If Champion goes away

[Jerkbait]

What would be your next choice for a new boat and why.I would like my next boat to be another Champion but after talking to Randy Hopper on Monday,I get the feeling that thats not looking good right now.Also if Champion no longer makes boats do you think that would make the cost of used Champion go up or down.


Modified by Jerkbait at 6:58 AM 2/11/2010

[pmgoffjr]

Bass Cat, Storm, Stroker, Allison...my short list of bass boats.

[george liles]

Bass Cat, no question!

[champion_206]

Don't think you could get me out of my Champ, I will just keep what I have 2006 206 w/225 e-tec HO and never look back, cept when I am passing all those ranger n stratos on lake erie

[MMosher]

Basscat or Legend

[iron banks]

Bass Cat most likely but will keep my champ. I think they will go up a little as the as many people love the hull and every year there will be less of them on the market. BTW, you can tell Mr. Hopper I will NEVER buy a ranger or stratos from his company

[Jerkbait]

You can tell him what you think also.. here is his email and if you email him include your phone # Randy.Hopper@RangerBoats.com

[Lea]

Champion forever....

I think it will all work out. Mr Hopper is not going to speak about Champion survival because he is not interested in continuing to have Champ as competition for his brand. IMHO, there is room for all brands and no room for personalities..

[Jerkbait]

That is true Lea..However right now Champion survival is in his Hopper's hands.We can only hope they sell Champion.That is if Hopper is willing to sell his competition.Hmmm I don't know.Time will tell, after all PE is all about money and they have the last say.I hope

[FEARTHETURTLE210]

Lea, I think Ranger has more to worry about BassCat,Legend,Phoenix,these are quality brands that is taking more market share all the time...Champion buyer is a smart buyer. We all bought a Champion because we value our internal organs more than the contingency money.

[GregA]

Sterling 20' flats boat. Will handle all my fresh and salt water needs.

[Bassin Bob71]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by iron banks &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bass Cat most likely but will keep my champ. I think they will go up a little as the as many people love the hull and every year there will be less of them on the market. BTW, you can tell Mr. Hopper I will NEVER buy a ranger or stratos from his company </TD></TR></TABLE>

Couldn't agree more with everything you said

That would be an interesting poll to see....How many would buy a Ranger or Stratos if Champion folds under Hoppers watch. Jerkbait...encourage your buddy Randy to come on here and view the Champion board from time to time. If he shuts Champ down, all he's going to do is push potential Champion buyers to his other competition - not to Ranger.

[Bassin Bob71]

Poll is started....

[Artie]

I'm not buying anything else. My next boat will be a mid 90's 19' dual console with a 2.5 liter Merc, and I will tweak it up to about 250 hp with a little help from Jay and a Brucatto SVS. It will probably be my last. I don't care if Champion survives or not, really, because they quit making the boats that made them great years ago. The new boats, with rounded corners and modified hulls, aren't the same. I've ridden in several and they won't do what the older Champs did. Sorry, but it's a fact. My friends with other brands bugged me about getting a new/bigger boat. They all had 20' boats, and I could easily hang with them in my 184 on any day. With no pounding. And if we had to turn, I was gone. They all cringed when I would make a turn at 60 with the bow up and not slow down. Of course, it was a non-event in my boat, but they didn't know that. They just thought I was a great driver!

When I bought my 184, it had a Mariner Mag II 150 (2.4 liter), and I had three friends with 18' boats-Skeeter, Bass Cat Saber and 370V. All had 175 hp engines. I could beat them out of the hole and run away from them on top end. All of them. Every time. And if it was rough, they rode with me.

Why would I buy anything else?

Artie

[Skip]

For me I have a 2005 ChampioN 188 Elite with a Yamaha 200 EFI that came from C&O we bought from Pat when he was working up there. I think I'll run it for several more years before I need to change. Then I'll just call Pat and ask what is good and go from there.

[clanderman]

It seems like a common answer when it comes to Champ owners that Basscat is the way to go... I wonder what is so similar about the companies that makes us agree on this. Besides the feeling that both companies make you feel like they really love their customers.

[dstacey]

I would probably shop Phoenix pretty hard.

[Royjulius]

I asked Scott at Freedom Outdoors if he thought ChampioN was finished and here's what he wrote back:

No not at all!!
It will take some time to sort things out.
The are moving to Flippin where the little stratos's will start production first........
then the bigger boats.
By that time it will be model year change time and certain model Champions will be built in 2011.
Scott

[250ETECHO]

I'll stay in my 206 till I sink it. The 206 is the best Great Lake Bass boat around!

[Jerkbait]

08 198 Champ.. Dont be a jerk.Show me where I even insinuated that Hopper was my buddy.All I did was email him asking about Champions future.He called me.Furthermore you dont have to post anything to see how Champion owners feel about Ranger,we all know the answer to that.And another thing I bet that Hopper reads this Board daily.