Hello fellow Champion lovers!
So I am the proud owner of a SPOTLESS 2001 Champion 203 currently powered with a Mercury 225 EFI turning a 25p Trophy Plus with an 8" Hydro Dynamics Rapid Jack Magnum plate. I am checking off a childhood bucket list dream of fishing as a pro in the 2018 BASSMASTER Bass Pro Shops Central Opens as a PRO! I am very excited for this opportunity and I am proudly running my 01' Champ for the year.
That being said I have been blessed to gain the support of some great companies that makes some products that I am going to add to my boat for 2018. Here is what’s being added:
>8'-10' Power Pole Blades
>4 New Optima Blue Top D31 Series Batteries
>3 new Helix Units (a 9" Helix Mounted in the dash, a 10" Helix Mega on a Ram Mount right of the console, and a 10" Helix Mega DI Unit at the bow)
>1 TH Marine Hydrowave
>1 New Minnkota Fortrex 112lb thrust 36v 52in shaft trolling motor
So here is the meat of my question, with my unique position (I have been diagnosed as terminally ill due to a lung disease i was diagnosed with at 16) I have been considering selling my classic automobile to afford a new Mercury 250 Pro XS or 250XS. I am concerned with all the added weight and running a full tournament load with a full tank of gas, full live wells, a co-angler, and all my tackle and whatever he brings, I feel that my 203 will be very much underpowered running my 01’ Merc 225 E.F.I.
I was just wondering if there are any Champion 203 owners who have re-powered their rigs with a new 250ProXS or 250XS (the 250xs is a Mercury Racing 250) and how much of a performance upgrade did you notice?
I'm having a hard time convincing my dad that running a new 250ProXS or 250XS would provide a significant performance in both top end and fuel economy vs running my older engine.
With my current set up I can turn a 25p Trophy Plus and bang the rev limiter no problem, but if I was to run a 250ProXS or 250XS I know I could turn a much more aggressive prop both three and four blade. I was thinking a worked 26p Tempest Plus 3 Blade and maybe even a 26-27p worked Brovo 4 blade or Mercury Fury 4.
Any and all advice would be much appreciated. The engine I currently have has VERY low hours on it. I bought the boat from the original owner who was a crappie fisherman and never fished a bass tournament out of it. The boat was garage kept and used just a few times a year for short outings. Believe it or not he said when he bought the boat it came with a case of oil which had 6 gallons. He gave me 3 of the original 6 gallons that came in that case. Needless to say the boat is BEAUTIFUL! I'm wanting to build my dream boat to fish the OPENS out of next year and that would include selling the 225 EFI and 69 Chevelle SS 396/325 Numbers Matching Big Block Chevy (which has been frame off restored and has only 2,000 miles on the restoration) and has 71,500 original miles.
Anywhoo, any words of wisdom or advice you guys could provide me would be much appreciated! Thank you all so much, there are some pictures of my 203 below :) And I added a hyperlink to my angling webpage if anyone was interested in my interesting story and dream of fishing as a pro. I will tease you with this, as I type this message now, since I was 16 years old I have undergone 342 lung surgeries, yes that number is correct three hundred and forty-two lung surgeries.
God bless and tight lines,
David Cosner
http://www.DavidCosnerFishing.com