1989 Maxxum 281 - new owner

[PayCheck]

Well Hello,

This is my first post to your site so please be gentle.

My wife and I are avid boaters, having had a 1974 Checkmate 165Alpha since new. I've played with the engine a little over the years, replaced many props, a half a dozen lower units, and finaly this spring, the upper and lower as a set. I replaced the thermostat this year - it was date stamped April 1972!

In the late eighties we almost made a downpayment on a Maxum (single I/O), but practicality took over as our two sons were 3 and 5....

We bought an '89 Maxxum without power Sep/07, all else is in service from what I can tell so far. I'm stripping and refinishing the Bravo drives - quite corroded, but no leaks or signs of water penetration. (I'd show pics, if i cud).

I found two Gen V 454's and currently have them torn apart. I'm building a pile of parts to fit them into the engine bay while the blocks will go in for machining (shortly).

I'd love to have some original documentation on wiring, tank, hull structure - unfortunately I've had no response from checkmate and the internet turns up nada other than a valuation from the marine insurance industry...I've found original Merc shop manuals for the drives and engines, but only have a 1990 Checkmate Brochure as reference for the hull.
Does anyone have any leads for Checkmate docs??? I'm stuck

 

[175checkmate]

Welcome to the board and congrats on the new boat.

 

[ezstriper]

welcome to the boards...are they bravo 3's (dual prop) if so they have a terrible issue on electrolisis( how ever you spell it) and if the boats sit in the water they eat themselves away. Merc looks away from the problem to a large degree..but I work at several marina's and the issue is unreal, I hace a friend with that very boat and been battling it since new, on 3rd set of drives and done all the changes they told him would cure the issue...not as of yet, so do your homework on the drive issue and good luck...Rob

 

[PayCheck]

Thanks for your welcomes, and the enthusiasm for the sport will show in my posts. My background is construction electrician migrated to network engineer migrated to project manager and I love technical challenges, so you'll probably find me monitoring any troubleshooting forums (I know - everybody's an expert) to help where I can, and get help when I need it.

The drives are Bravo Ones c/w drive showers, 27p Mirage 3 blades, and 24" K-Planes - I'll upgrade my account so I can post some pics....

 

[PayCheck]

'89 Maxxum 2x454MagBravo's

 

[cooperider]

There probably isn't any documentation for that sort of thing. I don' think they ever had an owners manual for each model of boat. And probably the only wire diagram is one the electrical guy uses. For a boat that old, he's not going to have that around any more. But that hull is the same hull as the new 30 so maybe they have something for that. You best bet would be to get a book on marine like the Boatowners Illustrated Electrical Handbook.


A good wire diagram would be a good thing to have in my opinion. But I don't think your going to find one.

 

[daren34]

the engine wiring is standard mercuiser all the way to the guages.

the rest of the wiring is checkmate but going from the fusebox out through the switches you should be able to draw your own

none of it is real technical

the engine wiring diagrams can be found in the mercury manual
or in chilton or hayes manuals

boat looks pretty good in the pic you posted
looks like the drives will survive

good luck daren

 

[mate229]

I saw that boat at Chris Martin's place this past summer. Nice looking ride. Good luck with your project.

 

[Old Navy]

Merc has a procedure for painting drives. It uses high quality PPG paint and primer. You can find it by looking at the mercury website. Powder coating is also an option but drives must be disassembled. Going thru the drives probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Its one less thing to worry about if your drives have a clean bill of health on a repower project like you are doing. You might want to replace the bellows also, ebasic power has good prices on all that stuff.

 

[PayCheck]

Maxxum 281 - new owner

:cheers
Hey,

I found this wiring harness diagram with a color coded legend - I'm pretty sure it matches up with wiring in the round 10-pin connector hanging in each engine bay.

I also got a response from Kip Combs...

----- Original Message --------------------------------
From: Kip Combs <info@checkmatepowerboats.net>
To: nwimbush@rogers.com
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 3:06:53 PM
Subject: RE: message from website response form

Nigel, we'll get some info on the 281 Maxxum out as soon as we get our
new catalog to add to the mailing....week or so.
--------------------------------------------------------
so I'm not dead in the water, yet. Yes, I can trace the wiring, but there are other things I'd like to spend my too-few hours doing. (And an original wiring diagram would make a nice addition to the boat documents.)

Yes, this boat was at Chris Martin's place - he had it stored for Bob Briggs, who I bought it from. I pulled some hay out of the lowers, so I'm guessing it sat for quite a while or Bob's stories were true and he really did mow lawns with it.

OutDrive Refinishing

I found this on one of the boards:

PROCEDURE:

1. Scuff sand to remove all blistered paint and roughen factory finish. Remove sanding dust.
2. Follow manufacturer's recommendations and instructions on the individual containers.
3. Apply DX-533 (Alumiprep #33) to clean and condition the aluminum.
4. Apply DX-503 (Alodine #1201) brush on chemical conversion coating for aluminum.
5. The DP-40 (Epoxy Chromate Primer) mixed with DP-401 Catalyst can now be applied. A .75 mil film build is recommended.
NOTE: Allow 30 minute induction period for permeation of the epoxy chromate primer and the catalyst prior to application.
6. The topcoat consists of DAR-9000 Acrylic Enamel Black and the DXR-80 Delthane Ultra additive, and DTR-602 Reducer. It is a polyurethane acrylic enamel system which provides fast drying, durability, high resistance to corrosion and good color and gloss.