Considering new 202 elite

flutterspoon · April 23, 2009, 10:13:47 AM

I am asking all the owners to help me decide. Hopefully I will be purchasing a new bass boat within the year. I have it down to Champion 202 Elite, Skeeter i-class 20, and Bass Cat Puma FTD. I want a quality built boat, very stable and easy to troll and fish from. I am looking for a boat that doesn't have chine walking problems since I will be a new high performance boat driver. I have only driven a 20ft cuddy and a 17ft aluminum boat. I want a trailer that will hold up and not rust out and fall apart. I have a great relationship with my local Champion dealer (where my Xpress came from) but I am not sure about Champion since Genmar owns them now. Other dealers claim Champion is about to close their doors and they are still building a 15 year old boat. Please give me your thoughts and experiences.

Buzbait88 · April 23, 2009, 10:32:20 AM

The 202 elite is going to b a great boat. It replaced the 200 which replaced the 198 a few years before. I haven't heard many reports on the 202 yet, since it is a fairly new boat, but I think it built on the same hull as last years 200 elite with a differences in the deck and topcap. They aren't a speed demon by anymeans, but your looking at low 70's. My little 18' champ is the best riding best handling 18ft boat I've ever been in. The champs are pretty heavy boats and have a great hull design that really make them ride smooth and dry. From what I hear the bigger champs handle amazing, but without driving one I can't really comment on that. Like someone else said. Find what fits your style. If you want alot of storage pick the one with the best storage. if you want speed go with the basscat. If you want a smooth dry ride and a great fishing platform go with the champion. if you want one with lots of cool features that looks pretty cool get the skeeter, but from what I've heard the Skeeter Iclass ride is crappy. Skeeter however seems to fish in shallower water than other brands.

flutterspoon · May 18, 2009, 04:22:53 PM

Test rode in a Champion 210 Elite with a Mercury 250 ProXS....
It was really nice! I think the storage is BIGGER than the "S" i-class. And the speed is much better than the "S". I was really impressed with take off and top speed for a boat that was a very stable fishing platform. The boat I drove was EASY to steer and handle well at all speeds and top speed was low 70's (not me driving

) with 3 adults and half a tank of gas. I think the BassCat and the Champion are my top picks!

GotstaFish · May 18, 2009, 04:28:42 PM

I've got a 97' 202 with a new 250 VMAX on it and love it. Champion makes a great riding hull that excells in rough water for a smoother dryer ride and in the right conditions I'll bet that one you were in will do 80 MPH with 1 or 2 people and a 1/4 tank of gas

Had mine to 78 mph but still have a little to go

Buzbait88 · May 18, 2009, 05:28:26 PM

80 would be a stretch Karl. Even with the 250 on it the 210 is wider and longer than your 202. I think if you get the boat you might see 76-77 light, but with 2 guys and a full tourney load your looking at about 73 which is plenty fast and you'll really appreciate the champion when the wind picks up and all the other boaters are getting hammered.

GotstaFish · May 18, 2009, 07:31:59 PM

Quote from: Buzbait88 on May 18, 2009, 05:28:26 PM
80 would be a stretch Karl. Even with the 250 on it the 210 is wider and longer than your 202. I think if you get the boat you might see 76-77 light, but with 2 guys and a full tourney load your looking at about 73 which is plenty fast and you'll really appreciate the champion when the wind picks up and all the other boaters are getting hammered.

My Bad

Thought he said he rode in a 202

trolync09 · December 05, 2009, 08:13:37 PM

Good idea Dock, A new thread seems like a good idea, Im sure we will want to know a lot of details on their NOT NAMED AS OF YET Chap.
TOM IMGcool.gif border=0/IMG

Basser56 · December 13, 2009, 10:33:32 AM

As a loyal and quite happy Champion owner, I of course recommend the 202. My 2000 203 is and always has been a very fast and dry ride. Better than either the Cat or Skeeter. (That should rile a few folks)
The 202 is wider and a bit slower than the older narrower models, but still rides nice. My team partner has a 200 and we never had a problem with it in rough water. We never cared which boat we used, just went with who found the most and best fish during practice.

Lea · December 19, 2009, 10:44:24 AM

Karl, the new 202 is not the same as the 202s of past years. It is the 198 revisited, with max hp of 225. Low to mid 70s boat. I love my 198 and if I were going new, the 202 would be my pick...

Flutter, the dealers commenting on "15 yr old boats" are simply trying to deter you from buying a Champion. Champion is building boats with completely up-to-date styling and features!!!! I expect you saw that in the 210!!

Lea · December 19, 2009, 02:32:45 PM

Quote from: trolync09 on December 05, 2009, 08:13:37 PM
Good idea Dock, A new thread seems like a good idea, Im sure we will want to know a lot of details on their NOT NAMED AS OF YET Chap.
TOM IMGcool.gif border=0/IMG

What?