New challenger 180

[davo]

Another member to the challenger 180 club. Thanks to all the great advice here. I deliberated between the speedster 150, challenger 180 & 210. For what I needed the 180 foot the bill perfectly. Just clocked up 10 hrs.
For others considering one here are my impressions..Towing-get the 255hp, better to have more power available. Engine size-I'm stoked with the 255hp. I usually run with 3-4 on board, plenty of power even for tow sports. Average day on the bay & river uses about 5.5 gph. This includes WOT at times. I expect this to reduce slightly as the new tuning program kicks in. I've even managed to inadvertently get airbourne off the wake of a ferry. Wife not impressed by this though. I've put some proper heat/sound shielding rubber insulation around parts of the engine compartment to take the edge off the noise, this helps heaps, otherwise at full wot its a bit tiring from the noise.
All up very impressed & happy. Sometimes I think the 210 might be more practical(for more storage), but with ease of managing a pocket jet, economy & its performance the 180 is great.

cheers David

 

[RFoster130]

Great lookin boat. I really like the blue. is that a 2010? whats the top speed? I really want a 20 ft speedster, but I dont think it will fit in my garage. So the Challenger 180 is probably gonna be what I get in the next 2 years. I am just worried it wont be fast enough .

I REALLY wish they would make a Challenger 180 with 2 of the naturally aspirated engines. 2 of the 115's even would be awesome in an 18 ft boat. If they made that for the next year, I would buy it the day it was available.

 

[davo]

cheers

the blue & white looks better in the flesh so to speak, I prefer it to the red. WOT I've had it to about 83 kph on the boat display. It's the 2010 se model. In my part of the world its rare to get that glassy water for record speed unless I go up the river. Normal cruise for me is either 38kph or 55kph approx on the bay, & up to 80 on the river. I would go a 20' or 21' if you regularly put 6+ people on it. Another way to think about it is the money you save in the purchase you can use WOT a lot more(use the spare cash for the gas)! The bigger boats for me would have the choppy water advantage more than anything. I've got about half an hour of chop to cut through to get to a place like in the photo. I find when we go in the shallow clear water or up creeks etc the bow is very popular, on the bay though the bow can get a bit too exciting & wet on the 180 for most. The little kids love the low cut bow though in clear waters.

 

[JThomasLambert]

The new ones have a kp/h setting? Did it come like that or are you able to switch from imperial to metric on the fly? Mine's a 2008: I'm in Canada, Sea-doos are made in Canada, yet I still appear to be locked in MPH...

 

[davo]

no, mine is locked into metric kph. I'm assuming its a dealer adjustment to the computer. I'm in oz.

 

[RFoster130]

83 KPH would put it around 51 mph. Not too bad. That may work for me. I am gonna have to find one locally I can take out and test.

 

[timhood]

I've even managed to inadvertently get airbourne off the wake of a ferry. Wife not impressed by this though.

LOL! :rofl:

I've put some proper heat/sound shielding rubber insulation around parts of the engine compartment to take the edge off the noise, this helps heaps, otherwise at full wot its a bit tiring from the noise.

What did you use, where did you put it, and how much difference do you think it made? One of my final projects is to add some sound deadening. I'm thinking of using the automotive "under hood" style for areas around the engine, and probably the regular, interior type elsewhere. I'm thinking of lining the rear storage bin, maybe the sides of the boat, and wherever I can around the battery compartment. Basically, anywhere it's not currently padded between the engine bay and the passenger area.

 

[seadoomichael]

Any water in your locker/engine bay after use?
http://seadooforum.com/showthread.php?t=35173

 

[dsw222]

thats a beautiful boat and its in some gorgeous water! where is that?

 

[davo]

thanks.
The area is a little island in Moreton Bay off Brisbane Australia. Very popular with overnighters on boats on clear days.
For the sound deadening I used a 10mm & 15mm closed cell foam called foamshield($38/msquare). It has 3m adhesive on one side & foil on the other. Heat & sound insulated. I removed the cooler bins & cut a long strip to go beam to beam where the seat is inside the compartment. Another piece around the cooler bin recess. Bins reinstalled. A strip placed longitudinally along the bins so they extend from the back of the seats to where the rear storage hatches are in the stern. From here they wrap to the gunwales(under). I placed pieces neatly in the lids of these compartments, as well as better fitting foam in the primary engine access in the centre seat.
I'll post some picks soon, the result is that you can talk at full tilt to all your passengers without yelling. It bring it in line with most other boats, ie reduces by about 15db or so I'd think.
Water in boat..not when I'm on the water unless I go in large swell with waves crashing over the bow(which I've done already). I wash the boat engine down with saltaway after every outing. With the trailer cranked right up some water always remains in the bilge. I sometimes remember to back the trailer back down the ramp after the washdown then drive off. This removes all but maybe half a litre of water. The rest usually evaporates by the next day.
cheers

 

[James.Moon]

180 SE 2009 - Speedometer KPH & MPH

The new ones have a kp/h setting? Did it come like that or are you able to switch from imperial to metric on the fly? Mine's a 2008: I'm in Canada, Sea-doos are made in Canada, yet I still appear to be locked in MPH...

