Older Champions?

Hey guys,

Looking into buying an older Champion bass boat. This will be my first bass boat after having 14' tinneys with 10-25hp tiller obs my whole life. My price range is 5-6k and I am looking for something in the 17-19ft range with enough OB to cover some decent water. I was talking to the older local guys, since I cannot afford a newer boat they all pretty much tell me " If you have to go older make sure its a Champion or Ranger"


The boat I am currently looking at is an 88 18.5ft dual console, new carpet.. Gelcoat looks good. It has a 2000 Johnson 175 Oceanrunner (carbs not ficht), jackplate, hyd steering, etc. Looks like its in really good shape. being able to even go look at it in person will take a large investment of time and money so I'm trying to get as much information ahead of time as I can

Anything, other than the usual I should be looking at on this hull ? Are these still decent, warranting the epic reputation that the newer champ boats have ?

The bad I know of so far..

Oiling system is either removed or disabled.. Is this common on such a new OB ? I thought the newer oiling systems were pretty good.

Fuel gauge doesn't work ( all I know at this point). How hard is it to access the sending unit ? (assuming that is the "worst" part to get to access wise)

He also mentioned something about the front panel being questionable, but I need to get more information on this.

Lastly, the console fish finder is missing, but its "wired" for one. (the one on the bow is there + apparently working) Do I have to buy a specific kind, or are they pretty much interchangeable ? I dont really want to be drilling more holes and mounting another transducer if I dont have to. Do both fish finders typically share the same transducer? ( never had more than one on my boats before)

Any other advice for a newb welcome, I have seen some newer hulls in my price range, but they had older OB's so there is a trade off. Not sure which route is better really.

Just make DANG sure that motor is a 20" shaft, NOT a 25"

Hi with a boat that old I would pull each wiring panel and clean with steel wool the spade connectors and put a dab of (Copper Shield made by Thomas & Betts) do this to the fuel gauge also.
The sending unit is on the top of the tank and is very easy to replace, but first clean the connections on the gauge.
Look for any large cracks around the transom or under the boat.
Good luck. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/smile.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/smile.gif

Welcome to BBC!!

The guys here will help with most of your questions, but I can answer one...Unless you can find the same brand/model of fishfinder with identical connectors, the connections are not going to be compatible with newer models...

If you do get a new finder, get one which has the transducer which can be glassed into the bilge. No holes to drill!

Any questions about the Johnson can be asked in the Johnson Evinrude forum here on BBC. Got some experts in there...

Take a good long look at the bottom of the boat. Make sure there are no cracks or chips missing. My 1995 has plenty of them and it will cost more to repair than the boat is worth.
Eric H.

Check out the Super Tips section - it has a section on buying a used boat.

Thanks all for the welcome and advice.

Here are some pics if interested. Will report back once I have it looked over.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ja...tlink

A 184 with a tandem trailer. Unusual.

Check the transom, carefully. The front panel being questionable probably means the plastic holder on it has gotten brittle and is one push away from cracking completely. Those are no longer available and anything you replace it with will have to be free form made by you.

If that's a single tank model the sending unit on the tank should be accessible from the engine compartment without pulling the tank. Looks like the gauges are new, at least not stock. A couple switches have been replaced. Check the wiring connections for corrosion.

Take a pass on it, seriously. Low water pickup is nothing you want to see on your motor. Either this guy had serious hot rod plans, or serious plans on running where he shouldn't be. Either one lights my exit sign.

If Pat says it, I believe it!!!

The tach is new it has to be because that model year uses a "System Check" system that has a series of LED's to indicate engine malfunctions. Look at the model # on the motor tag it should read J175GLESS you don't want any X's in there that indicates a 25" shaft. I'm not a big fan of LW pickups either. Don't know why they bypasssed the OMS/VRO some folks are paranoid of the system, in 35 years of working on OMC products I have heard about 3 or 4 OMS failures and those were on small HP motors. Tandem axle trailers were and option back then. But the 150/175 60* motors are solid as a rock!

Shoot, wish I would have checked back, I just pulled the trigger on it.

Had my dad go up, since he is much closer than I am. He took the boat to a local shop + had it looked over.. They said everything looks great.

I didn't even know what a low water pickup is... After an hr or so of reading, not sure I like them either... http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/sick.gif

One somewhat disturbing thing is the model number I have on the OB is J175SLEDB.. From what I can tell, this is a '96 not a 2000 as advertised. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/sick.gif Maybe I will post on the Johnson board unless someone can confirm ?

Looks like a very well kept boat. Amazingly clean for one of that age. Enjoy it, as it's run this long, prolly run a lot longer http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif