fishnkamp

Champion was originally bought by Stratos and was sold under their "Elite" series boats. Once Stratos brought out the VLO series they discontinued them. Big mistake! I met John Story once when he was producing Viper boats. That was after he and his partner sold Champion and he was getting back into bass boats. He was an amazing guy to meet, too bad he could not produce a boat with out tinkering with it constantly, that makes it hard to build up a new boat company's reputation. He then started Hawk boats I believe. I do not think either company lasted too long after that. Enjoy your Champion.

I am sure you will love the Champion, they ride and fish very well. Also the deck height is not as high off the water as other boats, Makes pitchin under docks easie,r at least that was what I saw on my buddies 191. Enjoy your new toy!

Seafoam is great for what is designed to do Clean fuel systems and engines internally. I run a carbed outboard, but I have used it in the fuel on both carbed and EFI engines. It is okay on computerized fuel injected motors but do not use it too often. I like to run it about two times a year in my outboard and about three times a year in my truck. It seems to help clean the fuel systems and cylinders just by running a tank of fuel mixed with it. In really bad situations I have run an external fuel can with a heavy concentration say 6 gallons of fuel with 1/2 can of Seafoam. If what you want to do is keep the fuel in good shape during storage Stabil is good but I do not personally use it. I never add fuel to my boat or lawnmower with out adding Startron fuel treatment. Since I am forced to use fuel with Ethanol and ethanol causes fuel-water problems I always use Startron on every fill up. Believe it or not my Mercury owners manual suggested using either their fuel treatment or Startron. Mercury rarely suggest using some one else's product, which makes me wonder if Startron make the Mercury Marine fuel treatment If your purpose is to clean carbs you can spray directly into the carb ( it comes in can as a liquid or a spray can) or just add it to the gas. I do not see any reason to put it in the cylinders as you suggested. Just my 2 cents I hope it helps

If your battery has the typical caps on top that you can open to check the battery fluid level you have a standard lead acid battery. An AGM (advanced glass mat) battery or a gel cell battery will cost a little to a lot more, be sealed and definitely say so on the outside. The most logical reason someone complained his charger burned up his battery is he used the wrong type of charger. The Schumacher model I suggested with the jump start capabilities is not designed for marine batteries. The Schumacher Speed Charge 15 Automotive and Marine Battery Charger can not jump start, but has buttons to choose between Standard lead acid, gel cell or agm. Choosing one determines which charging pattern the charger uses. The batteries I use in my Lowe are all Marine deep cycle- AGM batteries. They were designed as dual purpose (starting and deep cycle ). I chose these for lots of power all day long. Remember when I start the big engine my outboard recharges that battery. Also my electronics, lights and livewell are wired to that battery and may run for a good part of the day. AGM and gel cell are great because they are sealed, it means no fluid leakage in your boat and they provide years of good service. To me their extra cost averages out over time..

Take a look at the Bass Pro Shop's chargers. I run a BPS XPS intelligent technology 10/10. They run about $200. I come home fishing and just plug the charger in. Overnight I am ready to go again. I run three group 30 Cabelas AGM batteries. two are for my trolling motor and that is what the charger is hooked to. It has kept my batteries going for over 5 years now. The charger is smaller physically than some, but does a great job. It is really nice not to disturb the boats' wiring just to charge them back up, and I do it about 30 plus times a year. I fish all the way to December 15 when our striper season ends. As for a charger for garage use, go to Walmart and get a Schumacher battery charger that can charge and jump start. They run about $60. I own 1 of those. i have also used 3 of the Schumacher Speed Charge 15 Automotive and Marine Battery Chargers. They worked great on a smaller electric only reservoir boat I had. Remember to make sure to match the charger to the type of batteries you use. Not all chargers can properly charge gel cells and AGM batteries.

I agree with Keeper. On my 15 foot Polar Kraft I ran two Minn Kota 55 Enduras. You would definitely know when the second tm was kicked on. I ran 4 batteries ( two batteries per trolling motor) in the boat. the boat's speed did not quite double, but it went from 3.6 to 5.7 mph read by the Hummingbird GPS. I ran that boat on our electric only reservoirs here in MD.

