Bass Cat / Champion 203 Hybrid

[pmgoffjr]

not really clear on the question. If you’re asking how stupid could I get? More stupid than you can ever imagine. But that lack of fear was based on the fact that regardless of my lack of sense I’d never have the boat on top of me. That’s a hard leap of faith to get to that point and few get there. But when you point into a narrow winding river and never back down, your draw partner is level six freaking out because he KNOWS we’re gonna be on the bank it all gets clear.
Want to see what will convert you? Watch the end of the demo video. I literally let go of the wheel of that 184. Full throttle spin out. If you’re ever going to flip a boat that’s how you do it. You only need to do that once and your confidence will go to 100% because you know the boat won’t hurt you.

[MMosher]

I can neither confirm nor deny they Hybrid hull is capable of a breach turn.

Trust me, Matt Mosher and I put it through everything short of a breach turn...

[smokewagon]

Trust me, Matt Mosher and I put it through everything short of a breach turn...

I wasn't expecting to see a breech turn. I hope to see a future video of the Bass Cat 203 hybrid's rough water ride and mid and high speed tight turns without sliding, what Champion is known for.

[pmgoffjr]

NOBODY is going to promote a breech stop anymore. I hate to say it, but I am the one responsible. When that igmo jumped out of my boat on Whitney, and all the s storm and legal stuff that created, that's when it was dictated to never do it again.

Too many lawyers with too much time on their hands.

[MMosher]

Pat join our Hybrid page on FB. I've got several videos of it in action. https://www.facebook.com/groups/270845500989135/

[jbh3]

NOBODY is going to promote a breech stop anymore. I hate to say it, but I am the one responsible. When that igmo jumped out of my boat on Whitney, and all the s storm and legal stuff that created, that's when it was dictated to never do it again.

Too many lawyers with too much time on their hands.

Took a demo ride in a 184 back about 1989. The driver was a gentleman named Don McCurdy that had recently moved to East TN, I believe. The breach turn was included. He told me where to grab and said "hold on". I was too ignorant to be scared. I had a new 184 in my basement pretty soon afterward. It was a little hot rod.

[pmgoffjr]

Matt, already there....

The great breech stop fiasco had nothing at all to do with the breech stop. I did over a thousand demos a year, got fairly adequate at it. I would give three levels of rides, A really mild, B got your attention but wouldn't pull any teeth fillings out. And then there was the C ride. When you got done with a C ride, you know without a shadow of a doubt there was nothing built anywhere by anyone that would do what you just did. Plop your butt in my boat with a ranger or skeeter hat, or tell me you're on the fence between a champ and something else, you'd heard they rode nice but wanted to see what it was capable of, good chance you're getting a C ride.

Scene: Fun n Sun big tournament, with a drawing for a free boat, IF you took a demo ride. Tournament was Sunday, rides on Saturday. I'd start at daylight and not stop until it was dark. They had plenty of boats, plenty of drivers for A and B type rides, but they had Kelly Powers and I for the hard cores. It was about 6:30 in the evening, I'd been on the water since 6:30 a.m., but they are still lined up. Jeff from fun n sun waved me over to a boat slip, said give this guy a really special ride to shut him up. What I didn't know, he had been hanging out at the marina for three hours, just watching what was going on. He knew what he wanted to do, and he knew exactly who he wanted to do it with. Yeah, me, mr. lucky.

Gets his big fat butt in, I had to fish out a 4X life jacket to put on his biscuit headed self. He says I was going to go buy a Skeeter this week, unless you can show me otherwise. Ok dude, I'll do the best I can. I go through a very detailed ride, do all the slow stuff, midrange stuff, high speed handling and running through the waves. We had stopped, I asked him what he thought, meh, not impressed. I want you to do that spinny thing, that'll convince me. I was too tired for the alarm bell to go off, so ok dude, here's what we're going to do. I'm gonna take it to WFO, I need you to grab that hand rail with both hands, I'm going to ask you if you're ready, when you say yes, I'm going to count to three, and we're going to do a VERY hard left turn. Ok ready...

We get going, I'm heading straight for the marina, if you're going to do a show do it right. We're clipping along, are you ready? YES ok, ONE, TWO...he jumps out of the boat on Two. I haven't even started the turn. He just went over the side like a big fat whale. WTF??? I spun around, came up to him, what he hell dude? I'm sorry I was scared? We didn't even turn yet...I was scared.

