FEEDBACK NEEDED ---2000 Mean 16/90hp carbed Mercury---

[chad0722]

what do you guys think about these little boats. I'm looking to possibly buy one. If anyone has had one or has one currently i have questions:
how fast is it? w/tx load? which prop? rpm?
stability when fishing?
rough water? (i know its a champ)
any problems? from small nit-picky stuff to major, please let me know.

If any dealers have any input on this boat and setup/rigging hints, concerns, etc. your response would be appreciated

[Lea]

Hi, Chad! Welcome to the BBC and Champion forum. The Mean 16 has been out of production for awhile, but I hear it is a running rascal.

Hope someone familiar with them will sign on!!!

[iron banks]

I had a 99 mean 16 with a 115 johnson. Great little boat ran close to 60 speedo. The 90 hp I here is a 50 mph boat. Handles like all champs. Storage is the down side. I kept it 6 months an upgraded to a 181 like the sales guy said I would

[Bassin08]

With your being from Watertown, you may be looking at my old boat. It was a blue/white 2000 Champion Mean 16 with a 90 Mercury.

I really liked most things about the boat. It handled well just like all Champions do. I don't fish real big lakes, so rough water was never a problem for me. The storage was sufficient, however it was difficult to get 6 1/2' rods in the rod box. I added a rod rack and moved the wires in the front panel and that made it a little better.

The boat ran real well with the 90 Mercury. I did not have a GPS, but I would guess the speed to be in the upper 40's.

If you are going to fish lakes 3000 acres and under you will probably like the boat. If you are fishing big lakes that get pretty rough, you may be disappointed.

The one thing I did not like about the boat was, the seats feel like they are on the floor. When you are a little older like me, it is harder to get up out of the seats all day.

[chad0722]

Thanks for the responses guys!
The biggest lake i will fish will be big green lake maybe Red Cedar near rice lake. There are a few boats in my club around this size and, while they complain about waves wind etc, they still make it back OK.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bassin08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">With your being from Watertown, you may be looking at my old boat. It was a blue/white 2000 Champion Mean 16 with a 90 Mercury.

</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sounds like the one!
HaHa! yeah its blue and white.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bassin08 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The one thing I did not like about the boat was, the seats feel like they are on the floor. When you are a little older like me, it is harder to get up out of the seats all day.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the warning.
IS it that the seats are too soft or just too low? Could they be raised a couple inches or would that be too close to the steering wheel/console?

thanks guys!

[mixermarkb]

ok, so I was out riding my bike this morning (pedal type, kinda getting a gut im trying to get rid of) and I was thinking about this post.

I REALLY wasn't gonna comment, cause once we get a boat in our sights that we like, we all tend to want to pull the trigger-

but man-

I gotta tell ya, IF it was my $$, i'd not think twice about going a few years older and a little bigger in a champ. Rough water ride, fishablity (esp with 2 guys using 7' rods), resale value, penis extension/ramp bragging rights, the occasional tourney- in just about every category something in the 18+ foot, 150 hp range does better. Spend your $$ how you see fit, but I think a mid 90's 184 or 186/187 with a 150 or 175 would be a FAR better rig, and make you happier in the long run.

I may take some flack for this, and I REALLY dont mean to insult anyone, but I think if you are not talking 18' with a 150, you really would be just as well served with a tin boat, and not have to tow the extra weight of the fiberglass rig-

YMMV, but I think you will prolly be wanting to trade up about as soon as you buy that rig-

[Bassin08]

I sold the boat to a young guy that lived on Okauchee lake. The only problem I had with the boat was the motor. You will be happy to know that it had a new factory power head that was installed in 2002. When I sold the boat it was in showroom condition. The nice thing about the boat was the width. It has the same width as a 181 and a lot of storage for a 16' boat. It was easy to tow, good on gas and handled like a sports car. Great boat for small water and very well built. I owned four Champions over the years and the Mean 16 was the smallest and the last one. I almost bought the 183CX that C&O had last fall. I bought a 17'6" Triton instead and still think about that 183 all the time.

About the seats.........I think that you sit so low in the boat, making it is a little hard to get up and down all day. Keep in mind that I am a pretty old guy. There is plenty of leg room and plenty of room behind the steering wheel.

I was staying on a lake in Vilas county and left the boat tied up the dock overnight. We had down pours all night long. When I went out in the morning, the boat was filled right up to the seats with water. The transom had about 1" left before going under. I gently stepped into the boat and hit the bilge pump. It pumped all the water out and then I looked into the storage compartments, expecting to see everything floating. Should have know better with a Champion. Everything was bone dry, not one drop of moisture even.

Hope this helps you with your decision. I think that most of the people on here fish large lakes in the south. They may not realize that we fish a lot of lakes that are 100 to 1000 acres. There are many times that I fish a day without even using my outboard, other than to power-load back onto my trailer.

Are you a member of C&R Bass?