1963 Checkmate on CL

[SCT]

I saw this rare boat on CL. 1963 is the first production year for Checkmate. The boat looks to be in descent shape. I wish I had the room and money for it,

http://springfield.craigslist.org/boa/2471328714.html

 

[JW]

do it sct! '63 was the year for JW too

 

[Jetmate]

Now that's cool!

 

[WILDMAN]

Shannon, you may not have the room, but we KNOW you got da money!

 

[OVERSIZE LOAD]

very nice piece of Checkmate history.

 

[Big Red]

I saw this rare boat on CL. 1963 is the first production year for Checkmate. The boat looks to be in descent shape. I wish I had the room and money for it,

http://springfield.craigslist.org/boa/2471328714.html

Damn you blow that in gas and beer in 2 weekends

 

[mxer15]

very nice piece of Checkmate history.

For shure! with out a douht, a true collectors dream! untill now I've been told about this checkmate, but never thought I'ed ever really get to see one! great pleasure post, man you should put guard dogs around that! going to see what it would take to ship it. back at you soon!

 

[Chris]

I wonder what the story is on the motor.

The ad says it's a 80's model, but the cowel looks like early 60's.

The lower cowel looks newer though.

Neat find, I hope someone here gets it.

-Chris

 

[Keytime]

Which model outboard is that?

 

[Heidi]

So I joined this forum for one reason and that is to ask you all about this boat. I live not to far from it and in my state AR you don't have to have a title for a boat. I don't have alot of $ to spend and have been looking for a cheap fixer upper for my son and I. I love the look of the vintage boats but I'm worried about it becoming a $ pit. So my question is what is the boat really worth and is it worth fixing?
Thanks so much for reading and any advice is appreciated

 

[Jimway]

I'm not sure of how much boat mechanical experience you have. You would have to look closely at the boat for cracks and soft spots. If it is as nice as it looks in the picture and it was closer to me it might already be in my garage. Looks like the seller is negotiable on price if they still have it.

 

[OVERSIZE LOAD]

So I joined this forum for one reason and that is to ask you all about this boat. I live not to far from it and in my state AR you don't have to have a title for a boat. I don't have alot of $ to spend and have been looking for a cheap fixer upper for my son and I. I love the look of the vintage boats but I'm worried about it becoming a $ pit. So my question is what is the boat really worth and is it worth fixing?
Thanks so much for reading and any advice is appreciated

if you don't want a "money pi"t, then do not buy any boat.

 

[Heidi]

I'm not sure of how much boat mechanical experience you have. You would have to look closely at the boat for cracks and soft spots. If it is as nice as it looks in the picture and it was closer to me it might already be in my garage. Looks like the seller is negotiable on price if they still have it.

I was aware of to watch for cracks and holes, but what do you mean by "soft spots"?

By the way I appreciate your lack of cynicism, I generally use a diff name/gender on forums to avoid this. I worked in the upholstery dept of Ranger boats and would attempt to do most of the interior myself. However the motor is a diff concern.
So I guess what I'm asking is will I get my $ worth after restoring this boat?

 

[Jimway]

Hey H, By soft spot, I meant any place in the boat where the plywood structure may have become soft from exposure to water over the years. I would look at the transom very carefully. If the hull is sound, you have half the battle won. As for the motor, it would be great to hear it run. You could tell a lot just by listening to it. If it had a lower gearcase problem, it wouldn't be to hard to replace it, you would be removing the lower unit to renew the waterpump impeller anyway. Now for the money part, I think that might be a subjective and difficult question to answer. At the end of the day, you can only get the amount of money for a boat that the next guy is willing to give. You can very easily spend more dollars on a project than what you may be able to sell it for. For me, I enjoy finding a boat that I may like for whatever reason and bringing it back to operational status. Nights in the garage repairing and replacing and buffing and polishing are like a wonderful vacation. The thrill of starting a motor that has been sitting for years or maybe been damaged but then repaired or replaced by yourself is hard for me to put into words. The fun and excitment of taking a broken or neglected piece of equipment and returning it to running condition and then the challenge of getting it to fly like it was meant to is hard to put a price on. For me, any time that I can get out on the water to enjoy fishing, watersports, or maybe just to see how fast we can get it to go, or maybe just to find a quiet spot to drop anchor and listen to the tunes and maybe even nod off for a few minutes, That time, spent on the water, is hard to put a price on. Now for the good stuff. Have you been able to go and look at this boat yet?

 

[yellowfiero88]

Its at $600 now. I personally would offer $300, but I think anything under $500 is doable. I might take a bit of work but it does not look bad. There is a lot of people on here that are willing to help answer your questions if you decide to buy it....

And yes, all boats are money pits! But its the best money pit I've ever had!!

BTW, welcome Heidi!

 

[Heidi]

I'm trying to get some serial or model #'s from the guy, I spoke to someone at the Checkmate factory and they thought I was ridiculous for thinking I had found a '63 model. A few things he told me didn't really match up w the boat as far as if it truly is a '63. I haven't had a chance to go look at it yet, I'm trying to get as much info from the owner as I can, which is difficult. If it is or isn't, it will still look super cool blastin' across Lake Norfork!