No less than a hundred people witnessed the whole thing, I was 80 feet from the marina. I drug his fat butt back in, idled to the dock and ejected him right off. And that's how it all started.

[Bass Cat Boats]

Actually they rolled one over at a dealer meeting on Table Rock, while trying to do a mid grade 180 turn. That was alongside the Branson Belle with dealers and staff all watching the boats run. That definitely changed the intensity of showing a hard turn for that boat company. Our liability company at one time gave us quite an inquiry on what we do and don’t do.

The web site likely won’t have more than a tab on the Hybrid 203 which shows the hull. We do have an update to and a new website in play. We are not making significant investment until we complete the platform. We don’t display video of any of our boats in rough water, including our Yar-Craft walleye line which certainly can eat more water than anything. Then again our midwestern rep. is a former NWT Angler of the Year and he wants a Jaguar with a multi species top. He thinks it rides that good.

[pmgoffjr]

Rick was that a TN boat? If it was I never heard about it.

[bighaida]

If I hit the lotto tomorrow I'm buying that boat Monday. The only thing wrong with that boat is it's not mine. Awesome.

Currently in a Champion 202.

[Lea]

Took a demo ride in a 184 back about 1989. The driver was a gentleman named Don McCurdy that had recently moved to East TN, I believe. The breach turn was included. He told me where to grab and said "hold on". I was too ignorant to be scared. I had a new 184 in my basement pretty soon afterward. It was a little hot rod.

I had the ride in a 201. Don’t remember the drivers name, but he represented a local dealer in Richmond, VA area. Breach turn was a blast. I already had my 176 on order, and that Demo ride told me I had made the right decision. That was in 1990. Have owned Champs ever since!!!

[Jayzo7161]

wish I was around back in the "olden days" :) to take a demo ride & witness hulls limitations or lack there of. I don't have the sack to try the turns in the Champion demo videos I've seen :)

[jarhead175]

Bought a 86 18 super V off my uncle (wish I had it now) he could do the breach turn i never tried being in the passenger seat one time was enough.

[Bass Cat Boats]

No, it was one of Porthouses later year meetings at Branson. Just before the one he didn’t show up for at Bull Shoals.

Rick was that a TN boat? If it was I never heard about it.

[pmgoffjr]

HAHAHA... Heads on fire, eyes too bloody to see....

I corkscrewed a 186 straight into the water in Alabama, the very first hydraulic steering they installed. It was woefully inadequate, when I tried to do a 60 mph U turn, it went full lock and it would not come out of it, bow went about four feet under, and slung me 60 feet into some really cold water. So boys and girls, that's why we wear life jackets.

[LuvMyChamp]

Love the 203 hybrid, kudos to BCB for producing such a beautiful boat. Might be a retirement gift to myself in 8 years, in the mean time my 98 203 is dang near perfect for the wife and I.

[basssj]

I will probably catch flack for this but man, I wish they would build that boat with a more traditional front deck layout. Those two small compartments right behind the front seat pedestal do me absolutely no good. The look really narrow and hard to get boxes in and out of. Build one with a single large compartment or 2 compartments like on the Pantera 2 and you may have a Champion convert. Also, the funky upturn on the windshield probably knocks off 1.5 mph top end. Otherwise its a good looking boat.

[R Warner]

I will probably catch flack for this but man, I wish they would build that boat with a more traditional front deck layout. Those two small compartments right behind the front seat pedestal do me absolutely no good. The look really narrow and hard to get boxes in and out of. Build one with a single large compartment or 2 compartments like on the Pantera 2 and you may have a Champion convert. Also, the funky upturn on the windshield probably knocks off 1.5 mph top end. Otherwise its a good looking boat.

You can get that layout with the cougar hybrid. You're looking at the puma layout

[Almag6]

I'll keep my opinion to myself as I refuse to spend this much on a boat

[MMosher]

That would be the Cougar top cap option.

I will probably catch flack for this but man, I wish they would build that boat with a more traditional front deck layout. Those two small compartments right behind the front seat pedestal do me absolutely no good. The look really narrow and hard to get boxes in and out of. Build one with a single large compartment or 2 compartments like on the Pantera 2 and you may have a Champion convert. Also, the funky upturn on the windshield probably knocks off 1.5 mph top end. Otherwise its a good looking boat.