Jace D Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 As some of you may know, Collin and I had some boat trouble a few months back. Blew our motor up on the old skeeter. Well, being the dumb okie idiots we are, we took the money that we should have used to fix the motor and just bought another boat. I will say we basically stole it. It's an 88 Champion 18'4" with a Merc 200. The motor runs great and the hull was real solid, but, the boat needed some love...bad. It needed carpet, carpet trim, deck extension, a new trim motor, trim relays, bilge pumps, livewell pump and valve, fuel lines, seats, trolling motor, new graphs, trailer winch strap, trailer jack and just an overall shine and polish. It's not completely done yet but it's real close. We've put A LOT of hours in to it but it's coming out pretty good I think. We're hoping it will get us through this years tournament season and we'll use our winnings (if we win )to fix the motor on the skeeter. Two boats is better than one. Kinda excited to get this thing out on the water. 18 footer with a 200, thing should fly right? Anyway, here's some pics of the boat before and after. I don't actually have any pics from day one but just take my word for it, it was bad. I'll take some more here pretty soon of the inside of the bilge area and all that too so you guys can see what it looks like now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R8R Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Looks good Jace. Your deck extension and carpet looks good man. Good deal you have with your brother to split the boat so expenses are both your responsibilities rather than 1 person . Me and a buddy of mine share a boat together and we split the cause of maintenance and up keep it has work so far for several years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjz21 Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Great job, see you guys on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynem Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 That came out great. And nothing beats those old Champion hulls in really rough water. Good luck in the tournaments- nothing better than a big swimbait to put a kicker fish in the livewell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbass Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Nice job. You are going to love that old school champion, I love mine and it is built like a tank. Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace D Posted January 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Here's some before and after of the bilge with the old pumps and livewell valves in the first and the new pumps and valve in the second. There was about an inch of straight mud and crap in that bilge. Here's a few of the inside and outside of the boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilcatfish Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Good work man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaumb Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Good job guys, looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londonmitch Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Nice work guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codywilsonfishing Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 You should check out bbc boards and talk to the guru's over there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austen Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 sick ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZNorris Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Looks sweet man! good stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceaser Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 might wanna check out the recessed trolling motor pedal kits. Easy to do and will save your back big time. Looks good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jace D Posted January 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 might wanna check out the recessed trolling motor pedal kits. Easy to do and will save your back big time. Looks good! Ya that's definitely something we're looking at right now. We'll probably try to get our trolling motor first so we can get everything lined up just how we want it. For those guys out there that are wanting to get a boat, but like most of us you're on a tight budget, if you can find a good hull and strong motor and you're a little handy with some basic tools, you can have a pretty nice rig for a fairly small investment. Your time is the biggest investment. I know what some of you guys are spending on new rods, reels, baits, etc. (those are fun to buy too of course) but do yourself a favor and save a little bit of those $$ and find a simple boat that will do what you want. Being able to move on the water is invaluable at times. Make sure and get something that you can afford the upkeep on also. 200hp outboards aren't for everybody and in most cases aren't needed anyway (I just like em ). good luck out there guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YELOSUB Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Looks good, love watching these transformations...Thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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