New Interior Disappointment!

[Jamey]

I talked to Mike at Checkmate today, and unfortunately I could not get a new interior for my '80 Entertainer. According to Mike, '85 is the furthest back they can go to provide new vinyl/seats.

[Chucker]

Sorry to hear that Jamey! Make your own! :)

[Mark]

That surprises me a bit since some of the models like a Predictor span the entire 1980's. So they won't do a 1984 but they will a 1985?
Will they recover your interior if you send them the whole set of seats?

[Chris E]

the problem is, that if they don't keep the patterns for the older boats and assume that say an 80 and an 85 are the same and they aren't (for whatever reason) who will cover the cost of the interior? a customer who spent big bucks for something that doesn't fit or checkmate? it isn't worth the hassle.

honestly, checkmate owners are very lucky to be able to get interior peices for anything in the 80's direct from the factory. Sea Ray for example only keeps parts and patterns for 5 model years (if you own a 2001 you'd now be out of luck) - usually long before an interior starts to rot.

[Diplomat82]

I had a similar deal. Checkmate could replace my interior on a 82 Diplomat but they did not carry the color (brown/ tan).
So I opted to replace it myself.
I bought a sailrite sewing machine, vinyl and other supplies. The cost was pretty much a wash, with what Mike wanted to charge me.

Think about doing it yourself....you'll be surprise with how well it will turn out.

[SouthernBoy]

I just finished recovering the seats for my 83 Exciter. Mike provided the vinyl for the buckets, side panels and back seat in the original colors based on the hull ID number. Seats came out great, after some fiberglass repair to the back of the buckets. Found them cracked after I removed the old vinyl. Was very pleased with the covers, everything fit well.

[Jamey]

Well, there were certainly no hard feelings with Mike ... at least he was nice about it! Anyway, I found a local upholstery shop that specializes in boats that was more than willing to help out. I do need to call Mike back to see if I can get a replacement Checkmate decal for the rear side of the boat. Also, the black dash is faded pretty badly (which, Mike informed me, is why they stopped using black dashes!) but not cracked, so I have considered having it coated with Linex for the durability. Can anyone think of any reasons I wouldn't want to do that?