Recommendations?

[byrd]

I live next to a private lake in the Pacific Northwest. To use the lake, I have to trailer on and off the lake daily via a narrow ramp. I have a bay in my garage 25' long dedicated for a boat, but only an 8' door, and a steep driveway. My purpose for a boat is as a family runabout (small family) that we can also use for recreational skiing. I am considering both the Checkmate Pulsare 1600 BR and the 170 BR because of their narrower beams, and the ease of which to launch and store either given my circumstances. It doesn't appear that I have any other choice but to order a new one, due to an apparent lack of used Checkmates on the West Coast. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated as well as advice on powering with 2 stroke vs 4 stroke, Mercury vs Evinrude or Yamaha. (The lake has a 40 mph speed limit, so speeds over 50/60 aren't necessarily important.) Thx

[175checkmate]

Welcome to the board and good luck in the hunt for a new mate. Check out This link. http://checkmateboatsfargo.com/index.html
Dave is a supporting vendor and a from all I have heard a great guy to deal with.

[Chris]

How rough does your lake get?

We have a Pulse 170 and it's a decent ski and tube boat. It probably throws a bit more of a wake than is ideal for skiing, but it's an all round great boat. The one thing we've found is the faster you ski the better the wake gets for skiing. So if you ski around 28-30 it's good, if you're a newbie and ski slower the wake is less than ideal.

I have a 150 on mine and it runs in the very low 60's with the bow cover on. On mine, the front buckets are pretty tight together which makes it a little tough sometimes to move from the front to the back. That might be something to check on the 1600.

Since I don't have a 1600 so I can't really comment on that model, but I would probably look for a 115 or so Opti or ETEC for power. I would stay away from a 4 stroke as they just weigh too much and I don't really think they offer any tangible advantage. I suppose you could try to put a slightly bigger motor on a 1600 but since you have the speed limit, I don't think you need to. I suppose you could also go smaller with something like a 90, but since you want to ski I'd be tempted to go with something around the 115 mark.

[Boston Predictor]

good luck with your new boat, keep us posted.
like Chris said go for a opti or Etec 115. sounds like you are going to have a very nice ride
Ps have you looked into getting a jackplate also?

[xsive]

I would seriously consider a Pulsare 1600 with a 115 OptiMax.

Definitely give Dave @ Checkmate in Fargo a call. He does alot of long distance deals and will make your buying experience a pleasure. My dad bought a boat from him last year so I do speak from experience.

Chris has made some great observations.

The power of the Opti is typically the same as the older 2 strokes but gets great fuel mileage. The power curve of a 4 stroke isn't as strong on the bottom end and makes skiing a little tougher.

[byrd]

Thanks very much for all your advise.

To answer a question, the lake is small, protected, and always calm.

Another was whether I had considered a jackplate. Although, I know what a jackplate is, I don't know what it's purpose is necessarily or to what advantage it might be to my circumstances. Can anyone tell me?

Thanks again.

[Chris]

Well here's a simple answer....

A jackplate is a plate that mounts between the transom of your boat and your motor. It allows you to move the motor up or down on the transom. When you move your motor up and down on the transom it changes the running attitude of your boat similar to the way power trim does.

There are manual and hydraulic jackplates.

The manual ones you would normally set before you head out on the water. The hydraulic ones you can adjust on the fly as you drive similar to the way you would use power trim.

Here's a link to one manufacturer's site which explains things in a bit more detail. :)

http://www.cook-mfg.com/plfeatures.html

[aaronmt]

I live in the pacific northwest and contest to the lack of used checkmates here. I did see a 1988 or 89 starfire in port orchard with a 4.3 V6. Its in the the boat tader or at least it was the last time i saw it. I found mine in the tri-cities in sad shape. Good luck, Aaron