Stryker Boats???
 

Perhaps this will be the forum to answer some of my questions about this brand of boat. I performed a search and it appears that 2 or more members are Stryker boat owners so perhaps they will have some insight into their history. I am considering purchasing an older 1989 Strker 2150, but am trying to find out as much about the boat as possible before making a decision. So far I have found out nothing other than the company produced boats from 1987 to 1998. Does anyone on here know what happened to Stryker Boat Co. and why? How was the build quality, quality of materials, etc.? I just don't want to end up with a boat with rotted out stringers just to find out later it was a known problem with this brand of boat due to poor build quality. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

There were built in Alabama ....Like you said mid 80's to mid 90's ....I think the IRS got em ... When I first started looking at offshore boats it was one of the first I looked at ... I talked to a cpl people that own or had owned em and seemed were well built ...I even found the guy that his dad and himself had biult em ....He still has the molds ....I tried to get him to build a new boat but wasnt interested. He did offer to sell me the molds. :rolleyes: ...He still does fiberglass but not boats.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

The Original Stryker Thread ..... :drink:

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=70970

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Cool, thanks for the link. I was wondering what would cause a boat manufacturer to close up during the largest economic boom in modern history, and I could only think of 3 reasons. I was thinking either the quality was terrible, or the management was terrible, or they were such a good boat that a competitor bought them out; IRS never really crossed my mind but that would sure do it. Perhaps some of the other guys that posted in that other thread can shed some more light on the boat I am considering. It is a small one by most of you guys standards, a 1989 21 ft closed bow, it is called a Stryker 2150. Does anyone know if they copied a mold for this one and if so which one? I am a little concerned being that it was built in only their 3rd year of production so if there were any flaws in the design they would have only had 2 years to figure them out. Allthough, I have to say it looks almost identical to that picture of the 1992 21 footer. Does anyone else have any additional info on this model boat, or perhaps some suggestions like things to look for etc. If so I would appreciate it. I already have 2 non-running boats, I do not want a 3rd. I was really wanting to stick with a more modern boat (1998 +) with fuel injection, but the price on this one would be much easier on the wallet. Help me out guys. Thanks

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Fastbowtie,

Thunderusone knows more about stryker boats than anyone else on this forum. Try to pm him. The 2150 was available with 502mag and were extremely fast and strong. There is one in my neighborhood that runs close to 80 stock. I have the 91 Equalizer model which is a 28 footer also very fast for it's size I saw 77 with 600hp before I damaged my labbed prop. The Equalizer and the pre-2000 Nordic 28's were both splashed off a Sleekcraft design

Stryker was developing a 38 foot thunder and ran out of money, I believe they built 6, reportedly faster than a 38 fountain with the same power. The story goes that Reggie would pull his advertising if the article on the match up was ever published.

Another factor that hurt them was that Mercruiser packages nearly doubled in price in the mid 90's and that made it difficult for them to produce the boats at a price that was attractive to the entry level buyers.

I have more pictures, these are two Equaizers in the Houston area, mine is on the left. They built a lot of the 2150 Stealth Models.

1992 price for a 2150 Stealth with a 502 Mag was 32K
2800 Equalizer with a 502mag was 50k, about 26 built
3100 Patriot with t-502mags 83K, 2 or 3 built
3800 Thunder with t-502mags was 128k, 6 built

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Found some Stryker literature

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

More

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

The Stryker 2150 is a splash of the Hammond 2150 who bought the running surface from Geroge Linder, it is the same bottom as the famed challenger 21..... which also means that they are a runner... if they stay together.
They tested one in Powerboat a long ways back, while it got rave reviews in the perfomance parts ( you can credit George Linder for that ), but were slaughtered in the quality department. It was so bad you could see it in the pictures.
As for the 38, it is my understanding that the boat was so bad at the powerboat peformance trials that they refuesd to test it. To say that a splash of a 38 Scarab is faster than a fountain is impossible.

Thems are the facts folks.

RT

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Good info Firewalker, I found a review on the 2150 done by hotboat.

As far as quality goes, I have seen two 2150's and 3 2800 Equalizers up close. They obviously were a lot for the money but definetly not top shelf. Still, none of the owners have any complaints about the fiberglass/gel work or any structural problems, not bad for boats 12-15 years old. Mine is a 91.

Regarding the performance trials, my info is hearsay and cant add much to what I heard.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

here is a magazine test of the 2150 from the early 90's

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

i owned a 2150, decent boat, it all comes down to price. Tom

BTW 502, is way to much power for the boat

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Here is my 38. 95 model and runs as good as ever! The 38 has an 8 foot beam and was designed based on a cig with runner and swim platform mods. The quality of the 38 had NOTHING to do with the hot boat test.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

There are a couple on our lake... a 28' and a 21'(?) I always heard they chine walked really bad. Not a fact... just hear say

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

If you can get a picture of them I'd appreciate it. Trying to gather as many as I can.

