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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: KingwoodCat]
#5223155
08/21/10 01:18 PM
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Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,244
8upwithfishin'
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,244 |
So, what year is considered an older Champ?
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: 8upwithfishin']
#5223172
08/21/10 01:25 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 38,822
KingwoodCat
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 38,822 |
My Buddy's 22' is about a 2000 and has a 300 Merc on it. I'm not sure when they quit making the 300's, but it is the right motor for that Led Sled. We fished a Bass N Bucks tournament on Rayburn in January one time, and I was glad we had every foot of that Champion and every HP of that Merc under us. Worst Conditions I've ever fished in and we made it through some horrendous wind and waves without a problem.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him had better take a look at the American Indian".
Henry Ford
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: RaThEr_Be_FiShIn]
#5223215
08/21/10 01:42 PM
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 45,685
Big Red 12
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 45,685 |
I have bee around and seen the Chargers in action and they might have been the best in rough water. Don't think they are still around? Champion is gone. Now, there is a Champion version of Stratos being made with the Jen-mar debacle.
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: Big Red 12]
#5223314
08/21/10 02:20 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 13,522
Ken A.
Groovy
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Groovy
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 13,522 |
Chargers are still being made but they are ugly, ugly, ugly.
Express 21's are good rough water boats but again there is a trade off. The wind blows you around like a kite when you are on the trolling motor. Fished outta one many times.
I owned 3 Tritons, two TR 21's and one TR22/Yam 300. It was a great boat but still not a Champion in the rough stuff. A buddy ran a 202 for many years and went to the newer wide body 206. It does fish better than the older narrower Champs but it doesn't have the ride.
BassCat is a great boat too. Lots of neat little features. They were my main sponsor when I was guiding. I had three new Pantera III's. All were great fishing boats but too small for big water and tended to act like a submarine when running down lake with the wind in 4 footers! I talked to them till I was blue in the face about building a bigger boat. Finally they came out with a Cougar or Puma that was 20.5' or something like that. Big improvement over the Panteras.
There are trade offs to every boat brand. The old Skeeter Starfires were fast but they back washed badly over the transom when you let off the gas. So they put the pontoons on the transom. That solved the backwashing issue but it slowed them down by 5 mph. The iClass boats are far superior to the ZX boats in ride. I hear the new FX boats are even better (they should be for the price!)
My Bullet will run 90 loaded to fish but it blows around on the trolling motor and bounces around in the rough stuff a little bit. It still rides better than most would believe.
I think Legend has done the best job of pulling all of the good characteristics into one boat. They look good, ride well, fish well and are finished out like no other boat I have ever seen.
The best thing for you to do is ride in a bunch of them before you take the plunge. Just bear in mind that coming out of a ZX190 nearly all of them will feel like they ride good to you.
Disclaimer: This is not a boat bash it is only an opinion of someone that has owned 27 boats over the years and fished out of many more. LOL!!
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: KingwoodCat]
#5223339
08/21/10 02:27 PM
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 862
billclay
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 862 |
My kayak is pretty good in rough water.....ha ha ha. Seriously, it is. I will fish out of my kayak (with an anchor obviously) in rougher water than I will fish in out of my 16' jon boat.
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: billclay]
#5223364
08/21/10 02:34 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 264
RaThEr_Be_FiShIn
Angler
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Angler
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 264 |
bullets look cheap, cheap, cheap
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: 8upwithfishin']
#5223394
08/21/10 02:42 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,441
jeepthing
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,441 |
So, what year is considered an older Champ? My 89 Champ 184. It's awesome, and cuts through waves like butter. Even though it's only 18', it rides and feels like a 20' easy. PM me if you want to get together and fish out of it one day.
Jay "Jeepthing" Bush Registered Architect Bush Architects, LLC
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: KingwoodCat]
#5223406
08/21/10 02:46 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,978
its a fluke
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,978 |
for purely looking at ride.... champion is hard to beat. Ive owned one and they are great.
signed a very happy skeeter owner
The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope. ~John Buchan
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: its a fluke]
#5223450
08/21/10 02:59 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,596
Fishspanker
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,596 |
When talking about ride one name always comes up more than others. Champion. There is a reason. They are the best riding bass boat made.
I wish I had mine back instead of the Basscat I have now. The 18ft Champion would ride circles around the Basscat.
The Sheep who only fears the Wolf is eaten by the Shepherd.
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: Catchin'_Lugers]
#5223572
08/21/10 03:33 PM
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 13,522
Ken A.
Groovy
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Groovy
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 13,522 |
Oops! My daddy can beat up your daddy! Looks like I touched a nerve... It is hard to talk about boats and not bring personal preference into the conversation. I just happen to prefer the sleek lines of the high performance boats like Allisons, Bullets, & Strokers. I know there are many out there that wouldn't take a Bullet if it was given to you. I am good with that. It is like talking about Fords, Chevys, and Dodges. I just prefer the Porsches and Ferraris... No offense meant or taken guys. It's all good here. Whatever gets you on the water to do what we love is the best boat of all. Remember Webster's dictionary defines a bassboat as a, "Large hole in the water that you pour money into regradless of the brand." Ken
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: Ken A.]
#5223592
08/21/10 03:39 PM
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 30,321
RedRanger
burro desagradable
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burro desagradable
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 30,321 |
A couple of my buddies own or have ownned Champion 191.
Those things were amazing in rough water, Hands down the best riding boat in Rough Water.....
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: Catchin'_Lugers]
#5223636
08/21/10 03:53 PM
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,753
Outdoordude
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,753 |
Well, a 16 foot Skeeter ss 90 is not a very good rough water boat... Though, it has gotten me through 35mph winds on main-lake Amistad. I like to think I know what I'm doing in big water though.
I havent been in enough boats to be a good source, but a 19 foot BassCat does pretty well. Certainly there are better, but as mentioned before, there are trade-offs.
Scott Jones
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Re: Best boat for rough water
[Re: Big Red 12]
#5223649
08/21/10 03:56 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,380
rangerb
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,380 |
I have bee around and seen the Chargers in action and they might have been the best in rough water. Don't think they are still around? Champion is gone. Now, there is a Champion version of Stratos being made with the Jen-mar debacle. Actually it's the Champion mold with the Stratos name put on it..
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