It's an '89 Champion 184 and it's done . . . . . . . . well, sort of.

I've been working on this boat since Thanksgiving 2009 and it's been a long time coming. Engine came off my old TideCraft and I could not be happier with my upgraded hull. It's solid and after a ton of hours wetsanding and polishing, the gelcoat is great. Replaced batteries, and lot's of old wiring. Mounted a 3 bank charger, newer trolling motor, lot's of plumbing, fixed a few leaks, rewired the trailer, new tires, and repairs to loose hatches, springs, lifts, and countless other stuff.

I'm in the middle of replacing the wood in the seats this week, and I want to put a jackplate and different prop as soon as I find them. But I'm close, and just got the title work back today, Woo Hoo!!!

Love these old Champ boats!!! Had it out 3 times now and it Rocks!!!

Also wanted to thank Spanky. He found me the hull to get me out of that Tidecrap hull, cut me a great deal, mounted the motor, answered a ton of questions, and really did do a great job for me. He Rocks Too!! I owe him (literally and figurtively). Wasn't sure if I should mention at first, You know "he hates boats" LOL






I've had some requests for before pic's and explanation of how I did it. Here's a summary, but most of it I learned by asking Spanky and Blu-Ranger here on the TFF. I'm also including some before pic's to follow.

Did all the wetsanding by hand, polished with a buffer, and then finished up with wax by hand.

For wetsanding: First: remove as many bolt on items as possible. It's a lot easier to get all of that stuff out of the way now and it also protects the finish from getting damaged by sandpaper or buffer. I started with 1500 grit wet/dry sandpaper from Autozone, a garden hose, and a bucket with rag. Start sanding by hand and keep it wet. I think its easiest to keep the hose on trickle. The water washes away old oxidation and a thin layer of gelcoat. You have to constantly keep it as wet as possible, or it will clog the paper and make a large scratch. Do the whole boat with 1500, then 1200, then 1500, etc. All the way up to 2000 grit. If at any point you start to feel glitter, stop! The boat should feel smooth as your sanding, and getting smoother. Like really slick. If you sand too deep the glitter will be exposed and will feel sharp. All boat manufacturers have their own gelcoat thicknesses and depending on if your boat has ever been sanded before there is no real way for anyone to tell you how deep you can go. What I was told was: only sand the milky stuff away (oxidation). Hard to explain until you start, but you will see it and it will make sense then. Right now your boat has a milky look to it. Once the milky stuff is gone, stop.

For polishing: I went to Harbor Freight and got a variable sander/polisher. This one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryID=105&pricetype. Also got some 3M polishing compound. Tip: cover the entire interior at this point with dropcloths or tarps. Polish fling's everywhere and it's very hard to get off seats and carpet. Polishing is another thing you'll just have to get a feel for, but I've never done it before and it turned out great. I squirted the polish into a tupperware bowl and used an old paintbrush to put a little on at a time. Dab a little in a spot, put the pad on it (not turning) then turn it on low and start working a small area (like 12 inch square). Keep it moving around and slowly increase the speed. You'll see it begin to shine now. Do a little at a time, and don't turn it up to too high of a speed. You can and will burn the gelcoat permanently if your too agressive. You can always dab more polish and do a spot again. This is better than doing a spot fast, in my opinion.

Last was wax: I used Turtle Wax and did it just like a car. Rubbed it on by hand (out of direct sunlight), let it dry, and then wiped off with a clean cotton rag. Some people like to take it off with a clean polisher on a medium setting makin small circles. That may make it shine even brighter, but I was tired of running that machine by that point, so I did it by hand. Don't skip waxing!!! At this point you will be tired and tempted, but the wax is what keeps the boat from getting milky and dull again (oxidation). All the work you did will be wasted in less than one year if you don't keep it waxed. I'm planning to wax it every six months or so. Sooner if it looks like it needs it. Don't want to have to sand, polish again and the waxing is what prevents that

Here's the before photo's from last November when I brought it home to start the work:

congrats looks good !!

Very nice

That boat looks just like a old Champion model that had for a short while. Those are some solid hulls. Much smoother riding due to the heavier hull im my opinion as well. Very nice work.

Sweet!!!!

your hard work has finally paid off! congrats!

sweet now it time to fish

Nice lookin boat man!

Nice ride!

nice job!!!that baby looks good!!!!...rick

Lookin good!

Thanks guys.

I had an 87 18'4". Best boat I ever had and it took some BIG waves on Rayburn many times! Looks great.

Nice work.

looks great man.

thanks spankys..lol