 10 for controls at the front of the boat. Plus the front switch is only carrying the load of the relay not the trim motor....how did you come up with #10?

 

[oohsparkly]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

apparently mine is carrying the load of the motor. the remote has 10 or maybe even 8 gauge and it works the best. the rear switch has 14 gauge and it works but not as well as the remote. the foot pedal worked the worst on my test bed, with 18 gauge in a loop maybe 20 feet long. if it was just a little 12 volt switching current, i dont think it would be sensitive to length or gauge.

i based 10 off of a voltage drop calculator, 12 volts @ 25 amps thru 20 feet of 18 gauge = 60% drop
12v @ 25 amps thru 20 feet of 10 gauge = 9% drop

i may just scrap the solenoid box, especially if its not working, and make a little relay setup

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: 1988 Stratos 181 Pro makeover and rewire

I like the relay idea best...what is the model and serial number of the outboard? I'd like to check something out.