thinking about upgrading to a challenger 180

[erikvanden]

Hello all. I currently have an older twin engine speedster. I am looking to upgrade to something newer that is more reliable and more of a turn key start. I was looking at the 4tec speedsters/sportsters, but I think having the extra few feet and double the seating capacity of the challenger would be a better fit for me.

Is there anything I need to be aware of with these boats? I know the blowers need to be rebuilt every so many years or hours. I am just looking for something that will be reliable and start everytime i go out.

Are there certain years that are better with the the challenger? I don't need something with a lot of speed, I have the jet skies for that. But I would want something that can fit 8 people and gear without cavitating getting on plane.

 

[JoeB14]

I can't speak to the seating capacity of the challenger 180, but I have a Utopia (20' long), and if I were to put 8 people in it, there wouldn't be much room left for gear, let alone the ability to move around once in the boat.

 

[LouDoo]

Actually both boats will seat 8 people but the utopia with the 20' length vs the challenger 18' will be more comfortable, but with 8 either boat's going to be pretty crowded. I have an 18' boat and 6 is the most I can handle, and that's two of them being kids.

FYI when the USCG rates boats one person is 150lbs. including gear, probably not a realistic number especially in the US.

Lou

 

[go_panthers]

I had 8 (two kids) in my 210 challenger for a 100nm round trip down the ICW and did not feel crowded. I'm a stickler for keeping the deck clear (everything but the throw cushion stowed). 10 would have started to feel crowded.


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[erikvanden]

I understand the boat might be cramped with 8 people. I was just looking to know if the boat could easily get on plane when at the weight limit. My older speedster would cavitate and take a long time to plan out when I loaded the boat with people and gear.

I was also wondering if any years are better. As far as I can tell from 2005 - end of model year, the boats appear to be the same. However I see prices online ranging from 8000 to 25000 and they all appear to be the same boat. Even the older ones I see still have less than 200 hours on them in my area and still in good condition. I noticed the newer ones have a little bit more power but I can't imagine it being much difference.

 

[RFoster130]

I was in the same boat as you last year...I had a 98 speedster and wanted to upgrade to something bigger. I was torn between the challenger 180 and the speedster 200. The 98 speedster i had before was realistically only able to take 4 adults. If those were 4 big guys, it really struggled. So i wanted something where 4-6 people could use it comfortably. I actually found a couple people locally who owned both the boats i was looking into and they let me go out on them. Honestly, the challenger 180 isn't much better than the old boat. Yeah its 2 feet bigger but it still could realistically only handle 4-5 adults comfortably. IT was the 215 model and i was very unimpressed. it didn't handle the weight very well and was too slow for my taste. That led me to lean more towards the speedster 200. I can comfortable put 5-6 adults in it and the 310 HP is more than enough...The overall size of the boat is also a huge difference. The 180 is a nice step up from the smaller boats, but it still feels like this same type of boat...the 200 is almost twice the size of the 16 footer...might only be 3 feet longer, but it is huge in comparison. You truly feel like you are on a regular boat....I would suggest finding some locally that you can check out.

 

[pvamax]

Something to consider when looking at model years, all 215 hp motors in boats prior to 2009 had the ceramic supercharger washers prone to random failure. If you go for one of these years, make sure they have been replaced or plan to replace them immediately when you buy it. A full rebuild of the sc would be a good idea anyway if the sc internals are original.

 

[moochy]

From 2011 onward the challenger got a very nice interior upgrade. The 2012 gets you ski mode and docking mode etc too.