questions about my checkmate

[Wonderllama]

first off, let me start by saying that i have taken the time to look through the boards, and have read many messages on painting a checkmate. i do, however, think that i still have some questions that have not been answered.

i have a 1982 checkmate eluder that i plan on making my pride and joy. the motor needs to be replaced, but the floor and the hull are in excellent shape. fortunately, i can get a new windshield and canvas from where i work, and will be replacing a lot of the deck hardware with expensive modern parts (ss pop up cleats, new ss hand rails, ss pop up nav light, etc.) but the one issue i have is with the paint.

now i know that the metal flake paint job is classic checkmate, but it is very faded, and the clearcoat is flaking off in several places. knowing that i cannot duplicate the metal flake paint, i was looking to repaint at least the top side. is the metal flake actual paint? or is it a gel cost? if i use the "roll and tip" method of an interlux 2 part poly, do i have to sand it down? do i have to use a primer?

my second question is: in repowering my boat, the mechanic suggested i add hydraulic steering. up until now the boat has had dual (force feedback) steering. right now the boat has a 200 evinrude on it. should i upgrade? or is he trying to squeeze more money from me?

and finally, upon inspecting my boat, i realized that from the keel to the transom tip is 25". it is my understanding that this would require a 25" shaft outboard. my mechanic says that i have a 20" motor and that might be why it is not working anymore. the cavitation plate is slightly above the keel when trimmed down, but not much. and it just doesnt seem like a 25" would fit (too big?) does anyone else know?

thanks in advance.

[175checkmate]

Welcome to the board. Congrats on the new mate.
As far as paint goes I am doing mine with out the metal flake. Just 2 solid colors. I used marine paint and 2 part epoxy primer. I am sure coop with be along to chime in on the gel coat.
As far as the steering. Well its personal preference and how deep your pockets are. Is it really needed. I would not think so. A good quality duel cable no-feed-back system will get the job done just as well for a lot less.
As far as motor shaft length goes the cave plate is not the issue. In order to measure where the prop is running you have to measure from the center of the bullet to the bottom of the pad or hull if not equipped with a pad. This will give you your height dimension. Since the eluder is a 18' boat you may want to look into a jack plate with about 10" of set back.
A 20" motor is what you want to look for. This hooked to a 10" jack plate you could effectively run the engine, (remember bullet to pad)at a setting of about 2" with out loosing water pressure. When the motor is set back off the transom it allows for the motor to have more leverage to carry the hull using less trim. The side benefit is you can run the motor higher. As the hull travels thought the water the water flowing past the transom will rise after it passes over the hull ( hull displacement) when the motor is mounted on the transom the wave coming off the back is right at the motor. With the set back provided by the jack plate the swell of the wave is further back, allowing the motor to maintain suction for cooling. If you install a jack plate be sure to install a water pressure gage to monitor the pressure.
In my opinion it may be time to find a new mechanic.
Good luck with the boat and keep us posted. We love details and pictures.

[Sid Deville]

If you want to keep the metal flake, look into putting a clear coat on. When the clear peels, the lustre of the paint job fades greatly. My mate had the clear virtually gone, I removed what was left. a light sand and three coats of clear and it came back great. To test it put water on the deck and see if the sparkle returns.

Mine came back and its ready for the disco.

[TRsCheckmate]

I agree with Sid Deville. If you like the flake and original color and it is salvageable. Just clear coat it. If you don't like the flake or the original gel is not salvageable, you could always put a cool custom paint job on it.

-TR

[Wonderllama]

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc007f.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc008f.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc009f.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc010f.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc007f.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc005f_1.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc006f.jpg

[Reed]

Great pics, you have a real quality piece to work with http://checkmate-boats.com/graemlins/beer1.gif

[Wonderllama]

hmmm...for some reason those pics are really small. i must have uploaded the thumbnails. ill try to get the bigger ones posted soon. my question again, is, what did you mean by "the center of the bullet to the bottom of the pad or hull if not equipped with a pad"?

sorry, but my boating vernacular is still in its very early stages.

