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comparing skeeter bay, pathfinder bay, champion bay??
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comparing skeeter bay, pathfinder bay, champion bay??
I am looking into different bay boats. I fish in the marshes of south Louisiana and need a shallow water bay boat that can handle the chop on windy days. Also, it needs to be at least 22 feet to possibly 24 feet so that four people can fish comfortably. I am intersted in the pathfinder as well as the skeeter bay. I have also looked at the Champion bay. It seems to me that the skeeter and the pathfinder will go shallower than the champion, but im not exactly sure. I have no idea how much each one cost. Anyone who has any knowledge on pricing and comparing the 3 boats would that could give me a little advice would be very appreciative.
Decisions like this are tough ! There are a lot of great bay boats made today. If you fish inside most of the time, I would go with the pathfinder. If you want to fish breton sound and fish both inside and outside, I would go with the champion or a triton. No matter what, I would buy the 24' boat over the 22' in any brand that you choose. The champion and Triton are heavier boats and they will take rougher water better than the pathfinder and skeeter. As far as skeeter goes, I don't like the console in the skeeter compared to the champion. 6 rod holders in the skeeter console, 8 in the champion. The skeeter is also very close to the champion in price. It sure is nice to have a boat that can handle rougher water when you get caught in bad weather. re-sale value would also be better in the champion 24 or the Triton 24. My first choice is the champion 24. I have owned both the Champion 24 and the Triton 24. They are VERY close in ride but the champion has a better interior layout. My brother has the 24 Skeeter. He regrets not buying the champion after riding in mine. The main advise that I could give you is to sea trial all of them. You can really save a ton of money on a lightly used boat right now also. Check out the classifieds. Hope my .02 cents worth helps out. Good Luck !!
__________________ 2006 Contender "31" Open w/ 2008 300 Verado's (SOLD)
well i have heard more negative reports on the skeeter. i will be fishing inshore most of the time but in louisiana it gets rough when its windy. i havent heard anything negative about the pathfinder which makes me want to lean towards it rather than the champion. also i think it will go shallower than the champion. but i dont know if the pathfinder will handle well in a good chop/
Decisions like this are tough ! There are a lot of great bay boats made today. If you fish inside most of the time, I would go with the pathfinder. If you want to fish breton sound and fish both inside and outside, I would go with the champion or a triton. No matter what, I would buy the 24' boat over the 22' in any brand that you choose. The champion and Triton are heavier boats and they will take rougher water better than the pathfinder and skeeter. As far as skeeter goes, I don't like the console in the skeeter compared to the champion. 6 rod holders in the skeeter console, 8 in the champion. The skeeter is also very close to the champion in price. It sure is nice to have a boat that can handle rougher water when you get caught in bad weather. re-sale value would also be better in the champion 24 or the Triton 24. My first choice is the champion 24. I have owned both the Champion 24 and the Triton 24. They are VERY close in ride but the champion has a better interior layout. My brother has the 24 Skeeter. He regrets not buying the champion after riding in mine. The main advise that I could give you is to sea trial all of them. You can really save a ton of money on a lightly used boat right now also. Check out the classifieds. Hope my .02 cents worth helps out. Good Luck !!
This is perfectly said. We also own a 24 champion. Let me tell you, this boat is a machine and I have yet to find one that rides better. This boat can handle a gulf 2 ft chop with ease. It is also my favorite layout of all the 24 ft bayboats. It has TONS of deckspace with huge front and rear decks...very wide open...lots of storage, great livewells. Ours is an 02 and it is still a very solid boat and has held up great. We used to take it 50 miles offshore in snotty stuff freediving back in the day before we purchased our big boat...NO issues. Just put that nose down and let that baby knock em down. While it may not be able to get in as shallow of water as a pathfinder...we often end up fishing in less than 2ft with no real problems. I don't have much experience with the skeeter...but I can tell you the ride of the 24 champion is better than that of the 24 pathfinder when it gets nasty. I know this from first hand experience, and it is a noticeable difference. Pathfinder will be a little faster...but shallower and lighter, thus sacrificing ride quality. We have a 250 hpdi on ours and can get 55 out of her. I 300 or 350 would make that baby scream. Good luck and please let me know if you have any more questions on the 24 champ...I have logged many hours on them
And like others have said, they are all excellent boats and after spending some time on them, the one that fits your needs best will surely be standing out from the rest
agree with bigtuna, I have had a skeeter, ranger, and champion and I will tell you none compare to the 24 champion. If you want a super skinny boat for the marsh, go metal.
good deal. so the pathfinder will go a little shallower but the champion rides better? how bout the way they are built. is one built better than the other? and will the pathfinder handle well at all in 3 foot chops or is it gona be really bumpy?i assume a champion can handle the chop well. how shallow can you get in your champion loaded up?
I bought a 24 Champion Bay for charter fishing out of Shell Beach, LA. I have not been in a Pathfinder, but have heard all of the same info about them. They are supposed to be fast and shallow, but lack in the ride department. I can tell you that the skeeter rides well, but it did not match the ride of the Champion. My decision was easy and I have not regretted it. It is also the driest bay boat I have ever fished. I also troll for redfish in shallow water. I figure I safely draft about 16 in. Just a tip here, always troll with your outboard trimmed down or most of the way down. Your motor will stop the boat if you start drifting too shallow before your hull ceases to float. You can also help control your drift with the aid of the outboard as a rudder. I recently rescued a 22 Skeeter that was stuck in a few inches of water. They were drifting with the wind with the outboard out of the water.