The champion 181 was a great hull for its size. Most Champion hulls ran well for their size! I know, I was interested in the 186. I test drove 2 of them. My wife and I changed our needs to a fish and ski instead so we bought a 20 foot ProCraft. 5K is about right and personally i prefer the efi and carbed motors over the early Opti's for reliability. Look the boat over and arrange a chance to run the boat. If you are still serious, offer to pay to have a mechanic test the compression and look the boat over for you. I also recommend you read a paper a friend of mine wrote on purchasing a used boat. Bryan has written a fact filled primer on the subject. Get yourself a beverage, kick back in your chair and click on this hyperlink: The Under $10K Bass Boat Buyers Guide It is not just a how to, as he wrote it he lived it, sold a boat, searched for a boat, found and purchased a boat. Good Luck with your boat search.

RHuff my name is Bob. I have a friend ED selling a nice grumman 14 foot V bottom boat with trolling motors, multiple batteries,new depth finders, he added all new floors, and new wiring. Ed has gone thru the trailer also. Go to Baybass.com (another friend's website) look under forums, then under Boats and Motors open the following topic " Newbie Posts: 13 14" Grumman reservoir rig and more for BayBass Outdoors Registered Members I just realized after i posted this you can just click on the topic, when I copied it it copied as a hyper link so it should work for you. Take a look at his pictures as well. This is the kind of deal you should be looking for. A small outboard could also be added if you wish. He is asking $1800 I believe. Give him a call and see what you could work out. I know this boat well, he has been fishing several MD and PA lakes with it for a few years now. He is selling it because he is building a larger electric reservoir rig and he just purchased an old Ranger 3 series for fishing the tidal rivers around here. If you fish our drinking reservoirs you must agree not to use that boat anywhere other than our 3 reservoirs, they are worried about transferring unwanted weeds and zebra muscles. If you become serious about it I know he would work something out to meet you out west somewhere.

I am sure you will like that knife. I use one on perch from our reservoir all the time. Sometimes we come home and have to clean more than 50 perch at a time and it is a life saver! Just add the "shake and bake" style cajun seasoning (our local food store carries), melt some butter in the frying pan and look out, your tongue with smack both side of your mouth they are so good!

At this summers Bassmasters Elite event here on the Chesapeake Bay I got to ride on three demo boats. All three were 21 footers, a Triton, a Skeeter, and a Nitro. These were my first rides in a new boat in 7 years. My last big boat was a 20 foot ProCraft with the 200 EFI. Two had the Merc Pro XS's and of course the Skeeter had a SHO Yamaha. I recommend you ride on every new boat you can and if you can arrange it try to run something with the SHO Yamaha, something with a E-TEC and something with the Merc. I loved the Skeeter ride and the torque curve of the SHO but not the layout. To me, the Triton had my favorite layout and the ride was great. I liked the Nitro the least. Now remember these boats were running very choppy water, after all there was a full field of competitors, camera boats and spectator boats. There was no doubt I liked the Yamaha SHO much more than the Merc ProXS! I never got to ride in anything with an E-Tec but I have heard some at local tournaments. They have a very different sound to me Knowing what I experienced, I would order a Triton with a Yamaha, which would required finding a Triton/Yamaha dealer. I know there are lots of Merc ProXS fans out there, but that Yamaha really impressed me. I intend to order a new boat in two years, when my house is paid for. Thus my reason for the demo rides. Go try different boat/engine combos choose your favorite engine, floor plan, and boat manufacturer before you lay down hard earned cash. Just my 2 cents.

Probably not, depending on the year. Your 115 sounds like the late 80's to late 90's versions. They were inline sixes. The 150 to 200 carbed and efi Mercs shared the same v6 engine and gear cases, but might not have had the same gearing. Go to your Merc dealer with engine serial numbers to be sure.

What is the outboard and what is the problem? If it is a starting problem then there are steps to troubleshoot it. How old is it, what brand, what hp? Have any of the fuel lines been changed? If the fuel tank is a portable can, dump the fuel and start over with fresh fuel. If it is a bigger boat with a built in tank then try running off a portable, say 10 gallon, tank with fresh fuel. Has the fuel lift pump been replaced, often the diaphragm goes bad. Give us some info and there are plenty of people here that can get you going fast. If you do not wish to try yourself then take it into the shop.

In reality the fastest electric outboards available are the Torqeedo 4.0. It is a 24 volt motor producing the equivalent power of an 8 hp outboard. These have become very popular here in Maryland reservoirs. They replaced the 60 volt Ray Electric as the most popular engine for our reservoir anglers. The guys running these boats have a stack of batteries under the decks. Most often 10 6 volt group 31s for the Rays and 8 6 volt batteries for the Torqeedos. Torqeedo also offers electric outboards up to 80 hp equivalence but these are for commercial uses do to their cost.