Cant speak for the 2150, but neither mine or my buddies have ever chine walked, very confidence inspiring ride and handling. The previous owner of my boat used to run in the mid-80's with alum block merlin putting out 825hp.

Wish I had that motor.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

The 21 with a blackhawk drive was awesome....you could take your hand off the wheel at wot with a 502 mag at 80 to 82 MPH. Several buddies have 21's with big motors that run low 90's. There have been some 100 MPH+ 21's with some crazy power plants....drive em like an allison bass boat......all the way till the bottom busts! I dont think they were designed for that kind of power.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Well, it looks like I researched this boat to well. I was going to make an offer on it tomorrow and it is supposedly sold. Will most likely ride out there tomorrow anyway just to be sure.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Hey Wobble! Where is Banana Bend? I just remembered... I saw another 28' on the lake this past weekend.

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Wellby,

Banana Bend is a river front neighborhood on the San Jacinto river about 4 miles north of I-10 on the east side of Houston, easy acces to Galveston Bay, Clear Lake etc. About 6 miles south of Lake Houston dam.

Map http://maps.google.com/maps?q=100+Gr...0.291584&hl=en

Re: Stryker Boats???
 

Was it this one?

hello im new here but i do have some factual info on the stryker boat reasons of not manuf anymore please email me at [email protected] we have one for sale 1998 2400 w502

Any info you have on Stryker would be welcome.

I would be interested in hearing this myself....:rolleyes:

I got an email reply from "jennifer". It was a link to some lawyer's site with an old suit against Stryker. I smell an agenda here...

Merc was sued in that lawsuit also.....so based on her reasoning...merc should be out of business also. The company stayed in business long after that suit.....:rolleyes:

The reason Don closed was he sold his building for a nice amount of $ and kind of retired and sold most of the equipment. I was at the auction,bought a few items. Always liked Don,wonder where he is now?

Magicfloat I was there as well......I still have some of the stuff!

My 38 Thunder is back in the classifieds. Someone needs to buy it! (Shameless plug!) My wife wants another cruiser...:rolleyes:

I was a dealer for Stryker boats an i still think they are great boats.I really liked Don Brooks an had many good times with him an his wife.I tested 2 38' an they ran very well. I was the owner of Dream Marine. If someone can get in touch with him i would love to see how hes doing. Artie Hudson

Same here. Would love to hear from Don as we did business for years,even in the old days when he built bass boats:eek:

My 38's performance is just amazing. I've never seen a boat that planes as easily as this one. It jumps up like a ski boat, and runs 52-53mph at 3500rpm all day long. The mods that Don made to the Cig-splash hull make it very efficient, I guess.


I hope you guys get in contact with Don. I'd love to talk to him about my boat...

Jim

Updated the classified with better pics...

http://www.offshoreonlyclassifieds.c...o16015-en.html

I found this thread while researching STRYKER EQUALIZER.
Has anyone heard of one with twin 502 mags. I know where there is one for sale and was trying to gather as much info as possible.

Mine has twin 502EFI Magnums. Is this the one you are talking about?

SWEET:D
The one I am looking at is the 28 Equalizer (they say its 29) with twin 502 mags from the factory. I can not find anywhere where that was an option.
What could you tell me about the boat? Is it well built, have any rattles or so on?

I am not aware of an Equalizer with twin BBC's it would be an incredibly tight fit and way stern heavy. They did make about six 31 footers with twins that were called Patriots I believe, a very fast boat, I have yet to locate one. Try contacting thunderusone here, he knows a lot more about Stryker's than I do.

I owned a 2150 a few years back, i actualy bougt it from akaboatman. Scary fast boat, someone said earlier that you drive it like a bass boat and thats pretty much true. If you really want to know more about them akaboatman can tell more than anyone except Don him self. He introduced me to Don after I bought mine.

i had one a great runing boat ran 72 on gps with stock 454 330 horse put 496 went 80 ran and rode great i went bigger to a dual power boat

I had the same boat. Wish I still had it! I'll scan some pics and post them up a bit later.

I remember that boat. (post # 19) Met the owner on Lake Travis around 1998. He told me he had acquired the boat as an insurance salvage after it had sunk.

I have an 1988 Stryker 21' Boat...could you tell me the model and possible worth?
 

I got this boat just a couple of weeks ago. My fiancee and I have went on it about three or four times and we LOVE IT!!! I was wanting to know more about the boat. If we ever decide to buy one are these still available? Is there anything I need to be careful about or know about this boat?