Why champion?

[bass-o-maticjm]

From the passenger seat, my buddy's 187 rode A LOT better than his current 21' Skeeter!

From the driver's seat, I'm on my 4th Champ now. Had the last one for 14 years, probably have the current one for that long too. Yes, they ride that good......

[rid 05 198]

Stayed in today. 18 foot waves out there...

[rboren]

I have a great friend with a Ranger. 21 feet of boat. He follows me around so we can visit and watch each other’s fishing defeats or success. On windy days he says he just can’t take the pounding at the speed I move from spot to spot. Yeah my top end is a little more than his but that’s not it. I just get there way more comfortably. His fishes a little better on the trolling motor but not enough I want his boat. His is newer but no way I would trade! Are they the only good riding boat? No but none better

[dukhntr]

I have a great friend with a Ranger. 21 feet of boat. He follows me around so we can visit and watch each other’s fishing defeats or success. On windy days he says he just can’t take the pounding at the speed I move from spot to spot. Yeah my top end is a little more than his but that’s not it. I just get there way more comfortably. His fishes a little better on the trolling motor but not enough I want his boat. His is newer but no way I would trade! Are they the only good riding boat? No but none better

What model champ are you running?

[basscat tyler]

Honestly, I've been in a few boats, own a Champion. Only reason I'd consider keeping the champion line, is to fish the champion owners tournaments. On mine at least, the storage sucks, there isn't a lot of room, it's fairly tippy, but it does ride good. Does it ride that much better than competitors? I'm not sure. It rides better than any Nitro. But the couple Phoenix and Basscat (non 203 hybrids) I've been in ride just as well and have way better organization. I figure, my next (probably last) boat will be one of the 3 current champion hulls (Charger 198, 210 or cat 203) or a Phoenix (919 or 920). Only reasons I wouldn't go Phoenix would be the Charger tournament and price.
I personally don't see the reason for the cult-like following.

Now you’ve done it!

[Hot Holster]

When the owner of the dealership where I was working at the time,(mid 80's) wanted to take on a line of bass boats, Bill Pace was making his sales pitch for Champions and happened to be in Michigan. The owner sent me to the lake where Bill was demoing the boats. I jumped in the boat and off we went. During the ride, Bill says, "I'm going to show you what a well designed boat does, don't panic, just watch". We headed toward shore at 71 mph (as per radar on shore), about a hundred yards from shore, Bill put the control to neutral, and turned the steering wheel as hard as he could and as far as it would go. The boat did a 90 degree turn and settled right down in the water in a very short distance. There was no hop or slide out from the Champion during the turn. That impressed the hell out of me, so I had Bill come to our shop and take the owner out to show him the same thing.
We decided to take on Champion and every potential customer was taken for a demo ride and that was probably the biggest selling point after how impressed they were with the stability and ride comfort of the boat at 70mph. I still have my '86 18-4 Super V.

[mohawkman]

The best riding bassboat ever made. They look darn good also.

Back in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s Champion was the only hull that was really built deeper V and road through waves well..... Ranger boats were like flat saucers and you would be 5" shorter standing after owning one on Kentucky or Champlain or Hudson.

[pmgoffjr]

You know after the tens of thousands of demo rides, the countless unfulfilled challenges, it's finally clear.

Like being a corvette in a lot full of yugos.

[rboren]

What model champ are you running?

Just a 2000 model 193 . Yamaha engine. 90” beam. Same as a 203. A couple times I would have liked to had that extra foot but only a couple. The only complaint I can find with my boat is the rear storage lids should have been a tad bigger but besides that I love it. I have had several older Rangers and a couple Skeeters a Bumblebee and two Allisons. Several other used boats. This one fits my needs just fine. There are some new boats out there now that I would buy if I was younger and didn’t mind spending almost as much as I spent for my home but unless bad luck or Mother Nature takes this one out it will be with me as long as I can fish. Then it will be one of my sons! I sold my last Allison because my boys wanted to take it out with out me So I bought something a little easier for them to drive. Allison was super fun to drive but your driving skills needed to be pretty good. I wish I would have kept both! Wife didn’t agree. My boys have grown up since and don’t really want to go without me. Yes I am a blessed man!

