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1996 champion 191 opinions
Just Purchased a 1996 champion 191 with a Johnson 200hp fingerport. I paid $6500. I think boat is all original never been redone. It seems to be in pretty nice shape for a boat this old. I took it for one test drive before winterizing. Can’t believe how quick this boat got on plane and how good it handled. I can’t wait till spring. Just looking for general opinions on this model boat and motor. Any info helps. Thanks
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Champion Boats Moderator
Welcome! I am sure some 191 owners will be along. Meanwhile, congratulations on your boat!!!!
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I gotta take some pictures. It is black with nice rainbow metal flake. Awesome paint scheme
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I owned the same boat only powered by a 200 Merc EFI. Bought new and fished it for 16 years, until I sold it 6 years ago. I believe the same guy still owns it today. While I can't compare it to the other Champ models, I can say I loved the boat. It would run 68 mph all say long and handled great, especially in rough waters. In 16 years, the only "issues" I had was with the trailer (just wear and tear). One word of caution I would pass on, is be careful about adding weight to the back of the boat (eg. jackplate and power poles etc.) The boat was not designed to carry that weight back there and changes the attitude significantly. Otherwise, you should enjoy that boat for years assuming the Johnson is in good shape. Be sure to check the transom for wetness and possible rot. It has been known to be an issue on Champs that old. Good luck.
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Thanks Lea for welcoming me and to Reel Serious. Great reply. I do not see any obvious signs of the transom being bad but probably too late by then. I plan on resealing all of my transom penetrations just to make sure I have this boat for a while. Thanks again Anyone know of a good champion mechanic in ct to do the reseal job
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Buddy had a 94 190, which is close enough. It was a great boat and handled like a sports car, only complaint was the deck width. A bit on the small side after running a wide body rig.
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Champion Boats Moderator
If transom is sound, resealing is indeed the way to go. If it is wet, but not rotten thru-out, it can be dried and then resealed. If rotten, repairs can be done. Lots of threads on the subject here and in the restoration forum. Not necessary to have a Champion mechanic, as any good fiberglass repair shop should be able to help with inspection and repair/sealing....
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I had a 97 191 with 200 evinrude , great rig!
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All sound advice above. If it were me, I would do a number of maintenance items right away if you don't have a maintenance record. Water Pump right away along with the lower unit oil. The lower unit you want to look for a gray oil to see if you have water in it. If solid black or bluish then you are fine. If grey then you have a leak in a seal. I would keep changing the oil after every few trips until you have a chance to remedy the seals. Hopefully your upper seals are the issue as you can most likely do this while you are changing out the water pump. I say most likely because I can do the upper seals on my Merc but not sure about Johnson. The prop shaft seal you will probably need to take it in.
I would check the bearings and brakes along with the actuator. After I purchased my new to me boat, one of the bearings fried and it was a mess. I am lucky it didn't eat through the spindle and hence lose the wheel. If you have gear oil for hub lube, change it back to grease. Ask me why... I have now literally changed out all the brake systems. All is wonderfully new and works great!
Definitely check to see if you you have any transom movement. The outside edge should not move away from the transom. Any gap is not good. Any gap! Mine is composite and it had separated which was a relatively easy fix. Yours is wood and you have to determine if you are wroughted all the way through. Otherwise you can reseal. PM me and I can tell you how I did mine.
I would pull the engine while doing this as it will make it easier to clean, dry, and then reseal plus you get to reseal the mounting bolts.
Check to see if the guard railing around the boat has screws poking out. you will see outward little bumps on the guardrail. if so, remove the guardrail and R&R the screws that hold the top of your boat to the bottom. be sure to use silicon with every stainless screw.
just kind of gave you a run down of what I had to do to bring this beast up to par. Not trying to scare you but just make you aware so things get repaired before they get worse. :)
Main items are transom, water pump, and lower unit. Brakes are a close 2nd. I may have forgotten something but others can chime in.
Best wishes.
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Thanks to tomloans sounds like a good list for me to start with. I plan on doing it all before spring so I’ll have a good head start on trusting this boat and keeping it nice. I have one picture gonna try and get it on here
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