Stingray23 Posted August 24, 2012 Posted August 24, 2012 Anyone? I'd like to know the pro's and con's to owning a Champion. I recently ran into one that has me interested. Its a 2001 196DC w/200 Merc optimax. I keep hearing about the ride, the handling, the constuction. Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted August 24, 2012 Super User Posted August 24, 2012 I own a 2001 Champion 206. I have had it since it was new. I use it 80-100 days each year. It still looks like it did when I bought it. The ride and handling are incredible. You won't go wrong with a 196 if it has been taken care of. 1 Quote
Bass Dude Posted August 24, 2012 Posted August 24, 2012 That's a sweet looking ride Jig Man. I don't own a Champion, but I've always heard good things about them. Quote
Al Wolbach Posted August 24, 2012 Posted August 24, 2012 I have a 1998 203DCX w/225 Yamaha. I ordered it in 1998 and plan on keeping it forever. My two best friends have a 206 and a 176(I think) and both love theirs as well. If the 196 you are looking at is well maintained I believe you will really like it. We all are discussing repowering our boats now with 4 stroke Yamahas.As stated above the ride and handling are second to none but with that you lose a tick of speed. In my area(East Tn) you compete in tournaments with Allisons and Bullets and when the water is smooth you can't beat them to a hole. But when the wind picks up, or boat traffic, and the water gets rough the Champion shines. I have never had a fishing partner that did not comment about the smooth ride. The storage is about average I suppose in volume. Rod lockers are a little longer and larger than most boats and the dry storage is truely dry, no matter what the weather. Overall they are well built and have a faithful following.............Al PS I'm not sure what the width of the 196 is but my 203 is about 90 inches and my buddy's 206 is about 95 inches. The narrower boats handle a bit better, ride a bit better and are more responsive but the 95 inch boats fish a bit better. My narrow boat rocks a little more if a big guy moves suddenly from side to side. One of my fishing buddies weights near 270 and when he makes a long cast I feel it up front. This is not a real problem but at least you are aware. However, I would not trade my Champion for any other boat. It's not often you see a Champion for sale because their owners will not part with them..... 1 Quote
Stingray23 Posted August 24, 2012 Author Posted August 24, 2012 Thanks for the responses. From the looks of the pics, the 196 looks to be in excellent condition. Supposedly has all the maintance records too. I dont tournament fish, so I really dont care about speed. As long as it gets me to where I want to be safely and smoothly, I really dont care to go too fast. Quote
wrat Posted August 30, 2012 Posted August 30, 2012 I used to have a champion Mean 15 with a suzuki 140 and a hydraulic jack plate it would ride and fish better than just about any 18ft'er only reason I got rid of her was she only had a 14 gallon gas tank Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 Just bought my first boat, 1988 Champion, with a 150 Johnson! Putting her in the water on Tuesday, gonna make a run on the Chowan River in NC!!! Quote
Al Wolbach Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 Let us know how you like the ride..................Al Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 17, 2012 Posted December 17, 2012 I will, and I'll try to post a pic of her. Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 18, 2012 Posted December 18, 2012 WOW.......what a boat! This thing is awesome, the ride is sweet. It was a perfect day to test the ride, the river was choppy, but this baby would come out of the hole and right up on plane. She rode the chops like nobodies business... Very impressed and proud to own a Champion. Only a couple things, she was difficult to start at first, took probably 15-20 minutes, then she did fine. Turning is real stiff, not sure if there is a way to make the steering easier or not. The worst thing was I came of of the hole and lost my sunglasses...they were lying on the deck....one cool fish will be sporting Oakley's... Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Just bought my first boat, 1988 Champion, with a 150 Johnson! Putting her in the water on Tuesday, gonna make a run on the Chowan River in NC!!! typo...1986 Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 Well, I spoke to the previous owner, and the hard start was due to the new owner being a knucklehead...didn't follow the directions he gave me, now I have them written down! Quote
Hersh Posted December 19, 2012 Posted December 19, 2012 I have a 1995 181dc. With an evinrude intruder 150. I love the boat, my first bass boat and it was very easy to run and use as a newby Hersh 1 Quote
Al Wolbach Posted December 20, 2012 Posted December 20, 2012 WOW.......what a boat! This thing is awesome, the ride is sweet. It was a perfect day to test the ride, the river was choppy, but this baby would come out of the hole and right up on plane. She rode the chops like nobodies business... Very impressed and proud to own a Champion. Only a couple things, she was difficult to start at first, took probably 15-20 minutes, then she did fine. Turning is real stiff, not sure if there is a way to make the steering easier or not. The worst thing was I came of of the hole and lost my sunglasses...they were lying on the deck....one cool fish will be sporting Oakley's... The starting problem is ok. How about the steering? Still hard to turn?..........................Al Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 21, 2012 Posted December 21, 2012 The steering is hard, the previous owner said his experience is at low speed it is difficult, at higher speeds, not so difficult. He believes this is due to torque? Quote
Super User Jeff H Posted December 22, 2012 Super User Posted December 22, 2012 The steering is hard, the previous owner said his experience is at low speed it is difficult, at higher speeds, not so difficult. He believes this is due to torque? Not likely. It's probably the cables. Quote
Gpd387 Posted December 23, 2012 Posted December 23, 2012 Where should I start to try and fix them? New to the boating world, but handy with a wrench... Quote
champ184 Posted January 29, 2013 Posted January 29, 2013 Well, I just seen this post so this is a bit late but I had to put my two cents in,i have a 1989 champ 184-DCF/S,with a 1992 Suzuki 150 EFI, this is a great boat it rides good and handles the ruff stuff pretty good,im still working on getting it set up but it will run with any 20 foot boat and the best thing it is paid for LOL Quote
Guy Casey Posted December 26, 2021 Posted December 26, 2021 Hello forum;I bought a 1998 Champion 186 with a 175 merc on it.The manual is very vague,trying to find the bilge pump to replace it.If i open the compartment where the batteries and fuel tank is, there is an access cover,i took it off and can see a pump in the middle is that the aerator/bilge pump or is there a bilge pump hidden somewhere i can not locate. Quote
Big Rick Posted January 7, 2022 Posted January 7, 2022 You'd be much better served by starting your own thread. This old thread title does your need no justice. Welcome to BR. A wealth of knowledge to be found. Quote
Chris Catignani Posted January 7, 2022 Posted January 7, 2022 On 12/26/2021 at 5:27 PM, Guy Casey said: Hello forum;I bought a 1998 Champion 186 with a 175 merc on it.The manual is very vague,trying to find the bilge pump to replace it.If i open the compartment where the batteries and fuel tank is, there is an access cover,i took it off and can see a pump in the middle is that the aerator/bilge pump or is there a bilge pump hidden somewhere i can not locate. It should be on the bottom in the middle at the back. There is also the possibility that its missing. Quote
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