Sorry for your loss. One thing about time spent together in nature is the memories never go away. Each time you go to a specific lake or river you will find your heart and mind filled with those sweet memories again. I find I have trouble remembering things in everyday life, but can relive most every moment spent fishing with my wife. I can not help but smile over each one. Thank God for that! Have faith he will help get you through it!

There is a reason you are having trouble finding good 18 to 19 foot boats. It is simple. For years the tournament circuit only allowed 150 horse power engines, so 18 to 19 foot with a 150 were the norm. Even most bass guides ran them. When the limits tournaments allowed went through the roof the most popular boat became 20 foot long powered by 200 to 225 HP. Then it became 21 foot, after Champion made a 21 foot 300 hp boat. The longer boats ride better and a lot more storage is available. The down side of all of this is the everyday working person can not afford them along with the massive list of " must have" accessories. Look closely to the asking price of those used boats, subtract out the cost of electronics, power poles if any, etc. Now you are looking at the true price of the used boat minus the add ons you would be paying extra for on a new boat. If the used boat has most of the options you would add to a new one the "value" of the used one may become more attractive. The one advantage to a new one, besides warranties, is you do get to pick your options (brands, models) colors etc. Pay attention to the "Coupon" mentioned earlier. This is a situation where a tournament angler wins a boat, already has one so he accepts a factory coupon instead. He may win more then one boat per year, if he wins often enough. Often you sill see them offered for a reduced cash price on sites like this, as already mentioned. Here you get a discount on your price, but that coupon is good for one new boat from factory X. It could be your best option. Either way enjoy your new toy.

I have no doubt "bean counters" working for Johnny could cause a collapse in the management of companies he takes over. They have been overseeing his boat operations for decades, we see what their choices result in. Remember though, they work for him so ultimately he is still responsible for this shake up. When a company allows their bean counters to force changes most often quality and customer service are the first to suffer! Just watching for what is next, similar "reductions and changes" at the other two?

Lets check a few things first. Check your battery voltage and have the batteries load tested, if you do not feed the circuit with enough voltage or amperage you can have trouble. Check the ground connections on the engine. The clicking you hear should be the relays located under the engine cowling. I have heard of some instances where water got into a trm switch, shorting the circuit and lets say activated the trim solenoid in the down position until the battery wore down. Sometime that burns out the trim motor. Get a manual, identify the trim relay, check the power going to that relay when someone activates any of your trim switches. If all is okay there, trace down to the wiring going to the solenoid. using some wire jump the power down to the solenoid. The trim motor should activate if the problem was in the wiring/switches. If you give power to the trim motor and nothing happens you probably need a trim motor. If you do not feel comfortable mucking in the wiring, check with your dealer about the pressure relief, raise the motor , then off to the dealer you go!

Here in MD we have a lot of reservoir rig fisherman. I agree with the last poster. Here the Torquedos are king. They replaced the 60 volt Ray electric motors due to quiet operation and less batteries needed so less weight. They are not cheep though. The E drive is going to leave you a little disappointed with its performance. I have spoken to several guys who have them. I also have a friend with a MK Vantage 101,that is a 36 volt 101 pound thrust transom mount trolling motor. He really likes that motor and has been using it for several years. Good Luck and let us know which way you go.

When my dealer replaced the trim motor and rebuilt the trim cylinder on my 75 Merc. I believe he removed the motor from the hull. You may have to do the same for access. You may have to drill the screw and use an easy out.

My wife and I have owned 11 boats. Everything from a 12 foot jon boat to a twenty foot fiberglass hull powered by a 200 hp outboard. Let me ask a few questions that will help. What type of water do you intend to fish most often. If the answer is small rivers, streams or ponds then a jon boat or canoe is fine. If you have some small lakes or horsepower restricted lakes then the same 12 to 14 foot jon or vee hull would be your best choice. Both of those would be safe in the water conditions you would encounter. Both would fit in the "able to be moved in the back of a pick up truck as well as have a friend with you". I fished a reservoir in MD. with the 12 footer and two electric trolling motor. It was a great little package for a bigger body of water that allowed no big fast boats to make boating unsafe. I also fished from a 15 foot trailered bass boat in a larger body of water, but it had a 20 hp restriction. Both of those boats would have been fine when I fished smaller tidal creeks on the Chesapeake Bay. I hope these thoughts will help you decide what to look at. Also if you decide you want to fish alone there are some newly designed kayaks on the market that fish pretty nice. As for price a 12 to14 foot john or vee bottom will be your cheapest option.