I bought my first boat early this year in Canada. It is a 2009 180SE 255HP with supercharger.
The digital readout is KPH, however it also has a speedometer bar above the digital number which is in MPH. Best of both worlds.

I have had it up to 95kph here on Shuswap Lake BC. It may have even gone higher but I was not comfortable holding it at that speed for very long. This is approx 60MPH. At least that is what the speedo indicated. Others seem skepical that it will go that fast. Can anyone else confirm the top speed with their 180SE?

It cruises nicely at 40-45 kph at less than half throttle.
The jet boat was a little tricky to handle at first at slow speeds when docking or backing with a tendency to spin. Also a little noisy.
Everthing else about it is great!

 

[Longhorn]

Mine is a lot older 2003, with the 240 Merc, and so far about 52mph is my top. You have more power, so I could see 60 being possible...

 

[woodbine]

Hey Davo,

Could you give a web site where you bought this product foamshield?

Thanks!

 

[moosehead]

Great lookin boat. I really like the blue. is that a 2010? whats the top speed? I really want a 20 ft speedster, but I dont think it will fit in my garage. So the Challenger 180 is probably gonna be what I get in the next 2 years. I am just worried it wont be fast enough .

I REALLY wish they would make a Challenger 180 with 2 of the naturally aspirated engines. 2 of the 115's even would be awesome in an 18 ft boat. If they made that for the next year, I would buy it the day it was available.

+1, great looking boat and photo Davo.

Agree with RF, I wanted the challenger but ended up finding a decent S200. With the fulton trailer hinge conversion, it looks like boat and trailer length with tongue folded is circa 21.5' which will barely fit in my garage. Lovin the S200, but the C would fly with the twin 115's.

 

[davo]

The insulation is: formshield. I stuffed the name before, sorry. It's an Australian made closed cell foam with foil on one side. Not much info on the Internet, you can google it though. I'm sure there's a product similar closer to where you are. It dampens sound and insulates heat. Ideal for engine compartments so I'm told. I've just put another 2 m on the boat. Now that I'm free to open her right up I'll see how the foam goes. I'll post some pics of the work and the results. Should get out on Wednesday.
Cheers

 

[jorous]

sound insulation

can you post some photos about the areas you covered. I am about to start the project of reducing the engine noise of my 2010 challenger 180se
thanks joe

 

[thor7000]

I bought my first boat early this year in Canada. It is a 2009 180SE 255HP with supercharger.
The digital readout is KPH, however it also has a speedometer bar above the digital number which is in MPH. Best of both worlds.

I have had it up to 95kph here on Shuswap Lake BC. It may have even gone higher but I was not comfortable holding it at that speed for very long. This is approx 60MPH. At least that is what the speedo indicated. Others seem skepical that it will go that fast. Can anyone else confirm the top speed with their 180SE?

It cruises nicely at 40-45 kph at less than half throttle.
The jet boat was a little tricky to handle at first at slow speeds when docking or backing with a tendency to spin. Also a little noisy.
Everthing else about it is great!

That speed seems extremely high for the 180SE, a few friends of mine have the same boat and highest speed they got was 52mph via GPS. The speedos are not accurate at all..!!

 

[davo]

For the best noise dampening:
Remove the under seat fiberglass coolers, wrap the foam around them.
Replace them.
Put the foam cut to size in the rear 2lids beside the walkthrough. That's it. I did have more in but I've removed them because I've found a better way to get rid of the high pitched noise.
When you load your boat, fill the rear s'board hatch first, ropes, food then towels(lots) on top. If this hatch is full with about 4 towels put in on top this will cut a lot of the noise. Next put your towel under the centre bench seat.(I have a hydroturf piece on this walk through too.).
This I found makes engine squeal into a low hum even at full tilt. Also your towel in this position will dry quicker from engine heat and will reduce wAter dripping in on the engine.
Cheers