[brownkbass]

Ride & Decide!!

[DieselDood]

I had an 89 Skeeter. Hit the throttle and the nose would climb so bad you couldn't see for 30 yards. Then it would finally plane out and cruise nice unless there was a wave. Then you needed a kidney belt. Oh and try to cruise at a lower speed... say 25-35... Just call it flipper! It would porpoise so badly one time I was messing around with it and I got the entire hull out of the water because I timed the porpoising just right.

If there was much more than a mild chop you were getting wet and beat to death.
Handling... it was like driving a semi, on ice... with the throttle wide open. LOL It wouldn't steer for crap, I'd have to set almost all the way down to turn more than a few degrees.



This 1985 184... I've been out on a good sized lake here in MN (Woman) when the wind kicked up in a hurry and it went from fairly calm to serious whitecaps in less than 10 min. Meh. No biggie. I ran 35mph back to the landing and was dry. Handling... It has to be the most forgiving boat ever. Seriously. I was running about 50 on a lake watching my map. I knew the bottom came up in about 100 yards, so I was getting ready to trim down and back out when the bottom came up. Yup... map was wrong! I was able to crank the wheel and spin that thing around back into deeper water without a problem. That old Skeeter would have slid sideways and probably went aground.

If I won the lottery I'd probably go with the BassCat 203 Hybrid. Or maybe the Charger 210. I'd have to see them both in person and go for a ride, but from what I've seen online... you couldn't go wrong with either one. Ken Smith did a whole series on the newer boats, including the 203 hybrid and the 210.

[MMosher]

If you're ever in Missouri look me up and I'll give ya a rip your lips off demo ride in my Hybrid.

I had an 89 Skeeter. Hit the throttle and the nose would climb so bad you couldn't see for 30 yards. Then it would finally plane out and cruise nice unless there was a wave. Then you needed a kidney belt. Oh and try to cruise at a lower speed... say 25-35... Just call it flipper! It would porpoise so badly one time I was messing around with it and I got the entire hull out of the water because I timed the porpoising just right.

If there was much more than a mild chop you were getting wet and beat to death.
Handling... it was like driving a semi, on ice... with the throttle wide open. LOL It wouldn't steer for crap, I'd have to set almost all the way down to turn more than a few degrees.



This 1985 184... I've been out on a good sized lake here in MN (Woman) when the wind kicked up in a hurry and it went from fairly calm to serious whitecaps in less than 10 min. Meh. No biggie. I ran 35mph back to the landing and was dry. Handling... It has to be the most forgiving boat ever. Seriously. I was running about 50 on a lake watching my map. I knew the bottom came up in about 100 yards, so I was getting ready to trim down and back out when the bottom came up. Yup... map was wrong! I was able to crank the wheel and spin that thing around back into deeper water without a problem. That old Skeeter would have slid sideways and probably went aground.

If I won the lottery I'd probably go with the BassCat 203 Hybrid. Or maybe the Charger 210. I'd have to see them both in person and go for a ride, but from what I've seen online... you couldn't go wrong with either one. Ken Smith did a whole series on the newer boats, including the 203 hybrid and the 210.

[DieselDood]

That would be awesome!
I'm going to cross my fingers that I can fish the Owners tourney next fall.

[mr.coon]

I own another manufacturers boat and I have not been in a champion. I know people love their champions. What is it that makes champions so popular?

Ride, handling, looks, and build. They just don't age like other brands. There is just something about them, hence the cult following.

[BOW4UM]

Yeah the ride is good and the fishability is great. I like the simplicity of the entire build, an average guy can work on them. They did not get to fancy with trim and gadgets. Quality is great, value is great, dependability is great. I think Champ set the markets for others to follow. The loyal following is unreal AND you can get most anything for them many years later which is a big plus. This is why so many Champs are still fishing! Over all a very solid boat that's not to expensive. I'm on my 3rd and may down size to a 187 if I can find right one.