One reason Ranger has held its position in the market place was its customer service, one phone call to Ranger parts with your serial number and almost any part you may need was available. That won't work if your manufacturer has been shut down! As I read through your responses many suggest there are plenty of other makes to choose from. Really, look at the number of bass boat manufacturers that no longer exist. Look here, I am worried that 3 premium brands may disappear all at once. The choices are dwindling. That has been the point I am trying to make and you keep missing it. Cabelas is on his radar now. They sell some brands BPS's does not carry, and sometimes competes directly on price on the shared brands. Do you really think he is interested in buying them to own or eliminate the competition? Be honest remember his history not his words. I do!

I think you are missing my point, I do not CARE that Johnny buys them or owns them, only if he destroys them!! His history each time he buys a boat brand is to PROMISE they will continue independently, and history shows he removes their better technology and soon kills them. The ProKraft example I gave (and I know of personally, because I did go to the factory when I bought my 205 Pro Combo in 1999) is typical. He bought them, promised to keep them running separately, then magically redesigned his crappy Nitro's (beginning with the fish and ski's first). The resemblance was unmistakable. And yes he did shut them down around 2008-9. ProKraft is not the only brand he has eaten up, there are some other fresh and saltwater boats as well. YES, I know Yamaha owns G3 and Skeeter. Just how much turmoil have you seen at Yamaha or Skeeter recently? I do not expect them to go anywhere soon, As for the Bass Cat, I had heard the ownership had changed, but to my knowledge they are still run the same. That was why I said " I hoped it would be still around in two years". My home will be paid for by then and I can then "invest" the kind of money it takes to purchase a new boat with all of the goodies these days! As for the Bass Cat, they still make some fine boats. I have a friend with a two year old Cougar, that is a fantastic fishing machine. GulfCaptain has already praised the Pantera II, Its' interesting B/C has made 4 different Pantera floor plans, yet the company has sold more PIIs than any other boat model in their history. If they are still available I intend to order a new PII with a Yamaha 200 VMAX SHO. After 11 boats with Mercs it will be my first Yamaha powered rig. After riding in a Nitro\Merc ProXS combo and a Skeeter\Yamaha SHO this summer I will order the Yamaha SHO, I was really unimpressed by the ProXS. Both my wife and I agreed there was no comparison between the Skeeter/VMAX SHO and the Nitro\Pro XS. The Skeeter out performed the Nitro in performance and rough water ride hands down! Believe me, to take a ride in the Upper Chesapeake Bay during the BassMasters Elite tournament, we had a rough water demo! I guess time will tell if I am correct on his next moves. It is a shame because I liked the Ranger Z118C and Triton TR189's floor plan and would consider buying one but can not trust the companies future existence. If you disagree with me on the Nitros that is fine, just be honest with yourself! Turn on Major League Fishing. Watch those Nitros struggle to get on plane when they take off. I even asked Dean Rojas at the tournament about them. He said the Z-7 (the 18.8 footer) were dogs even with max horsepower. He would know he fishes on that circuit. Remember that is Nitro's competition to the PII, Ranger Z118, Triton 189 or TX18 etc.

People need to support the few INDEPENDANT builders that are left so we do not end up with Johnny's crap as our only options!! My next boat will be purchased in two years and I intend to get a Bass Cat. I just hope they can continue to exist that long and long after. Personally, I had a ride on Johnny"s crap this summer at The Bassmasters tournament on the Chesapeake Bay. I do not want it in my garage! More importantly, I do not want to be forced to put that crap in my garage!

All Mercury two stroke carbureted and EFI engines had either that lever or in the middle area of the throttle lever had a button. You push in the button and advance the throttle lever forward, this would lock the engine in neutral and advance the engine speed for quicker warm up. The choke was still used as well. I believe the Optis have a similar setup.

I would not recommend using it. If you own a Mercury outboard then get Mercury's 2-4-C Lubricant with teflon. That grease comes in different containers, from a simple tube, to small cartridges and up to the full size cartridges depending on the size of your grease gun. This grease was developed to be used on all of the steering cables, throttle cables and more. It specifically says not to use it on needle bearing which sorta suggests not good for wheel bearings. I doubt your wheel bearing grease would be ideal for your application. Check the owners manual for your outboard, but I have used the 2-4-c on all of my outboards (all 9 of them) and have had no trouble.