[175checkmate]

With the boat on the trailer, trim the motor until it is level. Get a straight edge and measure from the center of the bullet ( the very center of the pointy edge of the lower unit. This is the center of the shaft the prop is bolted to.) Using the straight edge, place it on the front of the bullet. The straight edge should be under the boat if the motor is how I think it is. Now measure the distance from the straight edge to the bottom of the boat.
This is the distance the motor is running under the surface of the water.

[alwaysredee]

The flake looks salvagable to me. But, you want to pick a look you're comfortable having for a while unless you plan to do it again soon. As far as the shaft length, if you increase to the 25", its put a lot of unnessecary stress on the transom and could lead to cracking or even transom failure if you're not J-plating it out.

[Wonderllama]

well, i guess i have decided to repower the boat with a 20" shaft, seeing as that's what is on their currently. anyone have any suggestions in the tampa area for a place to buy a used outboard?


i also plan on sanding and buffing the interior to bring out the shine. what do you guys use to fill hole sin the deck? i plan on removing certain items and that will leave holes, that i definitely want filled. will i be able to match the color as well?

[Wonderllama]

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc007f_1.jpg

here is an image of the gas tank pulled out. im not sure why i did this except that i want to put in a new fuel sender for my new gauges, make sure its not leaking, and i want to syphon out the old gas.

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc008f_1.jpg

picture of the bow. this is where the clearcoat issues are most noticable. you can see that i have removed the nav light and cleat in preparation for sanding.

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc009f_1.jpg

just a closeup of the clear coat peeling. the previous owner began to sand this.

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc011f.jpg

pulled off the old badges, need to order some new ones.

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc012f.jpg

cockpit shot

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc015f.jpg

aft shot. need to replace the nav light and gas cap

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc018f.jpg

picked this up to fill in the holes of anything im not replacing, before i sand.

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc023f.jpg

looks like i need a new 2" gas hose.

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc024f.jpg

view from the bow. you can see how i removed the port side rail, i dont think i will replace these. looks better without?

[Boston Predictor]

could you fix the size of the pics?

[Wonderllama]

yeah sorry about that - new laptop

http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc0q466408f.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc007f_2.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc008f_2.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc009f_2.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc011f_1.jpg
http://img32.paintedover.com/uploads/32/mvc015f_1.jpg

[Wildman78]

What are u useing to Re-clear your mate! I have a skimate and the paint underneath is very salvageable but my clear is flaking off all over and as soon as the weather gets warm the sander is coming out! :-)

[wickedrister]

http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_mad.gif SANDER or WET SAND the clear?

[Wildman78]

LOL...Wet Sand

[wickedrister]

Wet sand with a belt sander...LOL

[cooperider]

BELT SANDER! http://www.checkmate-boats.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Not a good idea to get that wet.

[wickedrister]

http://checkmate-boats.com/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif Or strap a pair to your feet and turn them on http://checkmate-boats.com/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

[wickedrister]

Well now back to Wonderllama's Eluder. Good looking boat, hope to see some full size pics so we can have a better look. I really like the classic look of metal flake on a Checkmate. I think you need to try and save it. My boat was faded and rough as sand paper. I got the finish back with rubbing compound and heavy duty marine restorer wax.

[Wonderllama]

yeah sorry about the picture sizes, the uploading script i am using seems to like to make it a thumbnail.

so, as an update, i pulled the engine off of it saturday and dropped it off at the mechanic. so im getting pretty excited.

as far as painting it goes, unfortunately my funds are low so thats one decision i do not have to make. i will be sanding it down and waxing it with something or another to make it look good, but as it stands now - i just want it on the water soon.

florida weather is getting better, and my patience is getting worse.

[wickedrister]

I know how you feel, I'm also excited about hitting the weater this summer. I'm not far from installing the motor on my winter project. As far as pic posting you may want to try www.photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com) it works well for me.