Anyway, I vouch for the Champion as an all around fishing machine. Whatever you choose, consider adding trim tabs. They will optimize the ride of any hull that you decide on. Good luck with your shopping. Since you are in the same area, let me know if you want a test drive.
I have a 24 Bay with a 300 Suzuki and think it is the best built boat in its class by far!
I have fished out to over 40 miles in nice weather in the gulf. We actually had it in the Guld 9 days last year and it really handled everything well for a bay boat. It was not perfect but, it feels solid and rides very good. We averaged about 25mph into a head sea going out and between 35-40 mph coming in with a following sea!
It is Extremely dry for a bay boat. More so than any I sea trialed or have ridden in.
I have had my boat in 15" of water and was able to also get the boat up in that amount of water with no problems. I was fishing, had both livewells full and probably 80 gallons of fuel on board along with all my crap. I don't know that I would do that on a regular basis because I did kick up a lot of mud but, had no issues whatsoever. I did this with my trim tabs all the way down.
Another thing you need to remember is that the Champion holds 90 gallons of fuel which is going to make it heavier than most boats. I ALWAYS keep a full tank just because that is the way I am! If you were really serious about getting skinny you can run with a lot less fuel.
Champion also has the best livewells bar none that I have been around. The Hydro Air system has kept croaker alive for 14 hours without losing any of them!
I bought ours for the ride, the dryness and the layout more than anything. I always fish with a bunch of people or my kids and having extra seats and room for junk was important to me.
My boat is not as fast as some others listed because I also have a top on mine. I have seen 53 mph in the ship channel and I have seen 56 on a lake. That is fully loaded, gear, livewells full with 3 or 4 extra people. I have never ran it empty or light before so I am not sure what it would be if I lightened it up.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that it is sensitive to weight shifting in the boat. If your buddies are moving around behind you and you are running hard you will have to make some tab adjustments to keep her flat. The only other bad thing is that I do not have a local dealer and so far the nearest dealer to me has SUCKED bad. No major issues so far though (knock on wood).
I have been looking at Champion and Youngs on their web sites. Both look very nice.
It would be a hard call to make. If it comes down to $$, I think Champion may be a little cheaper as Youngs is custom. http://www.young-boats.com/
Champion and Skeeter are just about identical in almost every category. Both have full transoms, huge casting decks, decent fit and finish and a good ride. They both have similar weights and deadrise. The way that their casting decks and storage is set up they actually (obviously not but....) look like the came from the same mold. They are both similarly priced around 60k nicely equiped. Skeeter being owned by Yamaha is the only brand they'll hang on the back so not being a yam fan would exclude you. I like both. Find out wich one you can get the best deal, warranty and after sale support. Never been on a pathfinder but they seem real nice.......good luck!!
If you have any questions about skeeter let me know!!
__________________ 2006 Skeeter ZX24 Bay
2006 Yamaha 300 HPDI
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yeah i definityl want a yam on it. my dad didnt crank his for over a year and i took it out a month ago. started rite up and ran great. thanks for the feedback. seems champion mite be the way to go.
yeah i definityl want a yam on it. my dad didnt crank his for over a year and i took it out a month ago. started rite up and ran great. thanks for the feedback. seems champion mite be the way to go.
One major thing to consider is resale. Go on boattrader or check out the classifieds on louisianasportsman.com and see how many Champion 24 Bays you see for sale. Skeeters are everywhere. If you see a used 24 Champ for sale, you had better move on it quick, it won't last. It may not matter to you, but resale is a major consideration for me when I am buying a boat. As far as motors go, buy the one that has the best (longest) warranty. I don't want to start a motor war here.
__________________ 2006 Contender "31" Open w/ 2008 300 Verado's (SOLD)
I have been looking at Champion and Youngs on their web sites. Both look very nice.
It would be a hard call to make. If it comes down to $$, I think Champion may be a little cheaper as Youngs is custom. http://www.young-boats.com/
I would take a Young over any other bay boat.
__________________
That is crap.
Which idiot told you that CO2 only makes up 0.039% of the atmosphere?
I did this search about this time last year. I looked at these three boats hard, along with Shearwater and Triton. Rode on all of them and the Champion without a doubt has the best ride. It is a tank. The only negative is that it will not get in as shallow of water as the others. They are all priced around 55k if i remember correctly. Shearwater is more around 60k. These are for the 24 foot models. The only reason I did not get the champion was due to that it seemed like the company cuts corners. I looked in the console and saw a ton of light coming in from where it connects to the deck, that was a turn off. But i still liked it better than the rest.
I would put the champion above the rest of them. With that said, look up who designed the hull of the champion. Wylie Nagler. He owned back country who sold out to champion a while back. He now owns Yellowfin, and the YF 24 is the best. Nobody can question that. It gets shallow, its very fast, it has great fuel economy, and the most important thing to me is, it has an awesome ride. I fish out the Louisiana marsh all the time. I do not know that your budget is, but the YF is in a class of its own when it comes to the 24 bay boat. They are also going to be coming out with a 21 late in the year which may interest you.
comparing skeeter bay, pathfinder bay, champion bay?? 
